The Kingdom's third Voluntary National Review highlighted the growing role of endowments in supporting sustainable development, during the proceedings of the High-Level Political Forum 2026 on Sustainable Development, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

The review shed light on the contributions of the General Authority for Endowments in directing endowment returns towards priority groups and areas, and expanding their impact in housing, education, health, and development finance.

Endowments' development spending exceeded 100 million riyals for housing programs.

The Authority's contributions came within the framework of reviewing progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, as the 2026 report represented the first direct and expanded presence of endowments in the Kingdom's voluntary reports.

The development spending of endowments under the Authority's supervision exceeded 200 million riyals during the period from 2023 to 2025, including more than 100 million riyals for housing programs that benefited 3,500 families, and more than 100 million riyals for direct and indirect assistance in education, healthcare, and microfinance.

The review also highlighted a number of partnerships and development initiatives, including an investment portfolio worth one billion riyals in partnership with the Al-Othaim Charitable Foundation, of which 548.5 million riyals were allocated to support 8,235 beneficiaries through 79 projects, in addition to the "Da'm" financing product worth 150 million riyals, in partnership with the Social Development Bank and the Fund for Supporting Associations, to provide sustainable financing for non-profit entities.

The review covered geographic justice initiatives that supported the establishment of endowment entities in less-served areas, including Hail and Tabuk, along with the Authority's contributions to empowering persons with disabilities through the expansion of the Endowment Autism Center in Medina in 2023, and the launch of the "Digital Factory" in 2024 as the first endowment-funded laboratory for producing assistive technologies.

The review noted the work of the "Ehsan" platform through partnerships with a number of entities, including the General Authority for Endowments, and the role of its endowment fund in investing charitable capital and distributing its returns to more than 1,600 civil society organizations.

These results reflect the growing presence of endowments as a sustainable development tool, and their ability to transform endowment returns into an extended social impact that serves priority groups and supports the sustainability of non-profit work.

It is noteworthy that the General Authority for Endowments works to strengthen the endowment sector, enhance its governance, preserve it, develop it, and raise awareness of it through innovative endowment products and services offered to beneficiaries, to make it a leader in sustainable development locally and globally, fulfilling the conditions of endowers and applying best practices, and contributing to elevating endowment work, empowering it, and enhancing its economic and social impact.