In 1998, the Aga Khan Development Network commissioned studies on 'indigenous philanthropy' to advance the idea of self-reliance and reduce dependency on foreign aid. This exploration of  the 'Pakistani philanthropic tradition' revealed that philanthropy could be a potent resource in addressing the symptoms and causes of poverty. The design required a strengthened civil society supported by an enabling environment working for public benefit. This came to be known as the 'Initiative on Indigenous Philanthropy'.

The studies were complemented by a two-year consultative process involving hundreds of individuals. Finally, in 2000, the powerful notion of philanthropy for development emerged at the National Conference on Indigenous Philanthropy following three years of research, dialogue and deliberation. Recommendations included the establishment of the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. This Centre would facilitate the shift from foreign aid dependency to indigenous social investment through the promotion of philanthropy and collaborative linkages between stakeholders.

See details on...
The Initiative on Indigenous Philanthropy | The Conference on Indigenous Philanthropy | Enabling Environment Initiative | 2003 Onwards 

Guided by a 14-member Steering Committee representing leadership from the government, business and civil society, the primary objective of this enterprise was to:   

• Raise awareness about the concept of philanthropy as social investment in development as well as charitable relief.
  
  

• Realise sufficient consensus among key stakeholders to establish useful institutional mechanisms to promote philanthropy.
  
  

• Encourage and support the government to create an enabling regulatory and fiscal framework for citizens’ organisations and to begin a multi-stakeholder consultative process with the goal of building consensus and confidence for such a framework.
  
  

• Stimulate the media and other agents of public understanding to undertake affirmative efforts to raise the levels of public awareness of the self-help movement of Pakistan’s poor, and, particularly, the opportunities that all Pakistani citizens have to help that movement.
  
  

• Advance the efforts of citizens’ organisations to achieve proactive self-regulation, including establishing a code of conduct and certification mechanisms.

To inform this effort the Steering Committee commissioned six major research studies:

A scholarly review of charitable giving in Islamic contexts A survey of corporate giving Fifteen case-studies profiling a diverse range of indigenous The first ever national sample survey of individual giving; an overview of citizen-led development efforts in Pakistan; Philanthropy-receiving institutions A study of the current regulatory and fiscal framework for philanthropy in Pakistan

On October 16 and 17 2000, the Steering Committee convened a 'Conference on Indigenous Philanthropy'. This was attended by the President of Pakistan, the Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, His Highness the Aga Khan, leaders and key actors from government, the corporate sector, the citizen sector and media from across Pakistan. Key findings of the Committee were shared with the audience:

·         Practices of “giving” are diverse in scope and massive in scale. Most Pakistanis make charitable donations or volunteer their time each year, reaching an impressive aggregate total of Rs. 70 billion. The bulk of indigenous philanthropy in Pakistan is either provided directly to individuals to alleviate an immediate hardship, or to religious organisations. Yet the attitudes expressed in the survey findings convey confidence that indigenous philanthropy can become a leading source of investment in long-term development. This is especially true since Pakistanis from all backgrounds do give to social organisations, with the likelihood increasing in higher income brackets.

·         There is an extraordinary opportunity for citizens’ organisations working to address social needs to tap the deep impulse and practice of charitable giving and volunteering in Pakistan. But since these organisations - commonly referred to as NGOs - are generally not well-understood, the citizen-led development must seek proactively to commend itself to society at large, to the government, and to its potential Pakistani donors and volunteers. Such an effort would entail new mechanisms for self-regulation to foster greater social legitimacy.Citizens’ organisations would be encouraged to measure and communicate the impact of their work rather than merely describing their activities.

·         The government has already done much to encourage private philanthropy, specifically through generous tax incentives for charitable giving. But public officials and citizens’ organisation leaders do not know each other sufficiently well. There is an opportunity, therefore, to engage in a multi-stakeholder consultative process with the goal of building consensus and confidence in a more enabling environment, particularly with respect to registering and regulating citizens’ organisations.

·       Media should be encouraged and assisted to do more to inform society about citizen-led development – its successes and lessons – as well as to expose abuses of public trust.

·        The business community can and would like to provide more financial and in-kind support for citizen-led development efforts. Business leaders expressed in principle an openness to a developmental and more professional approach to their giving. But they also communicated that they have insufficient experience with private intermediary development agencies – the “NGOs” – to be confident in doing so. International experience shows that establishment of grant-making foundations by corporations and wealthy individuals significantly increases the impact and effectiveness of their giving.

                  
The purpose of the EEI was to provide impetus to the new ‘social compact’ for development. This compact required an able ‘civil society’ effectively helping the government overcome the challenge of poverty and manage public benefit.  

The Initiative was conceived by the Government of Pakistan and implemented by PCP to set the state and civil society, together, on the path towards a facilitative policy, legal and fiscal environment for citizen organizations in Pakistan.  

In September 2001, country-wide consultations (organised under this initiative) led an enquiry on the efficacy of the prevailing regulatory system governing citizen organisations. This was facilitated by a team of eminent national and international experts in law, public policy, development and regulatory frameworks.  

Engaging over 2,200 participants in 65 sessions the process captured the views and recommendations of a broad range of stakeholders on a new enabling framework for the facilitation and protection of civil society organisations. The diverse group included senior decision-makers, media, government representatives, business leaders, funding agencies, research and development organisations, NGOs and NGO coalitions from the federal, provincial and district level. 

A concrete derivative of the consultations was (articulated in) a draft NPO law; the Nonprofit Public Benefit Organisations (Governance and Support) Act, first presented to the government in 2002. Still in its draft form, the Act remains the most comprehensive expression of facilitative regulation for NPOs in Pakistan. 

The EEI process, recommendations and reforms have been compiled in three major PCP publications; 'Towards a Policy for the Nonprofit Citizen Sector', 'Creating an Enabling Legal Framework for Nonprofit Organisations In Pakistan' and 'Stakeholders Perspectives'.





In 2003, PCP took up the challenging task of promoting self-regulation among citizen organisations in Pakistan. The central framework for this took the shape of the Certification regime; developed after extensive review, study of international certification models and consultations with stakeholders. The regime aimed at  setting sector wide standards in organisational effectiveness, providing credibility assurance to donors and enhancing the grant seeking capacities of NPOs. For the  implementation of this regime a Certification Unit was established at PCP. Staffed with a team of well qualified and trained people, the unit been operational since November 2003; it is capable of evaluating 100-120 nonprofit organisations on an annual basis.

In mid 2003, PCP developed a district based proposal to actualise public-private partnerships for promoting quality education. USAID came forward with funds to support the project under its Education Sector Reform Assistance Programme. This effort aims to harness corporate philanthropy to provide the children of remote, marginalised, rural communities better access to quality education. The Centre has taken these partnerships to the districts of Ghotki, Thatta, Faisalabad and recently Kasur.

In 2003, the Centre also initiated two research studies to continue empirical mapping of the philanthropy sector to guide programmes and strategies. The study on the 'Nature and potential of diaspora philanthropy by Pakistanis in the USA' and the study on the 'Nature and scope of corporate philanthropy in Pakistan' are both expected to become publicly available in November 2004.
  
Although there was no further progress on the EEI  in 2003, the proposals for fiscal reform were accepted by the government. Rules and regulations and the Income Tax Ordinance were amended accordingly and a policy statement was made on NPO Certification.

              What were you looking for on this page but did not find? Tell us