Unknown and dormant real estate endowments represent a wasted wealth and a significant economic and social asset that has remained outside the realm of investment and benefit for many years due to the absence of trustees or difficulties in proving the endowment. The " Regulations for Reviving Unknown and Dormant Endowments, " issued by the General Authority for Endowments, came as a pivotal step to address these challenges, liquidating these frozen assets and directing them towards their developmental and social objectives.
The sector's figures highlight the scale of promising opportunities; the Authority's data indicates the registration of over 32,000 endowments, with cumulative deposited profits reaching approximately 1.83 billion riyals by the end of the first half of 2026, benefiting 1,797 endowments. These results reflect the sector's investment strength and its ability to generate returns that encourage inactive endowments to enter the investment cycle and enhance their economic impact, thus granting them sustainability and opening doors for charitable work and good deeds, while the donors serve as positive role models for others.
The regulations did not merely lay the theoretical foundation, but also established innovative operational mechanisms. They specified the sources of funding for whistleblower rewards and permitted borrowing from the surplus income of other endowments, with repayment within five years. Furthermore, they granted trustees a one-year grace period to address any financial difficulties and opened up flexible, Sharia-compliant, and legally approved investment options for them, such as leasing, financing, and merging trustees or assets with existing endowments while preserving the independent legal status of each endowment.
The importance of these regulations lies in the necessity of maximizing the returns of endowments by selecting the most suitable investment instruments, especially after allowing access to the necessary financing. This is done to honor the donors, protect their funds from neglect and loss, and emphasize that endowments are not ownerless assets. We hope that the sector will witness significant activity and extensive discussions through specialized workshops and seminars to activate these endowments and invest them in the best possible ways.
There is also a pressing need to raise awareness and educate community members and developers in the real estate sector about the developmental importance of endowments and their vital role in sustaining giving. This education contributes to establishing a culture of endowment, stimulating innovative real estate partnerships, and building a conscious society that enhances the status of endowment as a fundamental pillar of economic and social stability.
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