Dubai Government’s new regulation on volunteering has imposed strict laws

Laws dealing with voluntary work, charities and fundraising have been imposed to create a database for the sake of records and to prevent frauds.

Community Development Authority must be contacted

Voluntary work cannot be conducted without contacting Dubai’s Community Development Authority. It’s mandatory to contact them prior to any form of voluntary work. They also launched the ‘Dubai Volunteering Program’ managing volunteering services across the country and invite UAE citizens and residents to help support the community.

Dubai Volunteer Program creates ongoing volunteering opportunities to the community by coordinating with various governmental, nonprofit and private institutions in Dubai#volunteer pic.twitter.com/ub7u4b67sK

— CDA Dubai (@CDA_Dubai) April 8, 2018

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Fundraising cannot be done independently

Only through a charitable organization registered with the Ministry of Development, fundraising can be conducted. There are 26 charity organizations across the country and notable ones include Dubai Cares and Dar Al Ber society. UAE nationals can set up charitable organizations while residents’ applications will be based on a case-to-case basis by the Ministry of Community Development.

Unauthorized fundraising can lead to hefty fines and imprisonment

Fundraising without any permit can lead to a fine of 100,000 dhs and one year in jail while collecting donations via internet or through a website can lead to a fine between 250,00-500,00 dhs. Two years ago, an expatriate was faced with a hefty fine for using Facebook to collect donations for a charity organization based in the US for refugees in Afghanistan.

Laws on volunteerism in UAE has been approved. For more information, go to www.mocd.gov.ae.