Qatar Charity has launched a new electronic donation system at a special ceremony inaugurated by HE the Minister of Social Affairs Abdullah bin Nasser al-Hemaidi.

The ceremony was also attended by QC’s CEO Yousef bin Ahmed al-Kuwari, Brigadier-General Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Ansari, director of Logistics Department at the Ministry of the Interior, and Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mulla, director of the Department of Private Associations and Institutions at the Ministry of Social Affairs, besides a number of QC officials.

The system was launched to provide potential donors with more choice, allowing them to choose a country, browse through QC projects and choose exactly where they wish to donate and how much. Donations can be made in a number of ways, including donating via automated coupons, SMS, e-mail or smart phone.

The system also links QC to 64 co-operating organisations in over 30 countries, and allows access to follow-up QC database of the organisation, enabling communication with overseas offices and national branches and increasing transparency and ease of operation.

“What we have inaugurated today at Qatar Charity is an important step that will reflect positively on the professional performance of the charity, its supporters and beneficiaries, and I hope that the Qatari society interacts with this new tool which will facilitate easier donation and allow donors to follow-up and see the effects of their donations,” al-Hemaidi said.

“This new software comes within the framework of the continuous development of Qatar Charity which constantly seeks to provide the best in the field of philanthropy in order to keep up with the latest technology,” al-Kuwari said.

The new e-system includes: My Automatic Coupon, an electronic device placed at the cash desk of shopping centres, hypermarkets and malls, allowing donations of differing amounts to be made to various projects. Once customers complete their shopping, the cashier deducts the amount to be donated (in cash or by credit card) by entering the coupon code.

Automated donation system, which allows the donor to make automatic donations either by cash or bank card and is available in a number of locations.

E-donation, which allows users to connect directly to a QC database, select a project, make an immediate donation and receive follow-up information.

Donate via SMS: This service is provided by Qtel and allows users to donate QR25 by sending an SMS to 92133, to 92632 to donate QR50 and to 92642 to donate QR100. Vodafone customers can text 97790 to donate QR10.

“Donations” website: Visitors to the QC website www.qcharity.org can donate by clicking the ‘Donate Here’ link. The site provides complete access to QC’s current campaigns and projects and allows users to choose which project they would like to donate to and how much they wish to donate.

Al-Ansari said that the new systems would reduce years’ worth of work to months.
“This will leave a clear imprint on charitable work in our country, and encourages donors, who want to know everything about the projects they wish to donate to,” al-Ansari said.

Al-Mulla explained that this electronic connectivity would be tested for a number of months in order to fully assess and improve it before it was circulated to other charities and institutions.