Jood Eskan, Saudi Arabia's crowdfunding platform for home ownership, has launched a charitable campaign to raise SR 1 billion in donations during the Holy month of Ramadan. The campaign aims to break the record for the largest amount of online charitable donations raised in a month. Funds raised will support the country's efforts to provide housing for needy Saudi families.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, inaugurated the campaign on the first day of Ramadan by making two generous donations amounting to SR150 million. These initial contributions, given through the Jood Eskan platform, reinforce the leadership’s commitment to supporting all efforts and initiatives that provide housing for needy families.
The Jood Eskan digital platform was launched in 2019 by the National Developmental Housing Foundation (Sakan), a non-profit arm of the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing. The platform collects donations and provides services and financial contributions to eligible and registered families, including rent and home ownership.
Titled ‘Ever-Green Stock,’ Jood Eskan’s charitable campaign is an IPO simulation that targets Saudi Arabia's most prominent corporations, institutions, and individuals. Inspired by the financial stock markets, the creative fundraising campaign recreates the IPO model by “selling stocks” through goodwill and charitable contributions to encourage community members and private sector players to "invest" in public.
The ‘Ever-Green Stock' campaign offers 100 million stocks at 10 Saudi Riyals per share and is designed to raise awareness of the importance of investing in community-driven social initiatives.
Commenting on the campaign HE Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail said, “This year’s Ramadan campaign serves as a reminder to the Kingdom that the best investment that people and businesses can make is in the welfare of their communities. The SR 1 billion raised this month will support approximately 3,500 families in need.”
Several partners in the public and private sectors are supporting the campaign through this innovative model in the non-profit sector, such as the General Authority of Awqaf, the National Housing Company, Al-Rajhi Bank, stc group, mbc group, Al-Arabiya channel, Ajlan & Brothers Group, Sumou Real Estate Company, Khuzam Real Estate Company, and Al-Arabiya Outdoor Solutions Provider.
The collaboration between the public and private sectors demonstrates the Kingdom’s commitment to social responsibility and community development. Jood Eskan's total number of beneficiaries has exceeded 36,500 individuals, including home purchase support for 3,000 families and rent support for over 5,000 families. Since its launching, the platform has registered 4.4 million donors and 300 partner associations and NGOs, contributing to SR 1,300,466,945 in donations.
Jood Eskan is a key pillar in achieving the Vision 2030 housing program goal of providing affordable housing to needy Saudi families. Objectives under the program include increasing homeownership rates from 47% in 2017 to 70% by 2030, improving housing quality, and enhancing the housing sector’s contribution to the economy.
