CDA rolls out third phase of Ethraa initiative for Dubai's non-profit organisations

Dubai: Dubai's non-profit organisations are gearing up for another round of assessments as the Community Development Authority (CDA) officially launched the third phase of its flagship Ethraa (Enrichment) initiative, a programme aimed at helping charities and civil society organisations become more sustainable, better governed, and more effective in serving the community.

The initiative forms part of Dubai's efforts to build a high-impact third sector in line with the Dubai Social Agenda 33, which places strong emphasis on strengthening social development and improving quality of life.

This year's cycle will see 144 organisations, supervised by the CDA, participate in the institutional development programme. They include 119 licensed organisations and 25 entities established by decrees. Conducted in partnership with the Dubai Quality Group, the assessments will measure organisations against governance, administrative, technical, and financial standards designed to promote institutional excellence.

Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, director general of the CDA, has noted that the latest phase reflects Dubai's vision of placing people and community wellbeing at the centre of development.

“The launch of Phase 3 of ‘Ethraa’ fully reflects the vision of our wise leadership, which consistently puts human empowerment and social cohesion at the forefront of Dubai's priorities,” remarked Buhumaid.

“Our ultimate core priority is building and empowering a high-impact third sector ecosystem through qualitative initiatives that foster an enabling and stimulating environment for non-profit entities. By doing so, we ensure they become highly sustainable strategic partners, driving comprehensive development, and reinforcing Dubai's position as a global benchmark for institutionalised social work and exceptional quality of life.”

According to the CDA, the initiative evaluates organisations across three core pillars, institutional empowerment and governance, human and social capital sustainability, and performance excellence.

While organisations will compete for Gold, Silver, and Bronze recognition under the Ethraa Excellence Awards, sector leaders have bared that the programme is valued as much for the improvements it encourages as for the awards themselves.

Dr. Ahmed Al Hashemi, CEO of the social regulation and services sector at the CDA, has described the third phase as an important milestone in strengthening the sector's capabilities.

“Phase 3 of ‘Ethraa’ marks a qualitative leap in our operational, financial and technical empowerment of the third sector. We are focusing on embedding institutional excellence as a sustainable work culture,” shared Al Hashemi.

He has mentioned that the orientation workshop held at Al Khawaneej Majlis on July 21, attended by more than 200 leaders from the sector, demonstrated the community's readiness to adopt advanced practices and improve organisational performance.

The evaluation process will continue over the coming months, with the Ethraa Excellence Awards scheduled to take place in November, when organisations will be recognised for their achievements. Previous editions have seen the number of winning organisations increase from 25 to 30.

Among the organisations returning this year is Pakistan Association Dubai, which has won Gold in the previous cycle and is now aiming to improve its performance even further.

Khalid Imtiaz, joint secretary of Pakistan Association Dubai, has highlighted that the initiative provides an opportunity to continually strengthen the organisation.

“The most important thing that motivates us always is we are always looking to improving and innovating. It gives us a platform to do that, not only to show our performance but also help us improve,” Imtiaz told Gulf News.

“One of the things that we have long term is to be a very sustainable organisation in terms of the welfare projects that we do. That is why it is very important to be associated with this programme and be part of this platform.”

Healthcare has remains one of the association's largest community initiatives.

“We are involved aggressively in healthcare, providing affordable and free healthcare to deserving patients. 75 percent of them are welfare patients. Since 2020, we have catered to more than 200,000 patients, spending around Dh32 million on healthcare. That is what we bring to the table.” 

He added, “Last cycle, we received Gold and we want to improve even further. We want to score even higher.”

For AKCAF Association, an organisation with members from various college alumni from over a 100 colleges in Kerala, India, the third cycle has presented a fresh opportunity after the group was unable to complete its submission last year.

“Last year, we couldn't participate properly because the presentation was not done in time because there was too much activity,” recalled Paul Joseph, president of AKCAF Association.

“This year, we are actively participating and we have great enthusiasm because the recognition is coming from the government. We are so proud and we want to achieve Gold this year.”

Joseph has bared that the award is also a reminder of the responsibility community organisations have towards the UAE.

“We are working for that and we have a huge battalion behind us. We are in this position because of the great rulers of this country, so we have a responsibility to give back to society.”

The Filipino Social Club, which has received Platinum in the first cycle, is also among the organisations participating this year.

Christian Belleza, secretary of the Filipino Social Club, has pointed out that serving the community remains the organisation's primary motivation.

“We are motivated because we are doing all these for the people and the community as long as we can help, not only for Filipinos but also for other nationalities who need support,” exclaimed Belleza.

“We are doing this voluntarily. In the first cycle, we won the Platinum and this year we are going to submit based on their criteria.”

Belleza has emphasised that the group's humanitarian work is driven by commitment rather than competition.

“We are doing this regularly, we are doing voluntary humanitarian work and it's done naturally. We are positive that we can achieve more and be part of Ethraa's third cycle.”

As organisations prepare for the November awards, many see the programme as more than a competition. For them, Ithraa has become a benchmark for measuring impact, strengthening governance, and ensuring that the services they provide today can continue to benefit communities across Dubai for years to come.