Mrs. Amal Al Redha Senior Fundraising Manager at Dubai Cares

How did your background in business Administration help you to be where you are now, and where did you PURSUE YOUR STUDIES?

I graduated from Zayed University, and my degree was in Business, but concentrated on Marketing. I believe that my background in Marketing, specifically, has helped me in my fund-raising role. Being where I am today demands to meet with organizations in order to market our cause to them. I tend to use my background in Marketing to be able to sell a very noble cause to organizations and individuals, and this is very challenging, as marketing is mostly dealing with intangibles. I’m aware I am selling a very beautiful, long-term cause. If people invest in it, they would see impact made in lives of millions of beneficiaries, by providing them with access to one of their basic rights, which is education. When I graduated from Zayed University, my first job was Dubai Cares itself. I joined Dubai Cares in 2007, which was the year of inception, when it was launched by His Highness Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum. It was a team of myself and seven other fresh graduates from Zayed University, who basically joined Dubai Cares, and are considered as the first team to actually work on Dubai Cares. Since then, I’ve felt that Dubai Cares is a part of me. I saw it grow in front of my eyes, from just a campaign, to where it is today. It actually started with the goal of reaching 1 million children only, providing them with access to quality primary education, but within eight years we were able to reach over 13 million beneficiaries, in 39 countries around the world. This was only possible because of our leadership, the support that we have received from our leadership, the community of the U.A.E., whether individuals or organizations, and the continuous support that we have received from them. Even though I have a Marketing background and I had started by working in the Marketing Department at Dubai Cares, I was later assigned with the fund- raising job, where I was responsible for achieving financial KPIs by meeting with organizations and collecting funds from them.

Even though it was challenging, I felt that this was what I wanted to do. Whenever I concluded a deal with an organization and secured a long- term partnership, I felt like this was a milestone being achieved. This was the time where I discovered that this is what I want to accomplish for the rest of my career.

In what way do you feel you belong to Dubai Cares, you said it was a part of you?

In every way possible, because I’m very fortunate to be working in a field where you can actually see the impact of the work that you do. Even though I’m based in Dubai, and this is the only Dubai Cares office, and I’m in charge of meeting with organizations individuals and so on to secure partnerships. I still feel that it’s important for me and my team members to go to the field, and see the impact that we are making the lives of these children by securing donations, and this will help send them to school at the end of the day. It’s a field I love working in, because the rewards what I can get from any other sector.

Do you believe Dubai Cares provided you with a career- based opportunity?

Yes, it did, I’ve seen myself grow within this organization, and my knowledge and horizons have expanded, being exposed to the programs that we have launched in these countries, and learning from what we have done is actually helping me a lot. I was there since it’s inception in 2007, I’ve seen it, I’ve been a part of it, I feel that I’ve actually grown with the organization, step by step, from when it was just a campaign, in year 2007, up until now. My goals and responsibilities within the organization have also grown, so I feel like it was an excellent opportunity and I’m very fortunate to have joined Dubai Cares when I was just a fresh graduate at its inception, since I got a chance to see how it actually evolved and reached to where it is today.

Where would you vizualise yourself after 10 years?

I see myself working in an organization that is considered as one of the biggest non-profit organizations in the world, that is very specialized and focused on providing children with access to education, and of course, leading a very significant role in the organization itself.

How would you define leadership?

Leadership is a very broad term. When it comes to us, having the scale of projects that we need to lead, having the financial KPIs, having the number of team members that you need to lead, is very important at the end of the day, and I think that aside from on the job roles and responsibilities that help you develop your leadership skills. I think regardless of where a person reaches within an organization or the position that they reach, they need to focus on continuous professional development. This is why I always try the best I can to always look for what’s out there, in which I can apply for, train and develop my skills, as well as recommend the same training programs, or conferences or forums that my team members as well can attend to.

What does it take to become a leader?

It takes passion. A leader really has to be passionate about what he’s doing. For a leader to be a leader or to reach where they are today, they really need to think that nothing is impossible, and with the passion, dedication and motivation that you have, can be done. As a leader, I think you should not only depend on your team members to do what they entail to do, but you should also be actively involved in your organization or in whatever you’re doing, and pull that with them. You get actively involved, you roll your sleeves and go down to the level of your team members and go and try to accomplish whatever goals you have set for your department or the organization. The more humble, understanding and motivational the leader is, the team looks up to him as a mentor. Each and every member looks up to the leader to see what he has accomplished, and tries to also go on the same path. There is no better leader than we have today, other than His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with where Dubai has reached and where it was a number of years ago, and how he thinks that nothing is impossible, that if you want to do it, it can be done, you just have to figure out the way to do it is very important. I think this mind set is actually very necessary for leaders to take on.

How did you overcome the challenges and graduate from the Elite Leadership Program?

The Elite Leadership Program was an excellent program and we were also the first batch to join that program. The ELP has helped me expand my horizons on the term leadership, and what it entails, and what it would take to become a leader of a certain organization. I was very happy that the networks and the connections that I have made, also throughout the ELP, have helped me a lot with my job. Many participants alongside me supported also the roles that we carried out within Dubai Cares, and they supported our mandate of course. Even having exposure to the professors and the knowledge base that was provided to us was excellent, and I really recommend that anyone who wants to develop their leadership skills further, get a proper certificate from a credible organization, as well. Even though sometimes we get caught up with our jobs and what we have to do on a daily basis, I think it’s very important for each and every individual to spare a little bit of their time, or to spare at least a month to go on such training programs, because it’s very important for them. An individual should not think that even though they’re leading a department, they have all the skills and knowledge needed. I think that people should always keep up with what’s going out there and seek other certifications as well, in addition to what they have already achieved.

What did you have in mind when you said that one should always seek other certifications?

Because my field is very specific, I think fund- raising is a field I’ve worked in for the past 8 years now and I think I’ve been too specialized in the area that I’ve worked in. The second step for me would be seeking certification in non- profit management. Unfortunately our country does not offer any specialized training programs, so maybe seeking abroad certificates would be the next step for me, as well as leading non- profit organizations. Any training program that is more specialized in the development field, in the field that I’m working in.

How would you summarize the fund- raising initiatives you’re leading?

I would summarize them basically being creative and very engaging. Whenever we come up with a concept, when we approach organizations, we don’t just ask them to make a direct donation, but we also try to think of ways in which we could engage the organization, the individual or their staff members in ways that it would make them aware of what they’re donating towards, and also feel that they have made direct impact in some sort of way. Fund- raising is challenging, it’s not a very easy job to do, but at the end of the day it’s very rewarding to know that you have actually secured a long-term partnership that has generated a sustainable revenue streams for you and your organization which will eventually help hundreds or thousands of beneficiaries to gain access to education.

What personal qualities are required in order to lead fund- raising projects?

It would take a lot of passion, patience and dedication to approach organizations, and not all organizations say yes to what you’re proposing. We put a lot of effort to come up with a package that would appeal to the organization, but sometimes it would take us months to secure a partnership, and it’s sometimes frustrating when we are unable to. However, if you’re passionate, dedicated and patient, you will never give up. You will constantly keep trying to raise funds, achieve your mandate at the end of the day. These are the three qualities that are required, in my opinion, for a fund-raiser.

What are your future projects?

Our future projects are endless! We’re very happy that we have a team that always comes up with new projects to propose to the community of the UAE and engage with them in every way possible, so the projects that we come up with would target the education sector if it was schools, the corporate sector, private and public, media institutions, and we also have our Ramadan campaign being launched, which we’re very excited about. Other than that we also have our international projects being launched, so we try our best to expand on the number of programs that we’re launching, just to show people how much of an impact Dubai Cares is making on a local and international level.

How would you describe a typical working day?

I’m a mother of two, so I have breakfast with my family, drop them to school and then come to work. I would start off by meeting with my team members to get an update of what’s going on, and then we would start working. Most of our work as fund- raisers isn’t within the office, but externally, so my team members and I are always out there on the road, meeting with organizations and individuals. I love this part of my job because I’m not the type of person that would prefer sitting behind a desk and doing my job, because I’d rather be out there. I always tell my team that if you want to know if you’re going to achieve your goals and if you’re doing well, just look at the number of meetings that you have scheduled throughout the week, and the number of organizations or individuals that you have met. This will give you an idea of where you’re going, and whether or not there is potential in whatever we’re proposing.

What is a book that you would recommend?

The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, I just read it recently, and it’s amazing. The ideas and things that I’ve learnt from the book are very important, and the number one thing that I learnt is how making connections with people is actually very important. As a fund-raiser, the more connections you make, the more organizations can support or help you advance within your job. Attending events, forums and seminars is very important in establishing and maintaining connections and relationships with these people is very important, in terms of this book that I have read.

What is your motto to live by?

My motto in life is to follow your passion and never give up. I’m very passionate about what I do, and even if I feel that challenges prevent us from reaching to where we want, I never give up because I know that at the end of the day, I’m putting in time and effort for a good cause, which would provide another person the chance to live a better life and gain a better future.

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