The paper explores academic civic engagement for capacity building and the development of sustainable philanthropy through multi-sector partnerships. It analyses the innovative strategies and models for academic engagement in civic work by the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University (IHRLI) and its success in securing the funds necessary to assist in organizational and national capacity building through large-scale partnerships between academic experts, practitioners, and local institutions and organizations in the Middle East. The paper introduces a model for academic institutional engagement in civic development highlighting key elements, such as an institution’s cultural competence, desire for meaningful engagement, and utilizing expertise beyond personal gains to participate in sustainable international public service and global civic capacity building. The model identifies factors that could benefit civic origination within the context of Arab culture, religion, and traditions, and provide the opportunity for academic institutions to enhance academic social responsibility of the institutions, faculty, and students, and build a network of globally engaged, collaborative, and long-term partners. The paper also present the role of academic institutions in bridging the gaps in understanding between various academic, governmental, and non-governmental entities through providing a vehicle to encapsulate and disseminate knowledge, skills, and lessons learned whereby scholarly articles, official documents, and professional briefings are shared.