In Islam, Sadaqah is a powerful, righteous gift that does a lot of good in the community. But knowing what counts as Sadaqah is sometimes tricky. Plus, in our increasingly cashless world, Islamic charities are struggling to collect more Sadaqah. In this article, we'll cover the ins and outs of this holy type of giving, as well as eight ways Islamic charities and mosques can collect Sadaqah online.
In the last six years, over 6 million people have benefited from Zakat or Sadaqah gifts. These important donations fund programs for poor, sick, and needy people.
But what is Sadaqah in Islam? What does it mean and why is it important?
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of Sadaqah, including the importance of Sadaqah in the Quran and ways your Islamic charity can accept Sadaqah gifts online.
We’ll also give you tips to inspire more Sadaqah giving – and even cover some frequently asked questions!
Let’s get started.
Sadaqah is an act of charity in Islam. Instead of obligation, someone gives Sadaqah out of the goodness of their heart, without any expectation of gaining something in return.
Types of Sadaqah include –
These holy gifts can help your Islamic charity grow so you can bring God and goodness to more people in your community.
In our modern world, many mosques are turning to online fundraising to offer easy, secure ways for donors to give Sadaqah. Donorbox has tons of tools to help masjids collect more donations, including more Sadaqah to help them grow and create new programming.
Check out how this foundation uses a designated donation form to collect Sadaqah to help the poor and needy –
Unlike Zakat, which is an annual obligation to give to support the Islamic community, Sadaqah is completely voluntary.
It also erases both known and unknown sins. In the Quran, the prophet says – “Sadaqah extinguishes sins like water extinguishes fire.”
So giving Sadaqah regularly helps Muslims stay on the path to being rewarded in the afterlife.
This is why many choose to give to charity regularly through recurring donations. Giving Sadaqah regularly ensures that sins will continue to be erased – and it helps do more good!
Plus, most donors can give a larger sum over time than they can through a one-time Sadaqah.
Sadaqah donations are so important for masjids and charities. Here are eight ways to accept these vital donations online. Looking for more ideas? Check out these 17 ways to raise more for your Islamic charity!
Your first step toward collecting more Sadaqah online is to set up an impactful donation form or fundraising page.
Donorbox makes building your online donation form easy. To get started, you can –
Once you’re satisfied with your donation form, embed it on your website or host it on Donorbox.
Check out our video on donation form best practices to get you started –
Not relying only on cash or check donations will significantly boost the amount of Sadaqah your masjid or nonprofit collects. And the option for donors to cover the fee on Donorbox donation forms means you see even more of each Sadaqah gift.
Plus, with Donorbox QuickDonate™, donors can quickly give again by choosing to save their information for their one-time donation. Then, they can repeat their gift in one click!
The more you collect, the more you can help the needy in your community with aid programs and educational outreach.
As we mentioned above, recurring donations – meaning giving at a regular interval – is a fantastic option for collecting Sadaqah.
With Donorbox, you can choose up to four donation intervals for your form. You can also select the default interval and the recommended interval, which gets marked with a heart.
We love how Dar-us-Salaam used Donorbox to encourage worshippers to automate their Sadaqah for the end of Ramadan. This holy time brings blessings back multiplied, so it was so smart of them to make it as easy as possible to give!
“Daily” was the only interval they included on their form so donors could easily sign up to give each day.
Recurring donations are great for big projects like building a home for at-risk youth. Asking your donors to give Sadaqah on a regular basis can also help support ongoing initiatives, like providing food to a shelter.
Recurring giving can also help you raise more over time since recurring donors give 42% more per year than one-time donors.
Once you have an attractive donation form set up online, you can think about exciting ways to connect your donors with it.
Text-to-give is a modern option that uses a tool almost everyone has in their pocket – their smartphone!
With Donorbox Text-to-Give, the process is super simple. You can enable the feature on any campaign. Then simply share your campaign code and the text-to-give number with your donors. All they have to do is text the code to the number and they’ll receive a link to your donation form.
Text-to-give encourages more spontaneous giving because donors can easily give online via their smartphones. This makes it ideal for fundraising during events and before or after prayer.
Since Donorbox donation forms like this one are mobile-friendly, your donors have a pleasant experience giving their Sadaqah. Here’s what it looks like on mobile –
Text-to-give also helps fundraise quickly for crises like natural disasters, since it’s so easy to swiftly direct people to your fundraising page.
Another great option for collecting online Sadaqah in person is with a donation kiosk. This tool allows you to accept payments via cards, smartphones, and smartwatches.
The Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app helps you turn a tablet and card reader into a powerful fundraising tool. Simply download the app onto your tablet, connect your card reader, and start collecting in-person Sadaqah gifts.
For a more in-depth look, check out our guide to masjid donation kiosks!
Similar to a donation box, a donation kiosk helps your mosque collect Sadaqah toward a specific cause or issue. The key difference, however, is that donors do not need cash or a check to donate via a kiosk!
Donation kiosks also help collect Fidyah and Kaffarah if your mosque hosts regular Iftar during Ramadan.
Crowdfunding harnesses the power of the crowd to raise more money for a specific goal. These campaigns rely on smaller donations from more people to have a big impact.
Donorbox Crowdfunding pages have tons of features that drive more people to give –
Crowdfunding is a great opportunity for Sadaqah to go even further!
Mosques and Islamic charities use crowdfunding to support charitable projects, just like The Eyes of Light did during Ramadan. Their campaign to raise money for their boarding house raised over €6,000 with just 153 donations.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is just what it sounds like – supporters fundraising for your charity by asking their peers for Sadaqah. This way, campaigns reach a wider network of potential supporters and can raise more money for important causes.
Donorbox Peer-to-Peer can be enabled on your crowdfunding or fundraising pages to help boost your fundraising. You can choose whether you’d like to invite supporters to create their own fundraising pages via email or if you’d like anyone to be able to fundraise for you. All funds raised flow back to your original campaign.
For example, check out how MACA used Donorbox to raise nearly $100,000 to install solar panels on their mosque. They enabled peer-to-peer and allowed anyone to fundraise on their behalf –
Launch Your Peer-to-Peer Campaign
Peer-to-peer is a great way to connect with new members of the community who might be interested in joining your mosque or supporting your charity.
Plus, someone choosing to fundraise on your behalf is an act of Sadaqah! So if they aren’t able to give financially, they can help through this generous act of service.
QR codes are a great tool to help you collect Sadaqah online.
All someone has to do is scan the code with their smartphone and access your online donation form. This is a streamlined way to collect Sadaqah in person, through direct mail, on fliers, and more.
Donorbox makes it super easy – a free QR code is generated with every campaign. All you have to do is download it.
Easier online giving means more Sadaqah given to your mosque or Islamic charity. QR codes are great for fundraising for specific issues and causes, since donors will feel more motivated to give and can do so right away.
Donorbox Events makes it easy to sell tickets for your masjid or charity event.
However, since the purchaser gets to attend your event in return, purchasing a ticket does not count as Sadaqah. But with Donorbox Events, you can allow ticket purchasers to include an additional donation with their ticket purchase – which can count as Sadaqah.
Here’s what it looks like –
Often, mosques and Islamic charities host fundraising events to raise money for one of their initiatives, like caring for the sick. Adding the opportunity to give Sadaqah on top of the tickets purchased boosts fundraising for those initiatives – and leads to even more good!
Now that you know some useful tools to collect Sadaqah online, here are three pro tips to inspire even more giving.
Donor management is a great tool to help you sharpen your outreach. For example, Donorbox’s donor management tool lets you filter your supporters by things like campaign and donation type. This way, you can reach out to supporters who are more likely to give Sadaqah for certain campaigns.
According to the Quran, good deeds are multiplied by 70 during Ramadan. So this is a great time to encourage more Sadaqah gifts!
It’s an ideal time to launch a crowdfunding campaign, like UKeff did with this Donorbox campaign that raised almost €3,000 with 97 donations to help new members of their community prepare for Ramadan –
Check out our article on fundraising during Ramadan for more ideas and tips!
We know how powerful storytelling is for fundraising because it connects people with causes and encourages more generosity. Since Sadaqah is an act of selfless generosity, storytelling can really inspire people to give more to your masjid’s initiative.
Watch our webinar “‘Story Telling’ to Build Your Nonprofit’s Charisma and Impact” for tips on how to harness this important strategy –
Those who give or perform Sadaqah are righteous – they are following the path set by Allah and expect nothing in return. Each act erases their sins and brings them closer to God.
Mosques and Islamic charities are turning to online fundraising to collect more Sadaqah gifts for their causes, but it’s important to use as many powerful tools as possible to make that collection smooth and easy.
Donorbox is here to help with streamlined, user-friendly tools to harness every type of donation your Islamic charity needs.
We also offer tons of resources like how-to guides on our blog, downloadables in our library, expert opinions on our podcast, and regular webinars. Plus, Donorbox Academy has a free onboarding class to get you started with Donorbox!
Sign up today and start accepting Sadaqah online in minutes!
While giving Sadaqah isn’t bound to any specific time, any good deed committed during Ramadan is multiplied and sent back to the doer by 70. So giving Sadaqah during Ramadan provides great returns for donors.
Zakat is an obligatory payment for anyone who meets the Nisab. This payment can only be used for eight permissible causes, ranging from providing for the impoverished to rewarding those advocating for Allah.
Sadaqah, on the other hand, is completely voluntary. It’s an act of righteousness that doesn’t always have to be a monetary donation. Sadaqah can also be spent on causes outside of the eight restricted causes of Zakat.
No – Sadaqah is a voluntary, righteous gift or act. It is given without the expectation of anything in return.
The Quran suggests that giving Sadaqah is one of the most important holy acts. Here are some quotes to consider –
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower