Donations made during Ramadan bring multiplied blessings upon the giver, making this the perfect time for your masjid or Islamic charity to fundraise. In this article, I'll share 10 Ramadan fundraising tips and ideas to help you raise more.
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As one of the five pillars of Islam, fasting during Ramadan is accompanied by increased spiritual reflection, worship, and acts of charity.
In this article, I’ll provide 10 Ramadan fundraising tips and ideas to help your organization reach out to the ummah during this special time of giving back.
Because of the multiplied blessings of giving during the Holy Month, nearly 70% of Muslims give zakat during Ramadan.
Zakat requires Muslims to pay 2.5% of their qualifying wealth to those in need. During Ramadan, a special form of charitable giving called zakat al-fitr must be paid before the Eid prayer on the final day of Ramadan. Paying zakat al-fitr enables the poor to join in the special Eid celebrations following Ramadan.
This increased time of charitable giving provides a significant opportunity to raise more for your cause, so you can continue serving your community.
Below, I’ll share 10 excellent ways to increase your fundraising during Ramadan. For a more in-depth look at Ramadan donation types, check out this blog post.
Having a donation landing page dedicated to your Ramadan fundraising campaign helps increase the chances of reaching your fundraising goals.
Make sure your landing page is simple yet compelling, so it convinces the ummah to give to your organization this Ramadan. Brand your donation page and include a powerful call to action that lets people know what action to take. And set up sharing links so anyone can easily share it with their loved ones on social media.
Use a fundraising platform like Donorbox that allows you to create unlimited, customizable fundraising pages. Your page should include a beautifully branded donation form with various quick payment options to increase conversions and appeal to different donors.
Add your fundraising story, along with attractive visuals, a goal meter, a donor wall, and more.
Check out this example by the Qalam Institute. They raised over $1 million for their Ramadan campaign created on Donorbox.
Start a Ramadan Fundraising Campaign
Zakat is a duty of every Muslim if their personal wealth is above the nisab or the threshold, which is based on the current value of gold or silver.
To increase the number of donations you receive this Ramadan, make it easy for the ummah to donate by embedding or linking a zakat calculator on your donation page. Go the extra mile by linking specific program outcomes to different giving levels.
For example: “$250 can help a family in the Philippines start a small business” or “$50 will provide 10 girls with a month’s worth of sanitary products”
Pro tip: Your online Ramadan donation page will probably be seen by supporters who want to make a general donation. Ensure your page allows them to make a non-zakat donation in response to an appeal by including donation designations.
Look at this online campaign from The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland that urges people to come forward and pay their zakat. The campaign content also precisely explains the calculation of the nisab, making it easy to understand a complex topic.
Sadaqah, or charity, can also be an act, so giving volunteers the opportunity to donate their time during the Holy Month can help multiply their blessings.
Host an event related to your cause or serving the local community. Volunteers can bring passion and fresh energy to your cause. They can also share expertise that you don’t currently have on hand, so consider Ramadan a time to benefit from talented individuals who want to support you.
Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and often invites the ummah to break their fast together. Iftar is taken just after the call to prayer Maghrib, which is around sunset. As a community tradition, iftars are perfect for fundraising.
Here are some tips to make your iftar a success:
For example, the Muslim Association of Puget Sound sold tickets to their women’s iftar using Donorbox Events. Their iftar included a thought-provoking discussion to encourage attendance.
Pro tip: Set up donation kiosks throughout the venue so guests who feel extra generous can make additional donations using debit/credit cards and digital wallets.
Set Up Your Iftar Fundraising Tools
Invite your supporters to participate by donating items needed by those in your community.
Encourage closet cleanouts and collect in-kind donations of coats or warm clothes for those struggling with poverty during the winter months. Or ask supporters to clean out their pantries and share canned goods – another sacred requirement of Ramadan.
Alternatively, create a crowdfunding campaign to ask your community for financial donations that will help you reach certain goals.
The Thorncliffe Park Autism Support Network ran a Ramadan meal drive for vulnerable families in their community. They raised a significant amount of funds and utilized the updates feature to announce an exciting partnership with a local grocery store.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is one of the best Ramadan fundraising ideas to acquire new donors, increase donations, and directly involve supporters in your cause. Supporters can appeal to people you might not otherwise have reached, and their campaigns have social proof.
Encourage your biggest supporters, including donors and volunteers, to help you raise more money during Ramadan through peer-to-peer fundraising.
Choose a powerful online tool like Donorbox Peer-to-Peer to streamline this process. Invite supporters from your Donorbox account and help them fundraise with their own customized fundraising pages. Peer-to-peer fundraising ensures your campaign outreach is multiplied through your volunteers’ networks and increases donations through their support.
See how International Aid Charity raised more than $300,000 with their campaign, enabling peer-to-peer to amplify their reach and bring in more crucial donations.
Install a donation kiosk at the location of your Islamic charity or masjid, as well as during live events. Since most people don’t carry cash on hand, donation kiosks make cashless in-person giving convenient during Ramadan.
The Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app turns your tablet and Android smartphone into a powerful in-person donation magnet (coming soon to iOS). Donors can give swiftly using credit/debit cards and digital wallets. They can also share their contact information, allowing you to build lasting relationships for years to come.
Sign Up for Donorbox Live™ Kiosk
Donation-matching campaigns significantly multiply your impact during Ramadan. Seek out community partners or sponsors interested in supporting your cause and see if they’re willing to put up a matching gift incentive to maximize donations.
Additionally, employers often offer their employees a matching gift incentive to encourage charitable giving. Sometimes, they even extend their matching program to include donations made by an employee’s spouse or retired employees.
Donorbox’s partnership with Double the Donation, the leading corporate matching company, gives your donors the best employer-matching experience. Enable donation matching for a campaign and add the search widget to your donation form so donors can easily search for their employers. If they’re eligible for a matching gift, they’ll receive an email with instructions to claim their match.
Amplify your impact this Ramadan by setting up matching gift campaigns.
Video appeals and storytelling videos are a powerful tool for fundraising and driving traffic to your campaigns. 95% of marketers agree that video content engages audiences better than other types of content, creating more opportunities for connection.
Create a storytelling video to show your donors who they’ll be helping and what their money will be going towards. If you have the resources, hire a professional videographer to create a video including your beneficiaries and share it on social media to amplify your return on investment.
Pro tip: Maximize the impact of video by using it as an ongoing means of communication, not just a one-off project.
Check out this live example of a crowdfunding campaign on Donorbox, which includes a touching video of people who require support.
Contribution request letters can be an exceptionally effective tactic for Ramadan fundraising. Research prospects beforehand so your outreach is as effective as possible.
Make your contribution request letters personal and meaningful and try to write them by hand, if possible. Handwritten letters show your potential donors that you appreciate them enough to invest time in them.
In cases when it’s not realistic to handwrite every single letter, reproduce the handwritten letter and then distribute it.
Pro tip: Send sponsorship request letters to businesses and corporations to develop or form important partnerships in your community.
Watch our webinar with Sarah Ali, Executive Director of the Muslim Philanthropy Network, to discover key fundraising strategies to help you double your donations this Ramadan.
Giving zakat and sadaqah during Ramadan multiplies blessings upon the giver. This time of increased charity is the perfect opportunity for your Islamic organization to increase funds and elevate your impact.
I hope these Ramadan fundraising tips and ideas help you raise more during this month and beyond.
Donorbox is here to empower you with powerful fundraising features. Sign up to start fundraising in minutes.
Discover more fundraising ideas and tips, best practices, and free resources on the Nonprofit Blog.
Raviraj heads the sales and marketing team at Donorbox. His growth-hacking abilities have helped Donorbox boost fundraising efforts for thousands of nonprofit organizations.
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