Looking for new ways to inspire the ummah to give zakat to your Islamic organization? Keep reading to discover fresh zakat fundraising ideas, plus helpful information about zakat eligibility.
Zakat is a fundamental pillar of the Islamic faith. Zakat fundraising can help eligible Islamic organizations secure more funds to fulfill their mission and continue to help the less fortunate.
In this article, we’ll share helpful zakat fundraising tips, plus information on what it is and how to ensure your Islamic organization is eligible to accept zakat.
Let’s get started!
Muslims often donate zakat to trustworthy Islamic organizations that redistribute funds to the poor and needy.
Here are five fundraising tips you can use to engage the ummah to give zakat faithfully this Ramadan and beyond.
Running a Facebook campaign during Ramadan can keep your supporters updated with the progress of your zakat fundraising – and help you secure additional donations!
If you’re holding or getting involved in zakat-related events, you can create Facebook events to help promote them. Ask your supporters to confirm their attendance at these events. This helps promote your Facebook event among their followers and maximizes your outreach.
For more tips, check out our blog post for tips on how to promote your nonprofit on Facebook.
As part of your Facebook promotion during Ramadan, you can highlight the impact of last year’s donations. Zakat donors are more likely to give if they can see how their contributions will benefit people less fortunate than themselves.
You can also do this across other social media channels and in your email and direct mail communications with your donors.
Create a donation page deedicated to zakat and include pre-set suggested amounts for zakat donors to give. Include a zakat calculator on your donation page to help your donors calculate the value of zakat they owe, ensuring the ummah can give zakat faithfully.
Bonus resource: Here are some best practices for donation pages to help you get started!
With Donorbox, you can reach more donors and give your zakat fundraisers more impact. The ummah can quickly and easily pay zakat in just a few clicks through compelling, secure, and effective donation pages. Our donation forms are fully customizable and accessible to all. You can easily create a donation form and use a Donorbox-hosted donation page to accept zakat donations.
Check out this example of a zakat donation page. We love how they’ve included helpful frequently asked questions and a zakat calculator to assist donors looking to give zakat.
Bonus resource: Here are some great Ramadan fundraising ideas and tips to inspire more generosity during the Holy Month.
Give your zakat-specific fundraising campaign a boost by turning it into a peer-to-peer campaign. Ask your supporters to create their own fundraising pages under your main campaign and reach out to their networks (those who are eligible) to give zakat. This boosts your campaign outreach and helps you secure more donations while reaching more donors.
Donorbox Peer-to-Peer helps you easily turn a simple fundraising campaign into a peer-to-peer one. You can invite supporters from the tool to create their own fundraising pages and raise donations for your organization.
See how a supporter is helping International Aid Charity raise more zakat donations to assist with disaster relief in Turkey and Syria:
Your Islamic charity or mosque can set up a donation kiosk to accept cashless donations on location or at events. This makes in-person giving quick and convenient for the ummah. Visitors and supporters rarely carry cash on hand, so having a giving kiosk makes it easy for the ummah to give zakat easily during Ramadan and Eid.
Donorbox Live™ Kiosk helps you quickly set up a donation kiosk. All you need are an iPad or Android tablet and a card reader device, or an Android smartphone if using our Tap-to-Pay feature. The app will easily turn your tablet or Android smartphone into a donation kiosk and allow donors to use their credit/debit cards or digital wallets to make a swift donation.
Sign Up for Donorbox Live™ Kiosk!
Zakat donations can’t be used for any purpose you choose — your work needs to be connected to causes such as helping the poor or debt-ridden people. If zakat donations are used for purposes outside of this, your donors will lose trust in your organization.
Muslims who are zakat-eligible need to be sure that their donations are being used to help the poor and needy. That’s why your fundraiser needs to gain their trust.
Here’s how to inspire trust with your zakat fundraiser:
Pro tip: Run an email campaign during Ramadan. Inform your previous donors via email about the impact of their zakat in the last year. You can showcase exactly where and how the donations were distributed in the previous year(s) and what you were able to do with these funds. Statistics and reports are a great way to do this.
Don’t forget to include a strong and compelling Islamic fundraising message to move the ummah to give towards your campaign.
Not every charitable organization is eligible to collect zakat donations. The Holy Quran sets well-defined limits on zakat-al-mal (alms on wealth) across the three phases involved, namely the assessment, collection, and distribution of zakat among eligible recipients.
Islamic organizations that are zakat-eligible can only distribute zakat donations among eight types of recipients. These types include:
If your organization does not support one of the above recipients, you will not be eligible to accept zakat.
Zakat can only be spent on the welfare of people. If your organization focuses on animal welfare, you cannot use zakat for this purpose. Similarly, zakat cannot be used on construction projects or capital investments. However, some scholars believe that zakat can be spent on the construction of a masjid, as this is for the cause of Allah.
Pro tip: Your Islamic organization needs to allocate separate channels for the collection, usage, and distribution of zakat funds – it cannot be combined with other donations or resources. Be sure to establish an active zakat donation and distribution policy and train all staff members who will be managing zakat funds so they understand the rules.
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and is mandatory for all Muslims whose wealth exceeds the nisab threshold value (based on the market value of gold) within one lunar year. By giving 2.5% of their excess wealth to the poor and needy, Muslims can begin to purify themselves.
Zakat is different from zakat al-fitr, and is based on the idea that wealth is something to be grateful for and not to be taken for granted. Muslims who earn above a set amount (defined by the market value of nisab) are responsible for helping redistribute wealth to those who have little or none.
By donating zakat, Muslims can practice humility, have a stronger connection with their faith, and give back to the less fortunate.
Unlike sadaqah (voluntary charity), zakat is more restrictive about what it’s used for and applies to Muslims who meet or exceed the nisab threshold. Accepting zakat donations means your organization will need to use the funds appropriately.
Muslims who don’t qualify for paying zakat may pay sadaqah. Since it’s a voluntary payment and not an obligation, your organization often has more freedom in how to use sadaqah contributions.
Sadaqah doesn’t always apply to financial donations. Many Muslims will give sadaqah through volunteering and acts of kindness. Muslim supporters may, therefore, look to get involved with your organization beyond donations – equally as important to help you raise more funds!
Zakat is an important and often underrated fundraising opportunity for eligible Islamic organizations. There are many ways to inspire generosity and allow the ummah to give zakat to your Muslim charity, so you can continue to do more good.
Here at Donorbox, we’re passionate about supporting the more than 100,000 organizations – including Islamic charities – that have trusted us to help them raise over $3 billion in donations.
Sign up today to start fundraising and assist the ummah. For more helpful resources and fundraising tips, visit our Nonprofit Blog and YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter for a curated list of fundraising ideas and tips sent straight to your inbox!
Sally Aquire is a copywriter with a background in crafting communications and fundraising for a women's center. She writes about fundraising, nonprofit management, and wellness initiatives.
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Sally Aquire