July/August 2023

According to the 2021 Muslim American Giving Study by the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, it has become an American Muslim tradition to give more during Ramadan. This is when acts of goodness like charity are emphasized, and compassion toward people in need shines as the strongest motivation. 

Muslims believe they get rewarded manifold for their donations in Ramadan. Many Muslims also pay their annual zakat during Ramadan. 

Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: Allah’s Messenger, (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was the most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur’an. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was the most generous person, even more generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (in readiness and haste to do charitable deeds). (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 6)

So how does that affect the sustainability of Muslim nonprofits outside of Islam’s holiest month?

A Transactional to Interactional Approach

Houston resident Afshan Malik is the Director of Development for Rabata (www.rabata.org), a global non-profit organization dedicated to Muslim women and children’s education, spirituality, and community. She holds a Masters in Nonprofit Management and is a certified fundraising manager through the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Although she leads a successful Ramadan campaign for Rabata that has been exceeding its goal for the last five years, Malik shares the importance of having a diverse stream of revenue throughout the year.

“As an organization, we use best practice methods, always paying attention to what’s happening in the fundraising world for nonprofits,” Malik said. “Fundraising as a practice in a Muslim environment is spiritually connected, and as nonprofit professionals, we must really respect individuals’ contributions, whether it’s a dollar or a thousand dollars.”

Rabata has many arms such as its academic institute, publishing press, virtual mosque, and a bookstore and cultural center at its headquarters in Arden Hills, Minn. Throughout the year, they receive donations through many avenues like monthly donors, project-focused fundraising campaigns, educational workshops, and grants. 

“It’s risky to be dependent on just one source of revenue, and we don’t have a culture yet of just limiting our fundraising to annual galas or events,” Malik says. “We have reached over 9,000 students in over 60 countries since our inception in 2012, and we focus on teaching community building and being a resource for positive cultural change through faith.”

Dr. Shariq Siddiqui from Plainfield, Indiana, is an Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies and Director of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He states that those organizations that create year-round fundraising practice need a strategy of stewardship, cultivation, engagement, and solicitation.

“This is what we teach in our fundraising school,” notes Dr. Siddiqui, who teaches and trains in the science of fundraising and how to do it professionally and systematically. “Muslim nonprofits largely raise funds in Ramadan, Dhul-Hijjah, and at the end of year. If you think about the data, Muslim donors give roughly 54% to Muslim-led nonprofits. The question is then where is the remaining 46% going? When we talk to donors, we learn that it comes down to a different approach to fundraising. It needs to move from event-based, digital-based and transactional to interactional – building relationships and shared values and making people part of your [cause’s] journey and growth. This requires multiple conversations, multiple engagements. and developing connections versus just ‘selling.’ Rabata is relatively underknown but is setting a great example of putting this into action and curating it to its community members.”

For insight on fundraising strategies, go to www.zfinstitute.com. MPI has now partnered with Zakat Foundation to offer subsidized rates for all those interested in this IU professional training course.

Investing in the Future

In 2011, Sommieh Stephanie Flower was visiting her husband in Chatha Bakhtawar, a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan, when she began volunteering to teach English at local schools. On her walks there, she would notice that many children were not in school. Instead, they were doing some type of work like picking up trash, cutting hay for animals or carrying big bundles of sticks on their heads. 

“They were dusty, dirty, and poorly-dressed – but very friendly,” recalls Flower. “Since there were very few foreigners in town, they started following me around. I would buy them chips and candy and give them whatever small change I had in my pockets.” One day, these kids followed Flower home and discovered a pile of empty water bottles laying around. They immediately began filling their empty rice sacks with the bottles, hoping to make a day’s earning for recyclables. They were from migrant and refugee families, and each individual family member was expected to earn his/her own daily bread – even the little children. Soon word spread, and more children started coming to Flower’s home everyday in hopes of earning and playing.

“There were about 20 to 25 kids coming over each day,” shares Flower, who holds a Masters in Curriculum and Administration and has over 30 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in the U.S. “They would play in my courtyard, and I would give them coloring books, jump ropes, balls, and join them for imaginary tea parties with their self-made clay tea sets from the soil. When I was about to return to the U.S, I had a dream that there were more than 100 kids playing in the courtyard reading books. I woke up and told my husband that I should start a school for these kids, and he made du’a right there and then.”

When Flower returned to Michigan that Thanksgiving, she told friends about her intention and began fundraising to make her dream come true. As a beloved former educator in her community, she was a trusted figure and quickly raised $20,000 seed money to launch her vision. Meanwhile, back in Pakistan, Flower’s husband bought a white board and desks and set up a classroom in their home for Sitara School (www.sitaratrust.com). They hired a teacher and even offered an informal daycare for younger baby siblings of girls who could only attend if they brought them with them. 

“We quickly went from our single classroom in our home to renting a facility. However, every year costs increase” Flower said. “Now it costs us about $70,000 to run our school on a campus with utilities, operational costs, and salary for a staff of 25. We have a student body of 400+ boys and girls from preschool to grade 10. We also have our mother-child center and teachers’ institute as well. We initially began raising funds through annual fundraising dinners in Michigan during Ramadan, but we have to get creative and reach more people as costs keep going up drastically.”

Supporting children’s education brings hope for the future, and for Muslims, we believe it is an investment for our akhirah (afterlife) as well. To reach more potential donors, Sitara School has transitioned to crowdfunding and hopes to raise money to own its own school one day. 

“I think it’s very important for any nonprofit to have two types of funds: one for daily expenses and operations, and another for investments for long-term planning,” said Flower. 

Making it an Experience

Dr. Tarek Shahbandar of Burr Ridge, Ill., began as a volunteer for a relief organization for the victims of the Syrian civil war. It was a life-changing experience for him, and he now serves as the board president for the U.S. branch of the International Aid Charity (www.iacharity.org), which provides emergency and ongoing aid relief, education, orphan sponsorship, and social support services to marginalized peoples throughout the world. 

“What gets you truly involved is doing the work on the ground and changing your heart through service,” said Dr. Shahbandar. “As a new organization, it was tough the first year. We started with our food drive and school for refugees in Turkiye and Jordan and just continued that work for the next year. During the pandemic, our ground teams were still able to provide food relief and schooling. That’s because our volunteers become our biggest advocates. When you witness people’s hardships, it’s heart-breaking but therapeutic too. One has to see it to believe it and be moved. It’s not tourism but real work that’s truly rewarding.”

IAC’s Chief Operating Officer Abby Mohammed has traveled to Turkiye from her hometown of Addison, Ill., to serve Syrian refugees. After her first trip, she was ‘hooked’ to continue doing this work. 

“You become an ambassador for these helpless individuals,” said Mohammed. “We have 10,000 families in our database that need aid. This Ramadan, we had a tent set up in one of our camps for fresh suhoor and iftar for earthquake victims. It’s still continuing to provide fresh, hot meals today. Although most of our funds are raised in Ramadan, we have to find more ways to support these needs.”

Volunteer in-person (VIP) trips are once every quarter, and each volunteer is expected to fundraise a minimum of $5,000 for IAC before going as well as cover his/her own airfare. Once there, VIP’s help distribute food boxes in Turkiye and Syria of nonperishable items such as pasta, oil, rice, flour, candy for the kids etc. People follow their journeys and get inspired by their real-life experience, bringing in more support. 

In addition to recruiting hands-on volunteers, IAC has had to find creative ways to raise funds like upping their marketing game. They are making personal connections and reaching out to local mosques and individual communities across the U.S.. They are also collaborating with social media influencers to bring awareness of their work to broader audiences.

“We’re trying to change our strategy and approach to fundraising and get IAC on the map. We want to be transparent, to grow and be known,” Mohammad says. “It’s a new age, and there’s lots of new ways to raise money for a good cause. We’re past just email marketing. There’s so much more potential to bring a fresh angle, and we want to especially get more youth involved as active volunteers; they are the ones who must carry this work forward.”

Tayyaba Syed is a multiple award-winning author, journalist, and Islamic studies teacher. She conducts literary and faith-based presentations for all ages and is an elected member of her local school district’s board of education in Illinois, where she lives with her husband and three children. Learn more at www.tayyabasyed.com.

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