5 reasons why your donations are in safe hands

Ramadan is a time of giving and Muslims understandably want to know that their donations will make a difference.

Donors and potential donors want to know how we’re spending their donations, what measures are in place to protect their funds and how we’re held accountable for our work.

Here at Islamic Relief, we want to reassure you that we’re spending your donations as effectively and efficiently possible. We’re constantly finding ways to improve our service to you and the people we serve.

Islamic Relief wants to be accountable to donors, the people we serve and to Allah (SWT).

With us, your donations are in safe hands. Here’s how!

1. We don’t pretend to have a 100% donation policy

It costs money to deliver aid – that’s a fact. It also costs money to do it well, ensuring the people who need it most receive the best possible support and ensuring that money goes to where it is needed.

The money for these costs has to come from somewhere and we prefer to be honest about how we use your donations. We aim to use your generous donations in the most effective way possible, whilst remaining as transparent as possible!

For every £1 donated to Islamic Relief, 87p goes directly towards programmes and initiatives that help people in need. 4p is spent on administrative costs and 9p is invested towards raising more funds.

The money we invested to raise funds helped to generate an income of £130 million last year alone. With every £1 that we spent on fundraising, we received £10 back in donations.

That said, all of our income is used to help people in need because admin and fundraising costs are essential expenditure in helping us to achieve our aims.

Admin costs can cover governance costs (e.g. audits to comply with legal obligations and Charity Commission rules), rent for buildings, insurance, admin staff salaries, volunteer expenses, equipment (e.g. IT equipment) etc. This helps us run a secure, safe and efficient charity.

2. We’re globally certified

Alhamdulillah, we’re proud of our achievements and recognition over the last 36 years.

From our early beginnings as a volunteer-led organisation, we’re now one of only 20 organisations in the world that meet the Core Humanitarian Standards, the highest standard in our sector. This acknowledges the high quality and effectiveness of our work.

Our work is accountable, certified and credible. We’re signatory to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements and NGOs in Disaster Relief, meaning that our work commits to global standards of non-discrimination, human rights law and global ethics.

We’re also a member of the Bond network (UK network for NGOs working in international development), working in partnership with other high-quality organisations in the sector, and a signatory to the Global Charter for Change.

Working across the UK as well as further afield, Islamic Relief is also represented on the VCS-EP (Voluntary and Community Services Emergency Partnership) managed by the National Emergencies Trust. This means we critically help to coordinate responses during emergencies here in the UK.

What’s more, in addition to providing critical aid across the globe, our volunteering and training programmes have achieved fantastic results. Our volunteer programmes are accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) – part of the City & Guild Group. In 2018, we were even awarded The Princess Royal Training Award, in recognition of our work with volunteers. Masha’Allah!

3. We’re driven by Islamic values

Every year during #Ramadan, Islamic Relief distributes food parcels to low-income households around the world.

With the blessed month just around the corner, we’re putting plans in place to do this in a way that doesn’t put people at risk. 💪

Donate Now: https://t.co/iT0KigObyy pic.twitter.com/3gSxVfBjk9

— Islamic Relief UK (@IslamicReliefUK) April 14, 2020

As an Islamically-inspired organisation, we remain guided by the timeless values and teachings of the Qur’an and the prophetic example (Sunnah). Every day we strive to embody our five key values:

• Sincerity (Ikhlas) – Our efforts are driven by sincerity to God and the need to fulfil our obligations to humanity
• Excellence (Ihsan) – Our actions are marked by excellence in our operations and the conduct through which we help the deserving people we serve
• Compassion (Rahma) – We believe the protection and well-being of every life is of paramount importance and we join with other humanitarian actors to act as one in responding to suffering brought on by disasters, poverty and injustice
• Social Justice (Adl) – Our work is founded on enabling people and institutions to fulfil the rights of the poor and vulnerable. We work to empower the dispossessed towards realising their God-given human potential and develop their capabilities and resources.
• Custodianship (Amana) – We uphold our duty of custodianship over Earth and its resources, and the trust people place in us as a humanitarian and development practitioner to be transparent and accountable.

We know that not only are we accountable to you our donors, the Charity Commission and all our partners, but also to Allah (SWT).

We understand that your Sadaqah and Zakat donations are a huge amanah (trust). We take this trust seriously and we ensure that your Zakat donations are only spent on projects that meet the Zakat criteria outlined in our Zakat guidelines and policy, which have been developed in consultation with a panel of experts and scholars.

4. We save and transform lives

We believe our work speaks for itself. Since 1984, we’ve transformed and saved over 120 million lives in over 40 countries across the globe. Subhan’Allah!

When disasters hit, we’ve been there. When conflict has torn communities apart, we’ve supported local people in need – in some of the most volatile and dangerous places worldwide.

From Syria and Yemen, to Gaza and Myanmar, we’re continuing to support vulnerable men, women and children in need.

However, we don’t only respond in times of emergency. We work to empower local communities to break out of poverty and build a sustainable future for themselves, their families and their communities.

We support families at risk through a dedicated three-step approach which enables us to actively respond to emergencies, as well as support the long-term recovery process. Through resilience – relief – recovery, we help break the cycle of poverty and allow communities to build their own futures for the long-term.

This ensures that the money we spend is used in the most efficient and effective way possible, to build long-term change.

5. We work with globally-renowned bodies

Because we’re trusted by the UK Government, we’re able to make donations go further through their UK Aid Match scheme. This means that the UK Government doubled two million pound’s worth of donations during last year’s Ramadan campaign.

Not only that, but we’re the only Muslim organisation on the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) – a network of the UK’s 14 leading humanitarian organisations. By working together, your donations go even further.

As an organisation, we’re trusted by global bodies and can build effective partnerships to ensure we deliver aid where it’s most needed.

We have consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council and have signed a memorandum of understanding with UN Women to strengthen joint work on empowering women.

We’re also implementing partners with:

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
• The UN World Food Programme (WFP)
• The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO)

Working with these agencies, we’re held accountable to our work each and every day.

Alhamdulillah, thanks to your support, we’ve been able to save and transform the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people, day in day out for over 35 years.

Without your support we wouldn’t be able to do any of this, so please continue to give to Islamic Relief and help save even more lives.

Save a life now, donate to Islamic Relief.

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