This Ramadan, ANFIQ will insha'a Allah be running the very first Sadaqah Seed Campaign! Finally, organizations looking to raise funds for their Islamic Centre and Masjid projects are able to raise funds from the general world-wide community with a convincing pitch!
But what is a Sadaqah Seed Campaign?
In a Sadaqah Seed Campaign (SSC) we raise funds, primarily online, for a number of Masjid organizations all at the same time. By reaching out to the world wide Muslim community, ANFIQ will be asking for donations for your Masjid on your behalf. Donations received will go into a common pool and then at the end of the campaign get divided equally among participating organizations.
And what exactly is a Sadaqah Seed?
A Sadaqah Seed has a value of $25. It is a suggested donation amount that is small enough to attract a wide pool of donors and easily divisible by many common donation amounts such as $100, $500, and $1000.
But why run a campaign this way, why raise funds in a collective manner?
Well, it has become very common to see a Masjid organization going to social media and asking the general world-wide Muslim community for donations. People have gotten so used to hearing about different Masjid organizations asking for donations that they just stopped paying attention to them. They hear the same Ayahs and Hadiths about the virtues of building a Masjid over and over again. What ended up happening is that only a few organizations in the world have had successful online campaigns, whereas most other campaigns fell to deaf ears.
What the Sadaqah Seed Campaign aims to do is to unify the call for donations of participating organizations and boost this call with relevant marketing content at regular distant intervals, thereby achieving and maintaining the general donor's interest level.
Am I expected to do anything from my end?
Other than recording some raw video footage showing your Masjid with someone or a group of people introducing the Masjid, you are not expected to do anything else. The onus is on ANFIQ to do the marketing of the campaign. It goes without mention that when the Sadaqah Seed Campaign begins, you are expected to inform your community of it and that your organization is taking part in it.
How much fees are deducted from the collected funds?
The collected funds get divided equally among the participating organizations, after the admin and platform fees (platform used will be LaunchGood) are deducted. The expected fees will range from 12% - 20% depending on whether the donor chooses to cover the platform fee. Historically, 70% of donors choose to cover the platform fee.
Where are the funds deposited and do donors get tax receipts?
LaunchGood, the campaign host, will deposit received funds into ANFIQ's bank account. After deducting the admin fees, ANFIQ will transfer equal amounts of the remaining funds to the bank accounts of the participating organizations in Canada. Donations processed this way will not be eligible for a tax receipt (this will be clearly mentioned to donors). Donors who want a tax receipt will be redirected to a PayPal link from which they can make a direct donation to the receiving organization; that organization would be responsible for issuing the donor's tax receipt.
Should my Masjid still have its own fundraising campaign in Ramadan?
Yes, for sure! We encourage every participating organization to run their own campaigns and approach their donors just like they do every Ramadan. Ramadan is the most important month of the year in many ways, and certainly for a Masjid organization, it is the biggest fundraising season of the year. We encourage you to resort to ANFIQ's Ramadan resource page for ideas on how to run your own Ramadan campaign.
What are the Prerequisites to joining the SSC?
To take part in the Sadaqah Seed Campaign, your organization must be: