Ramadan fundraising round up

With Ramadan having started this week on 12 April, here’s a round up of some of the fundraising appeals taking place, from the Gift for All: One Gift – A Million Smiles campaign to The Cake Campaign.

Coalition of charities unite in Ramadan fundraising campaign

With this year’s Ramadan having commenced on Monday 12 April, Mercy Mission has partnered with Muslim Aid, Charity Right, and National Zakat Foundation with the aim of making “a million people smile” and raising funds to support their work.

Muslim Aid, Charity Right, National Zakat Foundation, and Mercy Mission will all benefit from the Gift for All: One Gift – A Million Smiles campaign, which encourages people to make a one-off donation or start a campaign of their own.

The proceeds will help fund the charities’ fight against hunger, natural disasters, and poverty faced by people in the UK and further afield. For example, for every £10 donation the coalition is able to provide five meals, and secure clean water for a family in the developing world.

Gift for All: One Gift – A Million Smiles will also fund educational work on the Islamic faith and improving understanding in the UK with the coalition’s aim to improve understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims this Ramadan.

WaterAid launches Zakat campaign

This Ramadan, WaterAid has launched its Zakat campaign. And for the first time, supporters can choose which country to support, with 100% of Zakat donations going directly to vulnerable communities. 

WaterAid is inviting the Muslim community to support the charity’s Zakat appeal to help bring clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene to communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Mali. 

One of the five pillars of Islam, Zakat is an obligatory form of charity, with every adult Muslim whose savings exceed a set minimum required to donate 2.5% of accumulated savings to good causes that fall into specific categories. The international charity has collaborated with Islamic faith experts to develop a new Zakat policy and run projects that meet the principles of Zakat. 

The Cake Campaign

The Cake Campaign, AKA #CakesForSyria on social media, is back this Ramadan after having to miss 2020. 

The campaign delivers chocolate fudge cakes to people’s doors during Ramadan at a cost of £10 per cake, with all proceeds directed to Islamic Relief’s ongoing Syria Appeal.

Each cake cuts into 14 generous slices – enough to share with family, friends and neighbours.

As of last Ramadan, The Cake Campaign had sold over 158,000 cakes and raised over £1.5 million pounds.  This year, it also offers brownies.

Muslim Hands pledges to provide 2.5m meals

Muslim Hands has pledged to provide 2.5 million meals at a cost of over £470,000 to those living in the UK and poverty-stricken countries around the world during Ramadan.

Over 90,000 people will be presented with a family food parcel, containing all the ingredients they need to make nutritious meals throughout Ramadan.

The twenty-three countries that will be supported include war-torn regions such as Syria, Yemen, and Palestine as well as locations where communities are crippled by poverty. Muslim Hands will also support homeless people, refugees and low-income families in the UK, where its Open Kitchen in Hounslow is providing up to 450 hot nutritious takeaway meals daily, seven days a week. The charity us also partnering with FareShare Midlands, which distributes enough food in the local area to provide 10,000 meals each day.

It is asking people to donate to help out, for example £60 for a Ramadan family food parcel, £100 for an emergency food parcel, or £3.50 for Zakat al-Fitr (Fitrana).

More Ramadan related fundraising:

Main image credit: WaterAid/ Basile Ouedraogo