OUR ZAKAT POLICY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At Street Child, we believe every child deserves to be safe, in school and learning. Street Child prides itself on being willing to go to the world’s toughest places where others won’t, including remote, hard-to-reach areas and fragile, disaster-affected states. We currently deliver programmes in over 22 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
We recognise that barriers to education are complex and interlinked, and our projects focus on a combination of education, child protection and livelihoods support to address the social, economic and structural issues that underpin today’s education crisis.
See Imam Asim Khan's address about Zakat and Street Child's 100% ZAKAT Policy below.
British Muslim community and the wider Muslim donors who wish to support Street Child projects through zakat or sadaqah (voluntary charity) can confidently make a donation to Street Child in line with strict Zakat guidelines.
Zakat is an obligatory annual charitable payment due from every Muslim as an act of worship. Muslims are expected to pay a fixed percentage of their wealth to take care of the needy around the world. Street Child has produced its Zakat policy as a platform to drive confidence and encourage Muslim donors to support important projects while fulfilling their religious obligations.
The Arabic word ‘Zakat’ means ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’ and by fulfilling this religious duty, you are purifying your wealth.
There are two types of charity which Muslims pay throughout the year.
The first is Sadaqah – an act of voluntary charity that benefits those in need. Simple good deeds such as a smile or a helping hand, are seen as act of Sadaqah.
Sadaqah is a voluntary charity (given willingly without any obligation) that can be performed at any time throughout the year and any amount and can be used for any project or programme which is of benefit to people.
The second type is Zakat, an obligatory annual payment due from every Muslim as an act of worship with strict guidelines. Muslims are expected to pay a fixed percentage of their wealth to take care of the needy around the world.
The Arabic word ‘Zakat’ means ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’ and by fulfilling this religious duty, Muslims regard it as purifying your wealth.
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a central component of a Muslim’s faith. Zakat is an obligatory charitable payment upon every adult Muslim based on total wealth – cash, gold, silver, shares. Zakat is paid by Muslims on a yearly basis, whose wealth reaches a certain threshold known as the Nisab for one year, based on lunar calendar year.
Zakat donation amount is 2.5% of a Muslim’s total wealth (based on income and the value of assets).
If the total assets equate to £10,000, the Zakat will equate to £250. If just the ten richest people in the world paid Zakat – that would equate to a staggering £7.7 billion to tackle poverty around the world!
Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must possess before they become eligible to pay Zakat.
There are two Nisab values from which the threshold is determined.
Gold: the monetary value of 87.48 grams = £4,513.30
Silver: the monetary value of 612.36 grams = £354.56
If the individual doesn’t reach the Nisab, then it is not obligatory for the individual to pay Zakat. If the individual’s wealth is above the Nisab threshold, then it is obligatory to pay 2.5% on all wealth as Zakat to any of categories mentioned in the Quran.
Nisab threshold tend to vary due to the fluctuation of gold and silver.
There are 8 categories of people that are entitled to receive Zakat. They are:
The poor
The needy
Zakat collectors / administrators
Those whose hearts have been recently reconciled
Those who have been enslaved
Those in debt
Travellers (including refugees)
In the cause of God
In order to receive Zakat, the recipients must be poor or needy.
A poor person is someone who cannot afford basic requirements and does not reach the Nisab threshold.
The recipient must not belong to your immediate family i.e. your spouse, children, parents and grandparents – they cannot receive your zakat.
Other relatives on the other hand can receive your Zakat.
The recipient cannot be anyone above the Nisab threshold – for example, a teacher above the Nisab threshold cannot receive Zakat for training and development purpose.
Zakat must be paid on an annual basis. The Zakat anniversary is the date in which the individual first owned wealth above the Nisab threshold. If an individual is unsure, they can estimate. In reality, most Muslims will generally pay Zakat during Ramadan as it’s a good reminder, people are spiritually high and keen to make an impact.
Street Child currently operates in over 22 countries including several projects being delivered within predominantly Muslim-majority countries. As a result, we have undertaken a major consultation process and developed a fit for purpose Zakat Policy to maximise programmatic impact, whilst fulfilling and administering Zakat payments.
Street Child are committed to making a long-term impact through Zakat and therefore invested heavily on Zakatable process through appointment of a senior fundraising advisor that led on global Zakatable campaigns with first-hand experience of working with British Muslims and Islamic experts.
We also went through comprehensive research to understand Zakat, its criteria, eligibility and processing of donations to maximise impact in line with Zakat guidelines.
Street Child went through an in-depth consultation process with Islamic experts who specialise on Zakat and also worked closely with a dedicated Zakat expert to create a fit for purpose Zakat policy with a selection of relevant zakatable projects, countries and implementation.
100% of Zakatable donation made to Street Child are automatically allocated to a restricted Zakat fund dedicated to Zakatable projects.
100% Zakat policy means, we allocate 100% of the zakatable donation to zakatable projects ONLY and will not be used to cover any admin cost.
Street Child’s selection of Zakatable projects is in Muslim countries – they are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, northeast Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Syria and Gaza.
100% of Zakat means every single penny raised through zakatable donation will go directly to the zakatable projects 100% of the time to help thousands of people around the world.
We take Zakat very seriously and work collaboratively with our Zakat specialist and Muslim scholar to ensure 100% of Zakat is 100% compliant.
All Zakatable projects have been carefully selected within Muslim or Muslim majority communities across the world.
Donors can select their Zakat payment towards their preferred zakatable projects in line with our zakatable administration process as follows.
Street Child will ensure all relevant donation platforms will feature Zakat donation option by project and country.
Upon receiving a zakat donation, receipts will be sent automatically, clearly indicating the 100% zakatable donation along with the project selected by the donor.
Street Child has a dedicated, interest free bank account for Zakat where funds are held until being sent to the relevant zakatable projects for implementation.
Gift Aid can be claimed on Zakat payments. UK taxpayers can claim Gift Aid, which will be reclaimed by Street Child and treated as a general fund to support our work.
Street Child’s established and dedicated projects and years of experience will ensure Zakat go towards:
Life-changing education and humanitarian assistance.
Responding to refugee crisis, providing immediate surge support and capacity strengthening support.
Providing vital mental health and psychosocial support for vulnerable refugee children and adolescents.
Providing support to primary and secondary schools to rehabilitate classrooms, improve disability access, provide separate hygiene facilities for girls, teacher training and development.
‘Learning for Livelihoods’ programme providing training in literacy, numeracy and vocational skills to vulnerable female-headed households.
Street Child country programme and partner staff will regularly monitor our project delivery to ensure compliance with the Zakat policy.
Implementation of ALL Zakatable projects will be in line with the 8 categories of people that are entitled to receive Zakat.
Expenditure of ALL Zakatable donations will be in line with our Zakatable projects - approved by our Zakat Advisor (Asim Khan) and our Director of Central Fundraising (Zac Hussain).
If you have any questions, queries or feedback about Street Child’s Zakat Policy, you can get in touch with us at myzakatquery@street-child.org.
Street Child has appointed Zac Hussain as its Director of Central Fundraising to lead on all Zakatable campaigns within the organisation.
Zac Hussain was the former Director at Muslim Aid and comes with a wealth of experience in leading Zakatable campaigns. Zac has also worked with a consortium of prominent Muslim NGO’s, British Muslim communities as well as Islamic experts to develop and implement a fit for purpose Zakat Guidelines.
Street Child has also been working very closely with Shaykh Asim Khan, and his pool of Zakat expertise within his remit to help oversee the implementation of our Zakat policy.
Shaykh Asim Khan
Shaykh Asim is a published author of 3 books, including the Simple Seerah & the best-selling “The Heart of the Qur’an”, a commentary on Surah Yasin. He is a Hafiz of Qur’an, has gained a Masters in Pharmacy from the University College London UK, and studied Arabic and Quranic Sciences in Cairo, Egypt. His true passion lies in Tafsir studies where you can find numerous online lectures of his on Qur'ān related topics. He has served as Lead Imam for over a decade at the Redbridge Islamic Centre in London.
Shaykh Asim has worked with a number of International Muslim charities in assisting with advice and guidance including Zakat and Sadaqah queries and continues to advise various charities on Zakat related matters.
Street Child will commit to reviewing its Zakat Policy on an annual basis to ensure practical implementation.