Aside from the spiritual and religious aspects of reflection and prayer, Ramadhan is a time for giving and heightened acts of social responsibility. For this reason, the demand on the nonprofit sector worldwide is greater than at any other time of the year, as individuals and groups dedicate themselves and their resources to assist those in need.
Ramadhan causes a fundamental change in the role of many nonprofit organisations in order for them to help resolve pressing and persistent social problems.
Islamic teachings influence and encourage charity giving. Ramadhan is a time when all Muslims are expected to observe the spiritual and religious practices of obligatory charity giving (zakat) and additional charity giving (sadaqah).
As a result, many nonprofits receive a significant part of their donations for the year. This is also the reason the majority of the annual donations at Islamic Relief and Human Appeal come during Ramadhan.
With this increase in donations, these organisations are able to significantly increase their food aid, emergency assistance and development activities.
The month of Ramadhan is centred around fasting. However, food security is often put at risk, as not all families have enough money to purchase food for iftar and suhoor. Many charities step in to help by doing things like distributing food baskets, organising community iftars and serving hot meals.
These activities help people not go hungry but also help strengthen the community by helping volunteers, donors and recipients of the food work together and bond.
Aid is often focused on people in need, like the elderly, refugees and families that don't have money and is provided by local charities and mosques that work together to help people in the community, like the elderly, the refugees and the poor.
In addition to providing food during Ramadhan, charities often want to talk about other social issues that affect people, particularly people not in the local community, such as those affected by war, climate change and those who have to move because of natural disasters.
Many international charities use the month of Ramadhan to tell the stories of people in other countries and show the direct results of the donations that have been made. This often helps maintain donations even after Ramadhan is over.
High levels of volunteering during Ramadhan are also noticed. A lot of individuals decide to donate their service time to organisations, as they consider it a higher form of worship than simply donating money.
They do this as a family unit or as a member of a community organisation and help to prepare and distribute food, provide services at a soup kitchen, or participate in community fundraising.
This service-oriented culture, especially as many young volunteers are doing organised charity for the first time, helps nonprofits strengthen their volunteer base and encourages ongoing civic engagement.
On the other hand, the ''Ramadhan rush'' leads to complications.
Organisations have to balance the influx of donations and volunteer services; and also be clear about how they are distributing the donations and their services during the short time frame.
This also runs the risk of charity work being seasonal, leading organisations to have a lack of funds at other times in the year. To mitigate this, many organisations use Ramadhan as a starting point to encourage patrons to donate on a continuous basis.
Ramadhan demonstrates the potential of the nonprofit sector, as it encourages people to be more charitable, altruistic and engaged with others at a higher social level.
It also shows how secular principles can bring people together and allow them to effectively respond to their needs. Even though Ramadhan lasts for only thirty days, the work that it inspires in people extends far beyond the end of Ramadhan.
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