Our commitment to responsible, transparent and principled stewardship of every donation entrusted to One Deen Aid.
One Deen Aid accepts donations in trust and will seek to use them responsibly, transparently and in accordance with the donor’s stated intention, applicable law and Islamic principles.
We recognise that donors may give for different purposes. Some donations are given to support the organisation’s general charitable work, while others are specifically designated for a particular programme, project or Islamic charitable purpose.
This policy explains how One Deen Aid receives, manages and applies donations and how we seek to protect the intentions of our donors.
We will seek to honour the purpose for which a donation is given, maintain appropriate records, communicate honestly with donors and apply charitable funds only for legitimate purposes.
One Deen Aid may accept a wide range of charitable contributions, subject to applicable law, our internal policies and the relevant Islamic principles where applicable.
Unrestricted contributions that allow One Deen Aid to respond to its greatest charitable and organisational needs.
Voluntary charitable contributions that may support eligible humanitarian, development and community initiatives.
Zakat contributions are separately identified and administered according to applicable Islamic requirements.
Contributions intended to support continuing or long-term charitable benefit, subject to the stated purpose.
Endowment-related contributions will be managed according to their stated terms and applicable Islamic principles.
Contributions for Qurbani/Udhiyah will be used for the stated charitable purpose and in accordance with relevant Islamic rules.
Ramadan appeals may include food assistance, Zakat, Sadaqah and other charitable initiatives.
Donations may be restricted to a particular project, programme or charitable appeal according to the terms communicated to donors.
Where accepted, these contributions will be handled according to their specific Islamic requirements and stated purpose.
An unrestricted donation is a contribution where the donor has not specified a particular project, programme or charitable purpose.
Unrestricted donations provide One Deen Aid with the flexibility to respond to changing needs and priorities. Such funds may be used for legitimate charitable activities and reasonable costs associated with operating and delivering the organisation’s work.
Depending on circumstances, unrestricted funds may support:
A restricted donation is a contribution given for a specific project, programme, appeal or purpose communicated to the donor.
Where One Deen Aid launches an appeal for a clearly identified project, such as a water well, Ramadan food distribution or education project, donations received through that appeal will ordinarily be treated as restricted to the stated charitable purpose.
Restricted funds will not ordinarily be diverted to unrelated purposes. Where circumstances require a change, One Deen Aid will seek to remain as close as reasonably possible to the donor’s original intention and will act in accordance with applicable law and Islamic principles.
One Deen Aid recognises that delivering a charitable project may involve costs beyond the direct cost of the item or service being provided.
Where appropriate, project-related costs such as transportation, technical assessment, logistics, supervision, monitoring, beneficiary engagement, payment costs and reasonable project administration may form part of the total budget of a restricted appeal.
Wherever reasonably possible, One Deen Aid will calculate the anticipated full cost of a project before publishing its fundraising target. This may include the direct project cost together with reasonable costs necessary to deliver, administer and monitor the project.
This allows donors to understand what the fundraising target is intended to cover rather than discovering after the campaign that additional costs have been deducted.
For example, a project budget may be structured as follows:
| Project Component | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Well construction and equipment | £4,700 |
| Transportation and logistics | £300 |
| Technical supervision and monitoring | £200 |
| Project administration | £300 |
| Total fundraising target | £5,500 |
The precise budget will vary according to the project. One Deen Aid will seek to communicate material costs clearly and avoid misleading donors about how funds will be used.
One Deen Aid will seek to complete the project or appeal for which restricted funds were raised.
However, fundraising outcomes and project circumstances cannot always be predicted precisely. A project may cost less than anticipated, a fundraising target may be exceeded, or circumstances may arise that prevent the original project from being completed.
Where this occurs, One Deen Aid may apply surplus or affected funds to a closely related charitable purpose that is consistent with the donor’s original intention, subject to applicable law and Islamic principles.
Surplus funds may be directed toward a closely related charitable need, such as another water, sanitation or community development project, where appropriate.
One Deen Aid will seek an appropriate alternative that remains as faithful as reasonably possible to the original charitable intention.
One Deen Aid may accept Zakat donations. Where funds are expressly identified or designated as Zakat, they will be separately recorded in our internal systems and handled as Zakat funds.
Zakat funds will be applied only in ways consistent with applicable Islamic requirements concerning eligible recipients and permissible uses.
Where applicable, Zakat funds may contribute toward legitimate costs directly associated with the collection, administration and distribution of Zakat where such use is permitted by Islamic principles and appropriate scholarly guidance.
Zakat will not be treated simply as general project income. Its use will take into account the specific requirements applicable to Zakat.
One Deen Aid may receive different forms of Islamic charitable giving. Where a contribution has a specific Islamic purpose, the organisation will seek to respect the relevant conditions associated with that form of giving.
Voluntary charitable contributions may support humanitarian, educational, community, development and other legitimate charitable initiatives. Where Sadaqah Jariyah is specifically designated, the funds will be applied toward an appropriate continuing or long-term charitable benefit.
Waqf contributions will be handled according to their stated terms and applicable Islamic principles. Where specialist guidance is required, One Deen Aid may consult appropriately qualified scholars.
Qurbani and Udhiyah contributions will be used for their stated purpose and administered in accordance with the relevant Islamic requirements.
Where One Deen Aid accepts Fidyah or Kaffarah contributions, these funds will be administered according to the relevant Islamic requirements and the purpose communicated to donors.
One Deen Aid may operate sponsorship programmes such as education, Islamic learning, orphan support or other forms of beneficiary support.
Unless an appeal expressly states otherwise, sponsorship contributions are generally pooled to operate the relevant sponsorship programme and provide the promised support to beneficiaries.
A sponsorship contribution therefore does not necessarily constitute a direct one-to-one payment made exclusively to a particular individual. This approach enables One Deen Aid to administer programmes fairly, respond to changing beneficiary needs and maintain continuity where a particular beneficiary’s circumstances change.
One Deen Aid may accept donations from Muslims and non-Muslims, subject to applicable law and our requirements concerning the source and acceptability of funds.
Non-Muslim donors may support eligible humanitarian, development, educational and community initiatives. Islamic charitable funds such as Zakat, Qurbani and other specifically religious contributions will remain subject to their relevant requirements.
Anonymous donations may also be accepted where appropriate, subject to applicable legal, financial and safeguarding requirements.
One Deen Aid will not knowingly accept donations that are derived from unlawful or seriously unethical sources.
Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a donation may be connected to unlawful activity, including theft, fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions violations or other criminal activity, One Deen Aid may refuse, suspend, return or otherwise deal with the donation in accordance with applicable law.
We may request additional information about a donation or donor where necessary to meet legal, regulatory, financial or organisational requirements.
One Deen Aid will seek to avoid receiving or generating interest wherever reasonably possible.
Where interest is received inadvertently or unavoidably, it will not be treated as ordinary charitable donation income. The organisation will seek appropriate Islamic guidance regarding its segregation and disposal.
One Deen Aid may consult its Islamic Adviser or appropriately qualified scholars when determining the appropriate treatment of such funds.
One Deen Aid recognises that errors and exceptional circumstances may occur. Refunds may be considered where appropriate, including:
Refund requests will be assessed individually and may be subject to payment-provider, banking, legal or other applicable requirements.
Once an unrestricted donation has been validly accepted, the donation becomes the property of One Deen Aid and is held and applied for the organisation’s charitable purposes.
Where a donation is restricted to a particular purpose, One Deen Aid will respect that restriction and apply the funds accordingly, subject to the provisions of this policy and applicable law.
In all cases, One Deen Aid will seek to act as a responsible steward of funds entrusted to it and maintain appropriate financial and programme records.
One Deen Aid will only publish fundraising appeals relating to genuine charitable needs, programmes, projects or activities.
We will not knowingly create fictitious, misleading or fraudulent appeals for the purpose of obtaining donations.
Where we publish an appeal seeking support for a particular project, we intend to execute that project or otherwise deal with the funds in accordance with the stated purpose, this policy, applicable law and Islamic principles.
Fundraising targets will be based on reasonable estimates and may change when actual project costs, exchange rates, logistics, availability or other circumstances change.
Where material changes occur, One Deen Aid will seek to manage the funds responsibly and, where appropriate, communicate relevant information to donors.
One Deen Aid has an Islamic Adviser who supports the organisation on Islamic matters relevant to its activities and charitable work.
The organisation does not represent this Donation Policy as formal Shariah certification. Where a matter requires specialist or formal scholarly guidance, One Deen Aid may consult appropriately qualified scholars or Islamic experts.
This approach is particularly relevant to matters involving Zakat, Waqf, Qurbani, Fidyah, Kaffarah and other areas where specific Islamic conditions may apply.
One Deen Aid seeks to maintain appropriate financial records and controls relating to donations and charitable expenditure.
We aim to communicate clearly about our appeals, fundraising targets, project purposes and significant changes affecting the use of donated funds.
Our approach is guided by the principles of honesty, accountability, responsible stewardship, donor intention, applicable law and Islamic principles where relevant.
One Deen Aid may update this Donation Policy from time to time to reflect changes in its activities, fundraising practices, applicable legal requirements, financial procedures or Islamic guidance.
The latest version published on the One Deen Aid website will represent the current version of this policy.
One Deen Aid will continue to work toward responsible, transparent and principled management of the funds entrusted to us, seeking to honour donor intentions while advancing our humanitarian, development and charitable purposes.
For donation-related enquiries: info@onedeenaid.org.uk