For fundraisers, timing matters.
We pay attention to giving days, year-end appeals, campaign milestones, and the moments when donors may be most receptive to an invitation to support a cause.
But what happens when a donor’s giving is connected not simply to an organization’s mission, but to a deeply held faith tradition?
For millions of Muslims, Ramadan is one of the most significant times of the year for spiritual reflection, community, generosity, and service. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around February 8, although the exact date can vary based on the sighting of the moon. During this month, many Muslims increase their charitable giving, including through zakat, an obligatory form of charitable giving, and sadaqah, voluntary charitable giving. Islam notes that the Prophet Muhammad’s generosity increased during Ramadan, a tradition that continues to shape Muslim philanthropic practice today.
For fundraisers, Ramadan presents an important opportunity—but not simply because Muslim donors may be more generous during the month.
It is an opportunity to understand a fundamental principle of fundraising: people give because something connects with their values, beliefs, experiences, and desire to make a difference.
Start with the relationship, not Ramadan
One of the biggest mistakes a nonprofit can make is treating Ramadan as a once-a-year fundraising opportunity.
A fundraiser discovers that someone is Muslim, waits until Ramadan, and suddenly sends an appeal: “Ramadan is here. Please make a gift.”
That is not relationship-based fundraising. It is seasonal prospecting.
The Cause Selling Cycle, a framework associated with the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy, begins with prospecting and pre-approach—understanding who the prospective donor is before initiating the fundraising conversation.
The same principle applies when engaging Muslim donors.
Before Ramadan arrives, organizations should ask:
- What does this donor care about?
- What experiences have shaped their philanthropy?
- What causes are meaningful to them?
- Do they have a history of giving during Ramadan?
- Have they indicated an interest in supporting faith-based or community initiatives?
- Does their giving include zakat, sadaqah, or both?
The goal is not to categorize someone simply as a “Muslim donor.” The goal is to understand the individual.
Understand that not all charitable giving is the same
For fundraisers working with Muslim donors, learning a few basic concepts can make a significant difference.
Zakat is an obligatory charitable contribution in Islam, generally calculated at approximately 2.5 percent of qualifying wealth, subject to religious rules and circumstances. It is not simply another discretionary charitable gift, and it has specific considerations regarding eligible recipients.
Sadaqah, by contrast, is voluntary charitable giving. It can take monetary and nonmonetary forms and is encouraged throughout the year, with giving traditionally increasing during Ramadan.
This distinction matters.
A nonprofit should not assume that every Muslim donor wants a gift designated as zakat. Nor should an organization imply that its programs qualify for zakat without understanding the relevant requirements.
If your organization accepts zakat, be prepared to explain clearly why the organization or specific program qualifies, how zakat funds will be used, and how those funds will be accounted for.
If you do not accept zakat, say so clearly rather than trying to stretch the definition.
Good fundraising requires accuracy and trust. Faith-based fundraising requires both.
Move from “What we need” to “What you value”
The next stage of the Cause Selling Cycle is approach and need discovery.
This is where fundraisers can learn one of the most important lessons from Ramadan: generosity is deeply connected to purpose.
A donor may be motivated by feeding someone who is hungry, supporting education, strengthening a local community, helping refugees, advancing healthcare, supporting social justice, or creating opportunities for future generations.
The fundraiser’s job is not to tell the donor what they should care about.
It is to discover what they already care about and determine whether there is alignment with the organization’s mission.
That changes the conversation.
Instead of:
“We need $25,000 to support this program.”
The conversation might become:
“You have told me that expanding educational opportunity has been important to your family and your philanthropy. Would it be helpful if I shared how this initiative could create those opportunities for students?”
The difference is subtle but powerful.
The first statement is about the organization’s need. The second begins with the donor’s values.
Make Ramadan relevant—but respectful
Ramadan can be an appropriate time to communicate with Muslim donors. But cultural relevance should never become cultural exploitation.
Organizations should consider the timing and tone of communications. Ramadan is a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, community, and generosity. For many Muslims, the month involves significant personal and family commitments.
That means a thoughtful Ramadan communication might begin with a genuine greeting, acknowledge the significance of the month, and then connect the organization’s work to an issue the donor already cares about.
It does not need to manufacture urgency.
It does not need to use religious language the organization does not understand.
And it certainly should not suggest that a donor is religiously obligated to support the nonprofit.
Respect is part of the fundraising strategy.
Organizations should also recognize that Muslim communities are diverse. Muslims come from many racial, ethnic, cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some are deeply connected to a local mosque or community organization; others are not. Some prioritize zakat; others focus their philanthropy on sadaqah or broader charitable giving.
There is no single “Muslim donor.” There are Muslim donors. Treat them as individuals.
The ask should be an invitation, not a prescription
Eventually, every fundraising relationship reaches the same moment: the ask.
Ramadan does not change that.
The best asks are specific, confident, and grounded in the relationship that has been developed.
Rather than saying, “It is Ramadan, and we hope you will give,” consider an approach that connects the donor’s values with the opportunity:
“You have shared how important educational access is to you. As Ramadan approaches, we are inviting a small group of donors who care deeply about this issue to help us provide scholarships for students this year. Would you consider a gift of $10,000?”
The fundraiser has done several things:
The donor’s values are acknowledged. The organization’s need is clear. The impact is tangible. The invitation is specific. And the donor retains the ability to make the decision.
That is cause selling at its best.
Stewardship doesn’t end when Ramadan does
Perhaps the most important lesson is what happens after the gift.
A Ramadan donor should not disappear from your organization’s communications until the following Ramadan.
Thank the donor promptly and appropriately. Report on the impact of their generosity. Share stories that demonstrate progress. Continue learning about their interests. Invite them into the life of the organization.
And remember that stewardship is more than saying “thank you.”
It is demonstrating that the organization understood the trust placed in it.
This concept is particularly important when working with faith-based giving. Philanthropy.org's guidance on faith-based donor-advised funds emphasizes that faith-based donors may expect fundraisers to understand their motivations and religious context rather than treating their gifts like conventional transactions.
For Muslim donors, the concept of amanah, or trust, offers a useful lens. When someone entrusts an organization with their charitable dollars, particularly when those dollars are connected to religious commitments, the responsibility extends beyond processing the donation.
The organization must honor the trust.
What Ramadan can teach every fundraiser
The lessons of Ramadan extend well beyond Muslim philanthropy.
It reminds us that fundraising is fundamentally about human motivation.
People give when they see themselves, their values, their experiences, and their hopes reflected in an opportunity to make a difference.
For fundraisers, the challenge is to move beyond the transactional question of “How much can we raise?” and toward the relational question of “What matters to this donor, and how can we help them achieve the impact they want to make?”
Ramadan provides a powerful example of what happens when generosity is connected to identity, purpose, community, and faith.
So as Ramadan approaches, don’t simply prepare another appeal.
Prepare to listen.
Prepare to learn.
Prepare to build relationships.
And when the time comes to make the ask, remember: the strongest fundraising invitation is not about what the organization needs from the donor. It is about what the donor believes is possible—and how your organization can help make it happen.
Muhi Khwaja is Chief Development Officer at the American Muslim Community Foundation and Senior Trainer at Sanford Institute of Philanthropy.