One proven fundraising technique used often by Muslim organizations, such as Masjids and Islamic schools, is to get their local communities to reach out to their contacts wherever they are in the world and ask them to donate.
Not only does this approach result in generous donations, because the donors are coming in through a reference, it’s a very practical way of widening an organization’s donor base.
Moreover, each ‘ambassador’ to your organization has the ability to leverage his or her contacts in different ways, adding a pleasantly variable dimension to any fundraising campaign.
Just to make it clear, ambassadors are members of an organization’s local community who are, in one way or another, associated with that organization. For example, a Masjid’s ambassador team is usually comprised of regular musallees, active volunteers and Masjid committee members, board members, the imam, and Masjid employees. An Islamic school’s ambassador team is usually comprised of the school staff, school principal, parent support team, high school students, alumni students, and board members. Other types of organizations would have similar ambassadors.
As you prepare for an upcoming fundraising campaign, consider forming an ambassador team.
After all, the burden of raising funds for your organization should not be placed solely on your shoulders.
Share the ajr of building a house of Allah, teaching children good manners, providing relief to the needy, or of giving Dawah. Whatever your organization is involved in, you will certainly have many supporters within your local community whom, with a little bit of guidance, can help a fundraising campaign reach unprecedented levels.
You will certainly want to give your ambassador team some guidance and direction. So, organize an evening some time before a fundraising campaign and invite people from your local community to attend and join your ambassador team. Inform them of the preparations being made and even give them some guidance on what things they can do to help with the campaign.
Consider offering ANFIQ’s Ambassador Training workshop to your local community. At this workshop attendees get introduced to the fundamental principle of fundraising and learn practical ways of reaching out to their contacts using both direct and indirect methods (so there’s no need to feel uneasy about approaching people for donations). The workshop is 2-3 hours long and can easily be given on a weeknight or any time during the weekend.