ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA 

MuslimGive strives to provide accurate, comprehensive and insightful evaluations to assist donors in making informed choices. Our rating system focuses on assessing the transparency and accountability of each charitable organization, based on publicly available information and our independent analysis. Currently it does not capture aspects of a charity’s operations, impact or effectiveness. Donors are advised to conduct their own due diligence before supporting a charity.

The ratings/grades granted to the respective charity is our opinion based on our assessment of the charity using our established criteria and publicly available sources and information provided by the respective charity, where available.

MuslimGive analyzes each charitable organization across four Core Research Areas. Phase 1 of the research process concentrates on evaluating the organization's level of transparency and accountability, specifically focusing on the extent of information disclosed by the charity and its accessibility to the public.

Transparency enables organizations to be accountable for their operations, expenditures, and policies. Thus providing donors with visibility into how their contributions are utilized and managed.

Each Core Area is allocated a distinct score/grade, which collectively determines the charity's overall rating.

Learn more about our Score Criteria for Core Area 1, 2,4 and Overall Grade Learn more

Learn more about our Zakat Policy Compliance Explanations & Score Guide (Core Area 3) Learn more

This charity meets the regulatory requirements set out by CRA to issue tax receipts.

Why is a tax receipt important for donors? It is crucial for claiming tax deductions on charitable contributions when filing annual tax returns.

This organization is not registered as a charity with CRA, therefore unable to issue tax receipts.

Why is a tax receipt important for donors? Donors are unable to claim tax deductions on charitable contributions when filing annual tax returns.

Registered charities in Canada are required by law to submit an annual information return (T3010) to the CRA. This return helps ensure that charities are complying with the regulations governing their tax-exempt status and charitable activities.

T3010 return form serves as a critical tool for promoting transparency, accountability, and compliance within the charitable sector in Canada. It helps ensure that registered charities fulfill their obligations to the public and maintain the integrity of the charitable sector.

2022 T3010 Registered Charity Information Return NOT APPLICABLE, as this is a newly registered charity.

Registered charities in Canada are required by law to submit an annual information return (T3010) to the CRA. This return helps ensure that charities are complying with the regulations governing their tax-exempt status and charitable activities.

T3010 return form serves as a critical tool for promoting transparency, accountability, and compliance within the charitable sector in Canada. It helps ensure that registered charities fulfill their obligations to the public and maintain the integrity of the charitable sector.

Why is it important for charities to share financial statements?

They provide transparency about a charity’s financial health and how donations are managed.

They provide transparency about a charity’s financial health and how donations are managed.

MuslimGive Requirements:

• Charities with annual revenue exceeding $1 million require external audits by a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA),
• Charities with revenue between $500k and $1 million need a review engagement performed by a CPA, and
• Charities with revenue under $500k must have compiled financial statements.

Why is it important for charities to share financial statements?

They provide transparency about a charity’s financial health and how donations are managed.

Why is it important for charities to share financial statements?

They provide transparency about a charity’s financial health and how donations are managed.

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Step 3 of the Assessment Process is to communicate with the charities, to make them aware of MuslimGive’s assessment and rating.

Each charity received between one to three emails (depending on whether a response was received or not) within an 11-day period, containing a detailed scorecard presenting scores and grades achieved in the four Core Areas, along with an overall rating. Furthermore, as part of our commitment to transparency, all documentation regarding our methodology and rating system was also provided.

The objective was to enable charities to fairly review their scores and reach out to us to rectify any inaccuracies or seek additional information. Charities had the opportunity to schedule a call with the MG team to discuss their rating further.

A 14 day timeframe was allocated for highlighting errors, implementation of necessary changes and subsequent communication of updates to enable reevaluation of the Core Area(s).

Charities that did not respond to our emails were contacted via phone calls in an attempt to establish communication.

All charities are given at least 10-14 days to implement changes and update their websites. Following this, the revisions are to be presented to the MG team for evaluation to review scores and make any necessary rating adjustments.

Following discussions with various charities, it became apparent that while many charities do have established policies, they are not consistently documented on their website. Upon making the required updates onto their websites, there was a notable enhancement in the average overall rating, with an increase of at least one grade observed.

In line with our commitment to be fair and unbiased in our rating and reporting, any comments provided by the charity to clarify factors or justify their score have been added here.

MuslimGive has not verified the accuracy of these comments.

The country where the charity is registered and headquartered.

MuslimGive’s Zakat Policy Compliance Area seeks to assess each charitable organization’s zakat policy based on the level of transparency and clarity made publicly available on the charity’s website.

The Zakat Policy Compliance Core Area contributes to 30% of the overall charity grade rating.

There are 30 metrics utilized in evaluating this area, out of which there are 6 mandatory requirements.

Detailed explanation of each mteric is provided here.

This breakdown is based on MG’s evaluation of the allocation of an organization's revenue across charitable programs, administrative costs, fundraising efforts and future use. Donors are able to see how much of their $100 donation is used towards the charitable cause they contributed towards, how much is allocated towards administrative and fundraising costs, and how much is reserved for future use.

Is being a registered non-profit organization the same as being a registered charity in Canada?

No.

A registered charity is a specific type of nonprofit organization that has been granted charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). To qualify for charitable status, an organization must meet certain criteria outlined by the CRA, including operating exclusively for charitable purposes and providing a public benefit.

A registered non-profit organization has not met the specific criteria set by the CRA to be recognised as a registered charity.

In the UK, being a registered charity means that an organization has met the legal requirements set out by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) in Scotland, or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

A 501(c)(3) organization is a type of nonprofit organization. These organizations are typically charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, or other organizations that serve the public in some capacity. Donations to 501(c)(3) organizations are usually tax-deductible for the donors. This can be verified on the IRS wesbite. These organizations are subject to certain rules and regulations set forth by the IRS to maintain their tax-exempt status.

The Charitable Registration Number is a unique identifier assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to registered charities. Donors can use this number to verify the legitimacy of the charity and to claim tax deductions for their donations.

This charity meets the regulatory requirements set out by the CRA to issue tax receipts.

Why is a tax receipt important for donors? It is crucial for claiming tax deductions on charitable contributions when filing annual tax returns.

This charity meets the regulatory requirements set out by the IRS to issue tax receipts.

Why is a tax receipt important for donors? It is crucial for claiming tax deductions on charitable contributions when filing annual tax returns.

This organization is not registered as a charity with CRA, therefore unable to issue tax receipts.

Why is a tax receipt important for donors? Without a tax receipt, donors are unable to claim tax deductions on charitable contributions when filing annual tax returns.

501(c)(3) non-profit organizations registered as public charities in the US are required by law to file an annual return Form 990 annually. This return helps ensure that charities are complying with the regulations governing their tax-exempt status and charitable activities.

Form 990 plays a crucial role in promoting transparency, accountability, and compliance within the nonprofit sector in the US, helping to maintain public trust and ensure the integrity of tax-exempt organizations.

Registered charities in Canada are required by law to submit an annual information return (T3010) to the CRA. This return helps ensure that charities are complying with the regulations governing their tax-exempt status and charitable activities.

T3010 return form serves as a critical tool for promoting transparency, accountability, and compliance within the charitable sector in Canada. It helps ensure that registered charities fulfill their obligations to the public and maintain the integrity of the charitable sector.

Registered charities in Canada are required by law to submit an annual information return (T3010) to the CRA. This return helps ensure that charities are complying with the regulations governing their tax-exempt status and charitable activities.

Unregistered charities (even though they may be registered non-profits) have no regulatory body overseeing whether they are complying with the regulations governing their charitable activities.

T3010 return form serves as a critical tool for promoting transparency, accountability, and compliance within the charitable sector in Canada. It helps ensure that registered charities fulfill their obligations to the public and maintain the integrity of the charitable sector.

In the UK, a charity number is a unique identifier assigned to charitable organizations by the relevant charity regulator.

An EIN (Employer Identification Number), also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to businesses and organizations for tax purposes.

Donors can use this number to search and verify the organization is operating as a charity on the IRS website.

In the UK, Gift Aid is a scheme that allows charities to reclaim tax on donations made by UK taxpayers. When a taxpayer makes a donation to a charity and makes a Gift Aid declaration, the charity can reclaim the basic rate of income tax on that donation from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), increasing the value of the donation at no extra cost to the donor.

For example, if a donor gives £100 to a charity and makes a Gift Aid declaration, the charity can reclaim an additional £25 from HMRC, making the total value of the donation £125.

It's worth noting that Gift Aid can only be claimed on donations made by individuals, not by companies or other organizations. Additionally, the charity must be registered with HMRC for Gift Aid to reclaim tax on donations.