FORA ZAKAT DONATIONS

Overview of Zakat at FORA 

 

FORA’s program eligibility requirements are (1) refugee I-94 status or similar status (e.g., the recent Afghan Special Immigration Visa) (2) family has members who are pre-literate or semi-literate SLIFE students; and (3) attendance in the program every weekday. All of our families are clearly struggling financially and most receive financial benefits. They are recently-arrived refugees who have escaped religious persecution and ethnic cleansing,  who came to the United States having been denied an education arrive without fluency in either English or Spanish; as such, it is hard to find well-paying jobs. Any financial stability obtained was upended by the COVID crisis. We do not require formal verification of financial status, as we know each of these families' financial situations intimately, and they are clearly financially struggling. As such, FORA does not charge for its services. 

 

With the Qur’an specifying eight purposes for which the money from Zakat can be used, we at FORA use Zakat to empower and provide tutoring for refugee children whose families are poor (al-fuqarâ’) and needy (al-masâkîn) as a result of oppression. 

 

We only bill goods and services that are used or consumed directly by our students and their families. To note, no Zakat expenses at FORA are used for overhead costs, such as rent and utilities. We are always happy to share our Intuit documentation of this. 

 

Zakat funding is used for the following expenses at FORA:

 

1. Educational software for intensive education for formerly illiterate children. 

2. Educational supplies (such as paper, notebooks, binders, markers, pens, pencils, etc.).

3. Electronics such as Ipads, Chromebooks and earphones.

4. Reading books for the student e-library and hard-copy library.

5. Consumables: As many students come to FORA hungry, we provide 

halal snacks day so that our students are nourished and able to fully focus on their tutoring. Further, we also provide fresh water. Finally, we sometimes buy emergency foodstuffs for FORA families when they are in dire need, to ensure that they can properly receive education. 

1. School, books and school clothing costs for students who need such. 

2. Direct Tutoring and Parent-School Liaison costs: While volunteers are the base of FORA’s tutoring, it is also important to have a select number of paid tutors who we can count on to show up every single day and serve as role models for our volunteers. It is also important to have staff members who can help parents and the students’ CPS teachers to liaise to ensure student in-school success.  Paid tutors are providing a direct educational service to children and our paid liaisons are providing direct service to their parents who are Zakat eligible, giving our students and parents one-to-one attention that they would not otherwise receive so that students can get caught up to grade level and thrive. Any paid tutoring or parent liaison time is tracked by properly allocating the time spent tutoring versus other tasks, and then only the portion of time spent on direct services (as a percentage of the whole) can be billed to Zakat.