Asnaf Care A Case Study of the Malaysian-based Charity Crowdfunding Platform to Combat the Impact of COVID-19

Abstract

Ever since the success of GoFundMe, an American charity- or donation-based online crowdfunding launched in 2010, this platform has become popular among not-for-profit organizations to raise funds to support their social activities and projects. However, the use of this online platform within the Islamic social finance domain, particularly by the government bodies is very limited. Hence, this paper provides a case study of Asnaf Care, a charity crowdfunding platform that was launched by a state zakat authority in Malaysia, i.e., Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah (LZNK) to specifically assist eligible beneficiaries who are affected by the global pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19). The case study aims to assess the effectiveness of this platform in raising funds to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the affected zakat recipients. In this discourse, key features of Asnaf Care, its campaigns or projects, and the total collected funds since its launch in March 2020 until December 2020 are highlighted. The case study is hoped to pave the way for any zakat authorities in Malaysia or worldwide in exploring an alternative digital platform to raise additional funds during financial crises due to pandemics, calamities, or natural disasters.