> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://wusul.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The "Proportionate" Ramadan Campaign: Why Over-Promising Harms Muslim Trust - URL: https://wusul.io/insights/the-proportionate-ramadan-campaign-why-over-promising-harms-muslim-trust/ - Published: 2026-11-02T15:58:20.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-10T14:45:19.000Z - Author: Yomna El-Saeed - Tags: Strategy Listen10 min · British voice Since November 2025, the Fundraising Regulator's updated Code of Fundraising Practice has asked charities to keep their claims supportable and proportionate. Every Ramadan, the inboxes of Muslim donors fill with promises. "100% donation." "Change a life for £50." "Your Zakat will feed a family for a month." The language is urgent, emotional, and designed to convert. But a growing body of evidence (and a significant regulatory shift) suggests that this approach may be doing more harm than good. The problem is not generosity. It is credibility. ## The regulatory shift: from creativity to accountability In November 2025, the Fundraising Regulator's updated Code of Fundraising Practice came into effect. It represents the most significant overhaul of fundraising regulation in years, moving from prescriptive rules to a principles-based approach. The practical implication for charity communicators is stark: what you say must be "supportable, proportionate and not exaggerated." As CharityComms summarized the change, "If you say a donation will 'change a life', how can you demonstrate that it will? If you are raising awareness of a particular appeal or project, you must explain what will happen if you raise more or less than the target." ![The Proportionate Ramadan Campaign](https://wusul.io/content/images/2026/11/The-Proportionate-Ramadan-Campaign---Design-2-1600x1000.png) This is not a minor compliance detail. It is a fundamental challenge to the way many Ramadan campaigns are built. The pressure to stand out in a crowded market (to promise more, faster, louder than the charity next door) has led to a culture of over-promising that regulators are now moving to curtail. ## The trust deficit: what Muslim donors actually want The regulatory concern is not abstract. It reflects a deeper truth about Muslim donor behaviour: trust is the primary currency of Islamic giving. A 2026 study published in the *International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management* examined the determinants of Zakat donation behaviour among Muslim donors. The findings were unambiguous. Donors exhibit "great interest in, and are influenced by, the organizations' disbursement mechanism." The provision of financial information and awareness about the organisation directly affects donation decisions. Most critically, "trust is important in donors' behavior toward contributing to COs." The study's recommendations are pointed: charities should "enhance donors' trust, ensure fair disbursement of charity funds, disclose financial information to the stakeholders and create awareness among people about their societal contribution." Over-promising undermines every one of these objectives. When a donor is told their £100 will feed a family for a month and later discovers the actual cost of the food parcel was £60 (or that the family received less than promised) the damage is not just to that campaign. It is to the relationship. ## The "100% donation" problem: a case study in over-promising No issue illustrates the tension between marketing and honesty more clearly than the "100% donation policy." Many charities advertise that 100% of a donor's money goes directly to those in need. On the surface, this appears to be the ethical gold standard. But as Islamic Relief has argued, "a 100% donation policy wouldn't work" . Any charity performing life-saving work employs staff, vehicles, buildings, and systems. These cost money. The question is not whether overhead exists, but how it is managed and communicated. ![The Proportionate Ramadan Campaign](https://wusul.io/content/images/2026/11/The-Proportionate-Ramadan-Campaign---Design-3-1600x900.png) Islamic Relief is transparent about its costs: for every £1 donated, 3p covers admin, 7p supports fundraising, and 90p goes to aid. The organization argues that this transparency is more honest than a promise it cannot keep. "We encourage our donor community, and beyond, to instead focus on the question, 'how effectively is my donation being used?'" . The "100% policy" is attractive because it is simple. But simplicity is not the same as truth. And for Muslim donors, whose Zakat is governed by strict Shariah requirements about distribution, the gap between the promise and the reality can be particularly damaging. ## The Ramadan Pressure: Why Over-Promising Happens The temptation to over-promise is not malicious. It is structural. Ramadan is the most competitive fundraising period of the year for [Islamic charities](https://wusul.io/islamic-charity-index/). Donor attention is finite. Inbox space is limited. The pressure to break through the noise is immense. In this environment, the charity that promises the most; the most impact, the lowest overhead, the fastest delivery, wins the click. But this creates a race to the bottom. If one charity says "100% donation," the next says "100% donation plus matched funding." If one says "feed a family for £50," the next says "feed a family for £30." The result is a market where the most credible claims are drowned out by the most extravagant ones. The updated Code of Fundraising is designed to interrupt this cycle. By requiring charities to evidence their claims and explain what happens if targets are not met, it forces a reckoning with the gap between marketing and reality. ## What proportionate looks like A "proportionate" [Ramadan campaign](https://wusul.io/insights/liverpool-fcs-ramadan-campaign-normalization-without-monetization/) does not mean a timid one. It means a campaign that is compelling without being deceptive, urgent without being manipulative, and emotional without being exploitative. **It means specific claims, not vague ones.** Instead of "change a life," say "provide a food parcel for a family of five for one week." The specificity is more persuasive because it is more credible. ![The Proportionate Ramadan Campaign](https://wusul.io/content/images/2026/11/The-Proportionate-Ramadan-Campaign---Design-4-1600x1000.png) **It means transparent costs.** If 90p in every pound reaches the field, say so. If it is 85p, say that. Donors respect honesty more than they respect perfection. **It means explaining the "what if."** If the campaign raises more than its target, what happens to the surplus? If it raises less, what gets cut? The updated Code requires this information. Providing it builds trust. **It means listening to donors, not just targeting them.** The Zakat research shows that donors are influenced by disbursement mechanisms and financial disclosure. A proportionate campaign treats donors as partners in a shared mission, not as targets to be converted. ## The cost of over-promising The consequences of over-promising extend beyond regulatory risk. They erode the very foundation of [Islamic philanthropy](https://wusul.io/insights/ai-agents-in-islamic-philanthropy-a-new-frontier-for-nonprofits/): trust. When a donor gives Zakat, they fulfill a religious obligation. They are entrusting an organization with something sacred. If that trust is betrayed (if the promise was exaggerated, the impact overstated, the cost concealed) the damage is not just to the charity. It is to the donor's sense of whether their obligation was fulfilled. The most successful Ramadan campaigns are not the ones that promise the most. They are the ones that deliver what they promise, communicate it honestly, and build relationships that last beyond the month. ## Conclusion The updated Code of Fundraising is not an obstacle to effective Ramadan campaigns. It is an invitation to build better ones. ![The Proportionate Ramadan Campaign](https://wusul.io/content/images/2026/11/The-Proportionate-Ramadan-Campaign---Design-6-1600x900.png) A proportionate campaign is not a weaker campaign. It is a campaign that respects the intelligence of its audience, the dignity of its beneficiaries, and the sacredness of the obligation it invites donors to fulfil. It is a campaign that understands that trust, once lost, is difficult to rebuild; and that the Muslim donor's relationship with a charity is not a transaction, but a covenant. In a crowded Ramadan market, the loudest voice is not always the most trusted. Sometimes, the most persuasive thing a charity can say is the truth. At Wusul, we believe that [cultural intelligence](https://wusul.io/insights/what-is-cultural-intelligence-cq-a-beginners-guide/) means understanding not just what donors want to hear, but what they need to know. A proportionate Ramadan campaign is not a concession to regulation. It is an expression of respect for the faith that motivates giving. ## Frequently asked questions ### How to build trust with Muslim donors? Charities can build trust by ensuring fair disbursement of funds, disclosing financial information to stakeholders, and creating awareness about their societal contributions. Donors are influenced by an organization's disbursement mechanism and financial transparency. Campaigns should be proportionate, specific, and honest about costs and outcomes rather than relying on over-promising or exaggerated marketing claims. ### What is the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice? The Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice is a set of rules updated in November 2025 that shifted toward a principles-based approach. It requires that charity communications be supportable, proportionate, and not exaggerated. Charities must provide evidence for their claims and explain what will happen if they raise more or less than their stated targets. --- ### Related reading - [How To Plan A Ramadan 2027 Fundraising Campaign](https://wusul.io/insights/how-to-plan-a-ramadan-2027-fundraising-campaign/) - [The Power of Recurring Donations: A Strategic Imperative For Sustainable Fundraising](https://wusul.io/insights/the-power-of-recurring-donations-a-strategic-imperative-for-sustainable-fundraising/) - [Digital Maturity for Islamic Charities: The Four Stages, and How to Move Up](https://wusul.io/insights/digital-maturity-islamic-charities/)