Building a donation platform that respects its donors

Before this project, JMA UK had no website and no way to give online. The community had been giving generously for years — through people, not platforms. Our job wasn’t to invent a new habit. It was to give an existing one a home.

Give the way the community already gives

Islamic giving isn’t one thing. Zakat, Sadaqah, Lillah, Qurbani and Fitrana each have their own meaning, timing and rules — and a donor needs to know exactly where their money is going. So each category is named and explained in plain language, rather than folded into a single ‘Donate’ button.

The payment flow followed the same thinking: a guided bank transfer with a receipt upload, and Gift Aid for eligible UK donors — so a gift can go further at no cost to the person giving.

Charity isn’t a checkout. The design has to earn trust before it asks for anything.

Transparency is the feature

Every active campaign has its own public page with its progress, so donors can see what they’re part of. Behind it, the committee runs the whole site themselves — campaigns, events, the gallery and announcements — from one admin dashboard, without needing a developer.

We built JMA’s digital home at no cost. Some causes are worth more than any invoice — and building for a community that trusts you is its own kind of brief.