STATEMENT:

We stand with Muzmatch as they face down a lawsuit from Match Group, the $35 billion company that owns Tinder, Hinge, and over 50 other dating sites.

As Muslim creatives, entrepreneurs and businesses, we know how much effort and sacrifice goes into realizing products that cater to the specific needs of our communities and cultures.

The dilemma facing Muzmatch should concern us all. If giant companies can pursue legal action geared at putting smaller competitors out of business, this will have a significant chilling effect on other independent entrepreneurs and creatives who simply want to realize a dream.

Our communities deserve products and services that cater to their needs just like anyone else. Our prayers are with Muzmatch and its staff as they bravely fight for their right to continue doing good.

In solidarity,

1. Chris AR Blauvelt, LaunchGood
2. Amany Killawi, LaunchGood
3. Omar Hamid, LaunchGood
4. Melanie Elturk, Haute Hijab
5. Kerim Ture, Modanisa
6. Peter Gould, Gould Studios
7. Mohammed Faris, The Productive Muslim Company
8. Amin Aaser, Noor Kids
9. Shahed Amanullah, Zabihah.com
10. Ibrahim Javed, Deen Developers
11. Tahseen Hamid, Deen Developers
12. Alamin Shahidul, Deen Developers
13. Umar Gora, Deen Developers
14. Muntasir Syed, Deen Developers
15. Tariq Jamal, Pillars
16. Arfah Farooq, Muslamic Makers
17. Abdul-Rahman Abbas, Pillars
18. Saad Malik, Zoya Finance
19. Rafiq ibn Jubair, IlmFeed
20. Bilal Hassam, The Muslim Agency
21. Junaid Wahedna, Wahed Inc.
22. Muhammad Saleh, Lala Hijabs
23. Sana Saleh, Lala Hijabs
24. Sakib Ahmed, Simply Smashed
25. Zahid Mahmood, halaljoints.com
26. Navid Akhtar, Alchemiya
27. Adeem Younis, SingleMuslim.com
28. Nabeel Shariff, Trypp
29. Lisa Vogl, Verona Collection
30. Haroon Mota, Active Inclusion Network
31. Elnur Seyidli, HalalBooking
32. Ufuk Seçgin, HalalBooking
33. Enver Cebi, HalalBooking
34. Zainab Ismail, Fit For Allah
35. Sinan Ismail, Durioo
36. Ibrahim Abed, Crescent Foods

LaunchGood Stands with Muzmatch was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

On November 30th, 2021 the world will come together to celebrate GivingTuesday, the biggest day of giving in the year. The goal of GivingTuesday is for charities, companies and individuals to rally together for causes they believe in and to show our capacity to care for one another. And as the world’s largest Muslim crowdfunding platform, LaunchGood is an official partner of GivingTuesday and has been able support numerous campaigns in raising more than on any other platform.

In 2020 we helped campaigns raise over $1 million from donors in over 95 countries during GivingTuesday alone!

The LaunchGood Factor

GivingTuesday is all about supporting the causes that YOU believe in! And when your passions line up with your beliefs, amazing things can happen. That’s why LaunchGood gives you access to the world’s largest active Muslim donor base ready to donate and share great causes with their networks. And the best part? On GivingTuesday, between 12am EDT and 11:59pm EDT November 30th, we’ll be giving away prizes, all throughout the day!

“I like prizes, tell me more!” 💸

We don’t believe in the whole “once they’re gone, they’re gone” philosophy, so we’ve decided to run contests and hand out prizes all day long, unlike other platforms 👀. Read on to see the ways in which your campaign can win even more:

Yes, Prizes!📈

• Leaderboards - Finish top 10 on our leaderboards (Most Raised and Most Supporters) and win additional funds towards your campaign with the top prize taking home an extra $20k! 🏆
• Matched Funds - Be one of the first campaigns to get 50 supporters and we’ll match you with an extra $500! 👥
• Wildcard Giveaways - We’re raffling $250 throughout the day. Get 10 supporters and you have a chance to win! ❤️
• Power Hours- We’ll be giving extra boosts throughout the day, so be sure to follow us on social media for your chance to win $2500 for your campaign! 📲

As we’ve already mentioned, GivingTuesday is all about increasing the impact and empowering the ummah to make a difference and LaunchGood will get you there. LaunchGood is here to make your GivingTuesday 2021 the most impactful one yet!

Click here to learn more about GivingTuesday on LaunchGood or click here to start a campaign. Also if you have any questions or would like to chat with one of our representatives, please feel free to click here.

GivingTuesday 2021 on LaunchGood: Everything You Need To Know was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In 2019, UK-based charity Pilgrim took part in LaunchGood’s GivingTuesday challenge, winning themselves $20k in the process! Here’s how you can do the same.

This year, GivingTuesday looks to be the biggest and best yet on LaunchGood. Charities, community groups and creatives rally their supporters to win prizes of up to $20k on our leaderboards for Most Supporters, and Most Raised during the contest. This article will share tips and advice that will give you a competitive edge this GivingTuesday.

“Teamwork makes the dream work!”

Step 1. Build a team.

Bring together friends, colleagues and collaborators to work with you to ensure your GivingTuesday campaign is a success! This dream team will be the engine room behind your effort so try to have around 10–20 people fully committed to the campaign and competition; it will make your life so much easier!

If each member of your team can commit to bringing 20 donations themselves, then that’s 200–400 there already. We all have enough contacts in our phonebook (and even in our extended families) so make sure everyone focuses on those closest to them before reaching out to the rest.

During the contest, your primary role will be to keep your team going, rather than chasing donations yourself.

Create a WhatsApp group for this team and use it to motivate each other with memes, gifs, jokes and updates. It’s super important to keep this group active, engaged and fun! Incentivise their performance, by offering prizes or rewards to whoever can complete their list first, or get the most donors.

Content is Key 🔑

Step 2. Create images, posters and videos that you can share with your network on the day to encourage them to give.

Social media posts featuring a video or image gain far more attention than those with text only, so use this to your advantage! Short and snappy videos work best over long detailed narratives. Optimise the images for WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, [insert social media platform here] and include the call-to-action and link to donate. Keep your image template so you can update it during the competition with things like “1 hour left” or “Help us get to 1st place!”.

Here’s an example from one of our Rasul Week contest winners.

Phone-Trees

Step 3. Good old-fashioned phone calls. Sounds too simple… but it works!

How often do we receive WhatsApp messages asking to donate towards a great cause? Maybe every day? How many times do we ignore them, or intend to donate later but end up forgetting? But how often do we receive a call asking for the same thing, and better yet from someone we know? Call centres are successful because we lovely humans find it difficult to say no when talking to a real person. Research also shows we are more likely to give when asked by someone we know (which puts the onus on the one asking rather than the cause itself!)

“Your network is your net-worth”

Phone-Trees allow you to access and leverage the network of your volunteers, the wider the network, the greater likelihood of donations. Have a diverse team ready to call family members, aunties, friends, colleagues… pretty much anyone and everyone. It’s a numbers game, the more calls you make, the more donations you’ll receive.

Size doesn’t matter

Phone-Trees are effective regardless of whether you’re a multinational NGO, or small community project. What matters is how committed your pool of volunteers or team are in making those calls. Bring these volunteers together, either the way Pilgrim did, or virtually through a WhatsApp group and keep it active, engaging and fun!

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get”

This point deserves its own paragraph. The fundraiser is as strong as the ask, whether you are fundraising for an emergency, or a community project. Your volunteers can’t afford to be shy when asking for money… after all it’s for a great cause! Most people will donate to your phone tree because you asked them, not because of the cause itself.

Make sure you have a strong ask!

Follow-up game

It’s not just about making the calls, it’s what happens after you put the phone down. The following few seconds is when the person decides to donate, or not. Therefore it’s crucial to keep an eye on the donations coming in under your campaign and follow up your call with a link and a reminder, even requesting the contact to notify you once they’ve donated. This makes it much easier to work through your list of contacts.

Sharing is caring… or is it?

Don’t fall into the trap of only sharing your fundraiser on social media, you’ll hardly grab someone’s attention and hold it enough to donate. So only share your campaign across your socials after you’ve worked through your list, or in parallel, but simply put you can’t replace a good-old phone call.

“If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail”

Here are some suggested actions you can do before, during and after the contest:

1. Before GivingTuesday: Meet with your team, explain the rules, go over your game plan and prepare your call lists. Avoid sharing the link to your campaign yet in case anybody donates early before the contest begins.
2. On GivingTuesday: Ensure you and your team are the first to donate. Work through your call lists during the day. Spend the evening updating donors, expand your reach to people beyond your call list, and leverage your social platforms or newsletters. If it’s a close competition late on then consider creating a Rescue Team of volunteers who can spend some extra hours at night helping to get those few extra donors that can make the difference.
3. After GivingTuesday: Thank your team, and more importantly, your supporters. Let them know how you did and celebrate your success with them. Regardless of where you finished, this contest would have enabled you to galvanise more support and donations in one day than you could have before, so remember and remind your team that everyone is a winner.

So there you go, these are some winning tips based on previous experience, blood, sweat and tears. Now get cracking! Remember GivingTuesday begins on Tuesday 30th November at 12am EDT, and ends at 11:59pm EDT.

There are going to be so many ways to win prizes if you fundraise on LaunchGood this GivingTuesday, start your campaign today!

Have a question about getting started? The LaunchGood team is here! Click here to speak to our Campaign Success team!

How to Win GivingTuesday was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Get inspired!

Have you ever donated to a cause within minutes of reading the page? What was the first thing that caught your eye? Was it a bold title, a heart-tugging tagline, or did the campaign creator remind you of someone in your own life? Ask yourself: which campaigns draw me in, and why?

Then, define these 3 things in your own campaign:

1. How do I want my audience to feel while reading my page?
2. Why should someone want to donate to my campaign?
3. What main points do I want to highlight for my reader?

The First Thing People Read…

The title of your campaign is the first thing donors will read. You want to create a title that highlights the main challenge of your campaign and who the campaign is benefiting. E.g: Help Bring Amit Ramnarain Home

Your campaign’s title should draw in donors by gripping their attention, but also as short and clear as possible.

Creating headings in your campaign story can be just as important as your title. Break up your story with 3–4 bold headings before each paragraph.This will allow readers to skim your page and still take away all of the main points you need to get across.
E.g: Help us SAVE Disempowered Youth in Atlanta and Beyond

1. Introduction: Who are the main characters
2. Appeal to donors: Why should someone donate to your campaign now? What is your cause?
3. Breakdown of funds: How will a contribution help your cause, what is your goal with this fundraiser?
4. Can we learn more: Do you have any resources for donors to learn more about your cause? Where and how will you be providing updates as your campaign grows?

Nice To Meet Your Campaign

Imagine you are meeting someone new for the first time, you would never jump into the conversation without introducing yourself first. Treat the interaction between donors and your page the same way. Every reader is getting to know you and the cause that you are fundraising for, so give the most important information at the start.

Who are you and how do you relate to your cause? Are you raising funds on behalf of a beneficiary, for an organization, or for a business you’re starting? Establishing the relationship between yourself and the reason you are creating your campaign.

The Breakdown

You’ve introduced yourself to your donors, now to answer the next set of pressing questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. This last question of ‘how” is most important. If you are raising funds to a local homeless shelter, how does the shelter plan to use the donation? If you are raising funds for a friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer, will the donations be used to cover medical bills, assistance in daily living expenses? Clearly let donors know how donations will be used.

Answer questions like these:

1. Who is benefiting from the fund?
2. What kind of impact would a donation create?
3. What inspired you to start your campaign
4. Why should readers donate?
5. How the donations will aid you or others.

Creating transparency for potential donors is a key element to a good campaign. We want readers to become part of your story and this can only be achieved through honest, clear details. E.g.: Hmzah’s Legacy

Creating an Emotional Appeal

The main point you want to get across is why donors should care about your campaign. Get them invested in your story through impactful images and thoughtful writing. You want to be able to establish a human connection to your reader. Although it is difficult to be vulnerable to an unknown audience, doing so will strengthen that connection.

Use descriptive and moving wording, Italicize, bold, and underline to emphasize the most important points in your campaign. Utilizing good quality pictures and short videos will also help your campaign become more personal. Putting a face to a cause creates a strong connection to your audience. E.g: Building a Water Well in Mali in Honor of Saeed

Remember to always speak from the heart to clearly let donors know why your campaign is worth donating to.

Fill in the details

Now that you’ve got the main points across, it’s time to fill in the gaps. Connect all the main elements with the details that will draw in donors. What is unique about this campaign?What other events led up to you creating this fundraiser? At this point, you will begin creating a timeline for your readers to follow. If your campaign was put together in quick response to a tragedy or emergency, establish the sense of urgency needed. Let the reader be a part of this story by bringing them in from the beginning.

Your Checklist

Now that you’ve successfully written a story for your campaign, do a quick read-through of your work. If you came across this campaign, would you feel compelled to donate? Make sure the story flows. Is it engaging enough to keep the reader’s interest throughout, are there any details you can expand on? Send it over to trusted friends or family members for feedback.

Here is a checklist you can use to make sure you’ve written the best campaign story you can:

• First Impressions: Make sure your title draw in readers
• Introductions: Clearly established the main characters in your story at the beginning
• The Headlines: Break up paragraphs with bold headlines so readers can skim through and find the main points.
• Breakdown of Funds: Clearly let donors know your fundraising goals, why funds are being raised, and how they will be used.
• Create An Emotional Appeal: Be thoughtful and honest in your storytelling
• Emphasize the details: Use bullet points, bold, underline, italicize the points you want to stand out
• Put a face to it: Add impactful pictures and videos to connect with your reader
• Feedback: Share with family and friends. Make sure your story flows and motivates readers to donate.

Congratulations, You’ve now written a compelling, thorough, and concise story for your campaign! You’re ready to start sharing and achieving your crowdfunding goals. In fact the best time is now! Start your campaign today by clicking here.

GivingTuesday 2021 is right around the corner and is a great way to jumpstart your campaign. Get in touch with one of our Business Development Specialists to get started here.

Your Campaign Is An Amazing Story: Here’s How To Tell It was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As a carefree child, I remember frowning and repeating certain du’as or supplications in a bid to memorise them, understanding the words but not necessarily how powerful and meaningful they were. At that time, it was something I did to impress my parents by doing ‘the right thing’.

In my more-chaotic adult life, I have a much deeper appreciation for the many supplications that the Prophet ﷺ had made, and how so many of them are preserved and passed down to us, all 1400+ years later!

Supplicating is such a beautiful and tender thing. We are acknowledging our vulnerabilities and weaknesses and worries to the only One who could do anything about it, subhanAllah. But more beautifully, the 5 du’as or supplications I’m sharing today are all prayers the Prophet ﷺ himself made, and that makes me feel closer to the Prophet ﷺ. These prayers are his own words, coming out from his own heart and aspirations.

Living more than 1400+ years apart from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ can sometimes make it challenging to feel a connection to him. I sincerely hope inshaAllah that reading these du’as would not only give you actual tools to deal with this life (supplication is a believer’s weapon after all!), but a greater appreciation and closeness to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. 💚

Du’a #1: The Most Frequent Du’a He ﷺ Ever Made

Shahr bin Hawshab said to Umm Salamah: ‘O Mother of the Believers! What was the supplication that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said most frequently when he was with you?”

She said: ‘The supplication he said most frequently was:

“O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.
Ya Muqallibal-qulub, thabbit qalbi ‘ala deenik.”

She said: ‘So I said: “O Messenger of Allah, why do you supplicate so frequently: ‘O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.’

He said: ‘O Umm Salamah! Verily, there is no human being except that his heart is between Two Fingers of the Fingers of Allah, so whomsoever He wills He makes steadfast, and whomever He wills He causes to deviate.’”

Can you imagine that the most steadfast and the person whose heart is firmest upon the religion made this du’a frequently? If anything, that tells me that this du’a should be in our arsenal so that we too can have firm hearts and patient constancy just like he did, inshaAllah.

Du’a #2: The Du’a He ﷺ Taught With Love

This next du’a is not only beautiful in its wording, but the manner in which this supplication was taught, and subsequently passed down to us is a whole beautiful story in itself!

Mu’adh ibn Jabal reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took me by the hand and he said, “O Mu’adh, I swear by Allah that I love you. I swear by Allah that I love you. O Mu’adh, I advise you not to forget supplicating after every prayer by saying:

“O Allah, help me to remember You, to give thanks to You, and to worship You in the best manner.

Allahumma a’inni ala zikrika was shukrika wa husni ibaadatik.”

First of all, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was holding Mu’adh’s hands!

Secondly, he ﷺ repeated twice that he loved him before he told him not to forget reading this supplication. I can only imagine how closely Mu’adh must have been listening to the Prophet ﷺ to ensure he never forgot it!

Thirdly, the wording of the supplication itself! The Prophet ﷺ taught not just Mu’adh but all of us, that we do need help in remembering Allah, to be thankful to Him, and to worship Him in the best of ways.

Du’a #3: A Du’a to Reconcile Hearts

I don’t know about you, but it feels to me like discord, disagreement and disharmony is rife in relationships today. It affects our mental and emotional health, families, working relationships and even the way we connect and build communities. Being at peace with each other is a precious foundation to build on.

And yet our hearts, and love itself, are subtle creations and are completely controlled by the One who created them.

In the Qur’an, a verse from Surah an-Anfal says:

“Had you given away all the riches of the Earth you could not have joined their hearts, but it is Allah Who joined their hearts. Indeed He is All-Mighty. All-Wise.”

We can (and should!) take healthy marriage communication classes, positive parenting workshops or attend team-building retreats, but if we don’t seek His Help in bringing hearts together, there’s a big part that is missing.

The verse mentioned earlier was referring to the Aws and Khazraj tribes — two warring factions in Yathrib (now Medina) who were bent on annihilating each other before Islam came to bring their hearts together in mutual feelings of love and sincere brotherhood.

If Allah could bring the hearts of two warring tribes together (who had been killing each other for years!), He can most definitely bring the hearts of our friends, families and our communities together.

This next du’a is:

“O Allah! Reconcile between our hearts. And resolve our affairs. And guide us toward peace and paths of guidance. And take us out of the darkness into the light.

Allahumma allif baina qulubina. Wa aslih zaata bainina. Wahdina subulas-salaam. Wa najjina min al-dhulumati ilan-nur.”

Du’a #4: The Du’a That Differentiates

I love this next du’a because it gives me a whole new perspective on things that we normally ask for: knowledge, provision and good actions. However, the specific wording of the du’a tells me that these things can be given and still not be good for us!

We can be given knowledge that does not benefit, provision that is not good, and actions that are not accepted!

Umm Salma, may Allah be pleased with her, said the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say in the supplication in the morning prayer:

“O Allaah indeed I ask You for beneficial knowledge, and a good halal provision, and actions which are accepted.

Allaahumma inni as’aluka ilman nafi’a, wa rizzqan tayyeeba, wa amalan mutaqabbalan.”

How lucky are we to know what to ask for?!

Du’a #5: A Du’a Better Than Cold Water

This du’a is not originally the Prophet’s ﷺ own words, but is in a hadith!

Abu Darda reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Prophet David would supplicate, saying:

“O Allah, I ask you for Your love and the love of those who love You and the deeds that will bring me to Your love. O Allah, make Your love more beloved to me than myself, my family, and even cold water.

Allahumma inni as’aluka hubbak min yuhibbuk, wal amal al-lazi yuballighuni hubbak. Allahummaj’al hubbaka ahabba ila min nafsi wa ahli wa minal ma’il baarid.

What could we possibly ask for beyond Allah’s love and making sure that that love is stronger than our love for anything else in this life, even cold water?!

I hope you’ll consider adding these du’as to your daily rituals, and that they will make you think about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when reading them, and feeling that much closer to him, especially during this month of Rabi’ al-Awwal!

Click here to find out all you need to know about Rasul Week!

Five Du’as the Prophet ﷺ Made was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We are so excited that Rasul Week is coming! For the 2nd year running, LaunchGood will be commemorating Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ life over a week in Rabi’ al-Awwal. This year, Rasul Week will be held from October 18th to the 22nd / 12th to 16th Rabi’ al-Awwal 1443H.

There will be webinars for you to learn more about Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ life and teachings, and engaging content throughout our social media channels to increase in our love for him ﷺ.

This year, we want to encourage you to take it a step further and be a mercy to all, just like Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was during his life! What do we mean? Well, we want you to start your own LaunchGood!

Instead of simply donating to campaigns (which is amazing mashaAllah and may Allah reward you!), starting your own LaunchGood will allow you to raise funds for a cause close to your heart, and you will rope in your family and friends in a project of goodness! Instead of waiting on someone else to solve a problem, you are taking charge and making changes in your community!

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does good.”

How to start a LaunchGood:

Three fundraising areas in the world today that you can quickly help with are: providing access to clean water, providing care to orphans, and supporting refugees. If either of these three causes are dear to you, use one of our trusted, featured partners to raise funds for easily!

Simply click on the links below and the fundraising page will be set up for you. Continue reading below for tips and tricks on how to rally your personal network to raise the funds together for a good cause!

To raise funds for water wells:

1. Bondhe Shams Solar Wells in Pakistan
2. Pious Projects Water Wells in Mali, Africa
3. Paani Water Wells in Pakistan

To provide care to orphans:

1. Islamic Relief USA
2. Spot Project
3. Islamic Help

To support refugees:

1. Droplets of Mercy (Uyghur refugees)
2. Muslim Aid USA (Syrian refugees)
3. Al I’tisam Relief Program (Rohingya refugees)

Alternatively, you can start a LaunchGood for a local organisation or a personal cause that you truly care about and which would be extending Prophetic mercy to all. Just reach out to our team and we will have a dedicated staff walk you through the process of creating a LaunchGood. 🚶🏽

Some Tips for a Successful LaunchGood

Fundraising can be daunting if you’ve never done it before — we totally understand! But we’ve had countless success stories from individuals who didn’t let their fear get in the way of doing good! They believed in the cause they wanted to raise funds for, and followed some tried-and-tested ways to reach their goal.

1 — Find a cause you are passionate about ❤️

When you are passionate about a cause, people can tell. You will be more persuasive when you are telling them about why the cause matters to you, and your sincerity will shine through. People give from their heart, not from their head. They part with their money when they feel an emotional connection.

Because their link to the cause is YOU, understanding why it’s so important to you will influence them to also care about it. Tell personal stories and use engaging pictures in your pitch. But most of all, be sincere.

This Rasul Week, think about the way the Prophet ﷺ cared about something or someone — maybe orphans, or women, or community building, or youth, and see if there’s an overlap with your own interests.

2 — Rally your network — send personal messages 💌

Once you have identified a cause you are passionate about, rally your network! (PS: You don’t need rich friends to raise funds!) All you have to do is reach out to your family and friends to tell them what you are raising funds for and how you are doing this to manifest Prophetic mercy during Rasul Week. (Who knows, it might even get them excited to start their own LaunchGood!)

Posting your campaign link on your social media page is not sufficient as the bystander effect might take place — this is when someone who sees the link will assume that someone else will donate to your campaign and so don’t feel personally invested to donate.

In our experience all these years, a personal message makes all the difference. Reach out to your network personally, and don’t be shy to remind people either about your campaign. Research shows that some people may need to be asked up to 7 times before they act on their intentions! Like the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his tireless da’wah efforts, get inspired by him when the asking gets challenging! 💪🏽

3–Create a little community out of this! 🥳

Thank your early supporters, provide regular updates on how much has been raised so everyone feels like they’re part of something bigger, and get them to also share to their network.

Giving charity can sometimes feel very passive. Starting your own LaunchGood and giving your family and friends a chance to do this together with you will give you a better appreciation for the hard work that charities and humanitarian organisations go through, but also be a precious, bonding experience.

Most importantly, think of how happy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would be that you are trying to be a mercy to all, just like he was. 💚

Be a mercy to all this Rasul Week — start your LaunchGood today! 🚀

Be a Mercy to All — Start your own LaunchGood! was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Rabi’ al-Awwal is next month (we’re in Safar now) and we’re so excited for you to participate in Rasul Week! Rasul Week is a week for us to celebrate the life of our beloved Prophet, peace be upon him, and to commemorate his Sunnah. And part of that Sunnah is giving.

Start A Campaign for Sunnah Causes!

Rasul Week will be from October 18th to the 22nd. We’ve split the week into various themes from his beloved life, and will be spending the days commemorating these throughout the week. These include:

• Orphan Relief
• Sacred Knowledge
• Women’s Empowerment
• Community Building
• Universal Mercy

So whether you want to start a legacy campaign for your grandmother by building wells, or feed the kids in Yemen, there’s a theme for you. And as always, LaunchGood is with you every step of the way. If you want to strategise or plan your fundraising tactics, our team can help you reach your fundraising goals.

Click here for help starting your LaunchGood with our wonderful support team or you can click here and get started on a campaign right away.

Compete to Win Leaderboard Prizes

Fundraising is all about making an impact on the lives of others. And we want to help you amplify your impact this Rasul Week through our leaderboard contest!

From 7pm to 7pm the next day, we’ll give campaign creators the opportunity to compete on our leaderboards (Most Raised or Most Supporters) with the opportunity to take home an additional $7,000 towards your campaign!

Click here to check out some effective strategies to maximise your Rasul Week fundraising journey.

To see the leaderboard, LaunchGood.com/RasulWeek!

Get Extra Promotion With A Marketing Package

We know that you’ll be rallying your supporters to try and take the leaderboards during this week, but a little bit of extra marketing help can definitely go a long way. Our professional marketing team can help you position your campaign so that you can rest assured that you’ll be set up to smash your fundraising goals this Rasul Week.

Click here to check out our Rasul Week marketing packages and click here to apply for one.

Get extra support from our team!

Whether you have questions on getting started on your Rasul Week campaign or you want to discuss strategy, our global campaign success team is here to help. Click here to book a time with one of our team members and start your LaunchGood today!

All You Need To Know About Rasul Week 1443H / 2021 was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

On June 17th 2020, Omari Grey, a father of nine, was involved in a vicious head-on road collision. He suffered extensive trauma including fractures of the skull, ribs, hips, and leg, a punctured lung, and bleeding in his brain. Omari’s family was told to prepare for the worst.

Thousands of people lose their lives on the road each day. What made Omari Grey’s accident so special?

I live in Singapore, part of the 15% Muslim minority in the country. Omari Grey lives in Virginia, in the United States, thousands of kilometers away. I’d never heard of him. And yet, on the day of his accident — even before I knew about the campaign as a staff member at LaunchGood — my social media feeds were full of posts about him, and my WhatsApp had several messages asking for du’as of healing for him, and even Qur’an khatm recitations.

I had to find out what made Omari Grey so special that Muslims halfway across the globe were praying for his recovery and his family.

Who is Omari Grey?

Omari was well-known as a teacher, coach, mentor, and activist. He was always busy, teaching calculus at Woodrow Wilson High School, coaching youth basketball, helping the community with his Body’s Rights Wellness Program, serving at-risk youth, and co-parenting his nine children.​

Omari also started Fitrah Farms, a program providing naturally raised and organic halal chicken. He was even featured on the cover of Men’s Health.

Omari always put the community first — now, the community rallied behind him. The original LaunchGood campaign was set to raise $50,000 to support his medical costs. Two days later, that initial goal had been exceeded 20 times over.

In just 48 hours, the campaign raised $1,000,000. I’ve been at LaunchGood for five years, and I had never seen anything like it. Omari’s community had powered one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in our platform’s history.

In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, it is said that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

“When Allah loves a slave, he calls out Jibril and says: ‘I love so-and-so; so love him’. Then Jibril loves him. After that he (Jibril) announces to the inhabitants of the heavens that ‘Allah loves so- and-so; so love him,’’ and the inhabitants of the heavens (the angels) also love him and then make people on earth love him.”

Remember Omari’s extensive injuries? A day after his accident, the campaign update read:

“Omari was taken off of life support last night and the initial prognosis to the family was that he will pass within minutes. SubhanAllah, Allah is Al-Latif and Omari is a fighter and he is still (after almost 9 hours) fighting for his life and showing signs of strength. We ask everyone to continue to sincerely pray for him and for his HEALING inshaAllah.”

On July 1st, 2020, the update was that he was still on life support and in critical condition. Omari ended up spending 12 weeks in the hospital, 8 in the ICU. Doctors had told his family to prepare for the worst.

Omari fought and stayed alive. Omari was told he would never walk again. He accepted the challenge.

On January 2nd, 2021, his wife Sakinah posted an update:

“He is in a state of happiness and laughter the majority of his days, Alhamdulillah. I’ve never seen anything like this before. He wakes up everyday motivated, happy, and ready to start his therapies. He is working with a speech, occupational, and physical therapist throughout the week.”

To say that I was witnessing a miracle unfold before my eyes would be an understatement. Everything — from the way his story went viral, to his survival, to the way the campaign took off, and now his recovery — was miraculous.

I cannot help but to think of the saying of Al-Hasan al-Basri:

“Do not resent the calamities that come and the disasters that occur, for perhaps in something that you dislike will be your salvation, and perhaps in something that you prefer will be your doom.”

And the verse in Surah al-Baqarah, “Indeed, Allah has power over all things.”

I am excited to share two major updates:

Firstly, there is a LaunchGood campaign for Fitrah Farms, the farm that Omari started. As Omari recovers to full strength, your contributions can help them build a sustainable farm that will benefit generations to come. We rallied around him once, and we can do it again.

Secondly, watch the powerful exclusive mini-documentary on Sept 24th featuring Omari, his wife Sakina and their beautiful family. See for yourself the amazing progress he has made since the accident over a year ago.

Don’t miss it: LaunchGood.com/Omari

Omari Grey: One Year On was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

LaunchGood is where Muslims raise money. It is a network that insists the ummah is still alive in our hearts, that we are connected no matter where we are. It is our story book to the world of all the great things Muslims are capable of. And with every passing year, you add more chapters to our storybook.

With the Hijri year 1442H coming to an end, here are three campaigns from the past year that showcase the impact of what we can achieve when the ummah comes together.

Sending Funds Where Our Bodies Can’t Go

Palestine, home of Masjid Al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam, is beloved to Muslims around the globe. Increasingly since the occupation in 1948, the liberation of Palestine has been in the minds and du’as of the ummah.

Al Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital Society is the largest Arab hospital in East Jerusalem, with 350 beds, and 80 ICU beds including 16 pediatric beds. Al-Makassed is the only hospital in Palestine capable of handling complicated cases.

During the raids on Masjid Al-Aqsa at the end of Ramadan 1442H where hundreds were injured, many of those who were wounded in the attacks as well as those injured in the clashes at Sheikh Jarrah were sent to Al Makassed Hospital for treatment as they are located near Masjid Al-Aqsa as well as Sheikh Jarrah.

When the attacks happened, many Muslims worldwide took to social media to express their rage and grief at what was unfolding. They could channel their frustration, and ease their helplessness by supporting Al Makassed’s crowdfunding campaign on LaunchGood. Raising $614,376, alhamdulillah.

On 27 May 2021, doctors at Al Makassed informed us that the funds collected were “utilized to purchase disposables, consumptions, and surgical instruments to treat over 1000 injured patients as a result of the continuous attacks by the occupation forces and military police at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah quarters.”

Even though we couldn’t be there with our Palestinian brothers and sisters to defend them and to defend the Al Aqsa Mosque, we came together to support them from all corners of the world.

We are here for Palestine throughout the year, not just when it’s being bombed. Here are other campaigns to support Palestine: www.launchgood.com/Palestine

When One Part of the Body Hurts

In a hadith, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.”

2 months ago, on June 6, the lives of Salman Afzaal, Madiha Salman, Yumna Salman and Salman Afzaal’s grandmother (who was not named) were taken away for simply being Muslim in London, Ontario. They left behind a 9 year old orphan who survived the brutal attack.

And so the rest of his global Muslim family showed their support by raising over $1.2 million for the campaign.

Amenah Nomani, one of the family members of this horrific hate crime, had this to say after the outpouring of support she saw for the campaign. On behalf of the rest of the family, she thanked everyone for the love and support and asked us to keep the departed in our prayers.

This terrible event reminds us that Islamophobia is alive and real, and has deadly consequences. LaunchGood brought people together as we held space for each other, received counsel and good advice during the Healing Hatred webinar. To watch a recording of the webinar, click here.

When Creativity, Demand and Barakah Collide

While the previous campaigns showcased the impact our Ummah has when we stand together, this next campaign shows that we come together not just in difficult circumstances, but also to build an inspired future and to support each other’s dreams.

The Productive Muslim is no stranger to many of us. Mohammed Faris, or Abu Productive as he was known in the early days, tells us that the crowdfunding campaign for The Barakah Journal raised $50k in 36 hours. MashaAllah.

For over a decade, The Productive Muslim company has trained thousands of professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders worldwide on living a life of Barakah. This training helped many connect spirituality to productivity and get more ‘done’ with less, but they kept getting the same feedback “This training is so helpful! But how to make Barakah part of our daily lifestyle?”. They came up with the Barakah Journal to answer that question.

The campaign eventually ended having raised over $115,000, selling over 6000 journals to Muslims worldwide. In a guest blog post, Mohammed Faris says:

“No campaign is a one-man show.

There’s an army of Ansars (helpers) who come together and support you beyond your expectations.

I was blessed, not only with a fantastic Productive Muslim team but a talented LaunchGood team who coached us through the entire process of launching the campaign.”

We are so proud to be able to support such incredible products by creative and entrepreneurial Muslims. Check out more of such campaigns here!

These were 3 out of thousands of inspiring campaigns in the past year that fuels us to work harder. Have a great idea for 1443H? It would be our honour to see it as a campaign on LaunchGood.

Visit www.launchgood.com today!

1442H: The Impact of the Ummah Coming Together was originally published in LaunchGood on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.