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CWE-CWR-02 Compassion, Welfare & Environment Community Welfare & Relief CORE Excellence v2.9.7

Hardship-grant / zakāt emergency fund

Evaluates the provision of a hardship or Zakāt fund for urgent aid. This reflects *Iḥsān* (excellence) by establishing a vital safety net for stakeholders in crisis. Rooted in the principle of *Takaful* (mutual solidarity), such funds directly support the *Maqasid al-Shari'ah* (objectives of Islamic law) by ensuring *Hifz al-Nafs* (preservation of life) and protecting human dignity during severe distress. A structured, confidential process ensures timely relief, reinforcing community trust and fulfilling a core Islamic social responsibility.

Assessment Questions
  1. Does the organization have a dedicated fund or mechanism to provide emergency financial aid to stakeholders in hardship?
  2. How are Zakāt and non-Zakāt hardship funds segregated in banking/ledger and decision-making?
  3. What is your delegated authority matrix and out-of-hours P1 approval route?
  4. What lawful basis/Art.9 condition, retention schedule, and access controls apply to applicant data?
  5. Show sanctions screening logs and escalation steps for possible matches; how do you handle safeguarding red flags during assessment?
  6. Describe the process for applying for, assessing, and disbursing aid. Is this process documented, confidential, and consistently applied?
  7. How does the organization measure the effectiveness and impact of the hardship fund (e.g., number of cases, speed of relief, beneficiary feedback)?
Evidence Requirements
  • Policy document for the hardship/zakāt fund.
  • Delegated Authority Matrix/financial scheme of delegation.
  • Restricted fund codes/bank statements showing Zakāt vs Sadaqah segregation.
  • DPIA (summary + actions) and Data retention schedule.
  • Data-sharing agreements/MOUs with referral partners.
  • Sanctions screening SOP + anonymised screening logs.
  • Cash exceptional-need protocol + sample receipts.
  • Anonymized application forms, assessment records, and decision logs.
  • Reports analyzing the fund's activities, impact, and review outcomes.
Scoring Guidelines
LevelRatingDescription
5 5/5 Optimizing: Proactive fund with equity analysis, integrated referrals, and rapid disbursement (<48h P1). Meets all L4 requirements plus benchmarking and root-cause support.
4 4/5 Managed: Fund exists with full segregation of Zakāt/Sadaqah, KPI reporting, DPIA, retention schedules, and clear delegated authority. Timely disbursement.
3 3/5 Established: Fund exists with documented policy, dual authorisation, basic sanctions screening, conflict controls, and privacy notice. Segregation may be manual but effective.
2 2/5 Informal: Fund exists but process is ad-hoc, lacks formal segregation, or misses key compliance controls (e.g., no sanctions check or conflict policy).
1 1/5 No hardship grant or emergency fund.

Related Criteria

CWE-CWR-01 Weekly Dignified Food Support Service (Food Bank, Pantry, or Hot Meals) CWE-CWR-03 Volunteer management: hours logging, safer recruitment & safeguarding CWE-CWR-04 Partnerships with local authorities and community organisations (NGOs/VCSE) CWE-CWR-05 User-impact survey results CWE-CWR-06 Shelter/meal for homeless & travellers
Version
2.9.7 2025-11-05

Discussion (1)

Administrator 2026-03-07 11:07:58.778501

📋 **Version updated: 1.0.0 → 2.9.7** **Changes:** Updated islamic_references from mizan-297.json

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