Zakat Sponsorship Program

Education No Matter the Financial Status

Abu Hurayrah reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:

“When a human being dies, all of his deeds are terminated except for three types: an ongoing sadaqah, a knowledge (of Islam) from which others benefit, and a righteous child who makes du’aa for him.” [Muslim].

As-Sabeel Academy’s mission is to provide a quality full-time education to all its students regardless of their financial status. At the same time, in an effort to secure funds essential to pay for its operations, we need to receive tuition from every attending child. Although we try to keep our tuition low enough to be accessible to most families, approximately a third of our families cannot afford to pay the full tuition. To aid these families, we supplement their tuition payments with financial aid money donated by other individuals’ Zakat, through what we call the Zakat Sponsorship Program (ZSP).

Interested in Donating through Our Zakat Sponsorship Program?

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Zakat Sponsorship FAQs

Q: Can schools collect Zakat? I don’t think schools are one of the eight categories of Zakat recipients.

The eight categories of zakat recipients are listed in Surat at-Tawba (9:60) as:

“…the poor and the needy, and the officials (appointed) over them, and those whose hearts are made to incline (to truth) and the (ransoming of) captives and those in debts and in the way of Allah and the wayfarer…” As such, we do not collect zakat for our regular operating fund. However, there are families in our community that are unarguably poor or needy. Many would like to give their children an Islamic education, but cannot afford it. Money collected by our Zakat Sponsorship Program goes towards helping these families pay their tuition.

Q: Do you give tuition discounts based on financial need?

We do not offer any tuition discounts, even for those who have a financial need. Families may apply for financial aid through the Zakat Sponsorship Program, and have a portion of their tuition sponsored by your Zakat contributions if they are eligible.

Q: How do you determine eligibility of financial aid recipients?

For details on the program, you can check out the Financial Aid Application (pdf). In general, families must fill out the application and present proof of their income (paystubs, tax returns, W2, etc). Depending on their income level, they may be required to fulfill one-third, two-thirds, or all of their total tuition, with the remainder paid by Zakat Sponsors.

Q: Do financial aid recipients have to pay any of their tuition?

Yes, anyone with a household income above $15,000 is required to pay at least a third of their tuition.

Q: How many students are on financial aid?

Currently about a third of our students are on some level of financial aid.