2022 was a year of emergencies. In an unrelenting string of climate-change related disasters, Islamic Relief UK supported the equally tireless responses across Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and East Africa. Alongside our emergency relief operations, we persevered with our crucial international development and domestic work, supporting millions of people with access to food and nutrition, clean water, healthcare, high quality education, sustainable livelihoods and more.
Despite the global cost of living crisis and the many unprecedented challenges since the Covid-19 pandemic, Islamic Relief UK remained steadfast in our commitment to improving the lives of those we serve – as did our supporters, who enabled us to achieve record-breaking fundraising. Our success was encapsulated by being the first Muslim organisation to win ‘Charity of the Year’ at the prestigious Third Sector Awards. We were thrilled to be once again able to host our Lifesaver Awards event – the first in three years, due to pandemic restrictions – to honour the work of our dedicated volunteers that make possible our vital work.
Islamic Relief UK colleagues collect the Charity of the Year Award at the Third Sector Awards in October 2022.
A year of emergencies
The historic flooding in Pakistan took centre stage as Islamic Relief surged to respond to the disaster. Our UK appeal received extraordinary media coverage from outlets such as ITV News and BBC Breakfast, and our fundraising team engaged with a cross section of the community, pulled in key connectors and worked with local councils, businesses and sporting foundations to raise crucial funds. Our dedicated creative teams across the world captured and coordinated powerful imagery and coverage of the disaster as it unfolded, and even provided the DEC with the main image for their Pakistan Floods Appeal, which raised in excess of £30 million in just one month. Our digital engagement efforts strengthened the appeal, with notable moments such as a viral Instagram fundraiser that raised a staggering £542,000
The DEC campaign for Pakistan features this striking image, which was captured by Islamic Relief.
Naz Shah MP on a visit to Pakistan following the floods in September 2022.
Our advocacy team also worked closely with government ministers to raise awareness of the direct link between the disaster in Pakistan and climate change, drawing attention to our crucial climate-change advocacy work. Our team arranged for Naz Shah MP to visit flood-affected areas in the lead up to a Parliamentary drop-in session, which successfully hosted 26 cross-party members, including the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the United Nations, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. Lord Ahmad also visited the Islamic Relief Pakistan team, which helped galvanise support for the UK’s response to the Pakistan floods. One of our key highlights was King Charles III’s donation to Islamic Relief, which was covered as a breaking story on various mainstream media channels including ITV, Good Morning Britain and Sky News.
Our close work with the community on the ground was also reflected in the response to the appeal. Together with Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Islamic Relief hosted an event to engage key existing and new supporters from within the Muslim community and beyond. Our fundraising team raised an astonishing £48,000 for the Pakistan Emergency Appeal.
Islamic Relief UK volunteers take on the challenge of the Ben Nevis trek.
In 2022, we also saw the strength and determination of our amazing community of donors to engage with fundraising at a new level. Hundreds joined us across 32 phenomenal international and domestic challenges throughout the year, kick-starting with Snowdon in the Snow which raised over £80,000 for Afghanistan.
The momentum of success for our fundraising challenges continued as we ventured to Pakistan, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and elsewhere to support 10 powerful causes – raising over a record-breaking £451,000.
Supporting poor communities
Our Ramadan, Qurbani and Winter Food Drive campaigns continued to focus on improving food security for vulnerable people in the UK against the backdrop of the current cost of living crisis. Our work with outstanding organisations such as The Newham Community Project, Sufra NW Food Bank, Masjid Al Falah, East London Mosque, The Felix Project, Green Lane Masjid, Liverpool FC, Aston Villa FC, Celtic FC, FMO Leicester and so many more, bolstered the success of our efforts.
In 2022, we delivered an incredible 20,000 meals and 7,500 food parcels to families in need. Our work featuring people like Bushra and her children, who are relying on food banks we support to provide them with their daily meals, successfully caught the attention of several major media outlets including Sky News, BBC News, the Huffington Post and more. In addition, our Qurbani campaign also made a hugely positive impact on people facing difficulty by providing 9,000kg of qurbani meat in the wake of Eid al-Adha, as well as 2,300 meals and 3,400 food parcels.
Volunteers support food banks as part of the Winter Food Drive.
That’s not the only record-breaking figure we achieved in 2022. A groundbreaking £1.9 million was raised in the first in-person Charity Week since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Over 100 institutions across the UK participated, raising crucial funds for a variety of children’s causes. In just two weeks they hosted over 42 auction events, raising £382,000 – a testament to the trust and enthusiasm we share with our donor community who have been able to achieve so much despite the challenges of the pandemic.
Another turning point was reached in 2022 as Islamic Relief celebrated the beloved Cake Campaign’s 10th Anniversary. The decade-long campaign has raised a total of £2.2 million for people in need since it began. This simple but transformative idea is an annual event for the Islamic Relief community – a testament to the sense of togetherness we have been able to nurture throughout this period. 2022’s nearly 36,200 cakes sold adds to a staggering total of almost 216,200 cakes sold over the last 10 years (or 3 million slices!) The campaign was able to raise a phenomenal £402,000 in 2022 alone.
Volunteers deliver cakes during the 2022 Ramadan Cake Campaign.
Despite political turmoil in Mali that has seen growing violence and increased suffering, Islamic Relief continues to provide vital support. This includes the annual Ramadan programme, which provides nearly 11,000 people in areas like Bamako and Ouélessebougou with food packages containing staple items with which to start and end their fasts. The Malian government welcomed 2022’s programme as providing much-needed relief amid a bleak humanitarian situation.
Harnessing the power of originality
One of our key focuses for in 2022 was to elevate the user experience of our loyal donor community – an integral part of our strategy to strengthen fundraising here in the UK. During Ramadan 2022, we were excited to introduce ‘Scholar Verified’ content for the first time here at Islamic Relief.
The badge was awarded to content related to Islamic giving and other useful Islamic resources to signify that it has been vetted and verified by one of the scholars Islamic Relief works with before being published. A new zakat policy and its own board of scholars was also introduced, to make the act of paying zakat as reliable and as seamless as ever for our donors.
We also collaborated with a range of incredible digital influencers to produce original and engaging content to spotlight our emergency appeals and campaigns. Our successful partnership with food artist Haneefa Adam significantly elevated the reach and content of our Ramadan Food Packs programme and our Qurbani campaign.
Reflecting on 2022, the success of what we have been able to achieve here at Islamic Relief is inextricably tied to both the sheer generosity of our donor community and the strength of our relationships. We remain dedicated to ensuring that they are at the heart of our incredible work, together with the communities we serve.
