How it works
A guide for both audiences — researchers, and the community members ready to act.
For Researchers
You have already done the hardest part: you studied the problem, documented it carefully, and proposed solutions. Faseelat Ummah helps your work move beyond publication and into community response.
If you have written a policy brief, research paper, field report, or practice-based assessment related to the Muslim world or the wider Global South, you can transform that work into a project card on the platform. Your card should explain the problem in clear public language, identify who is affected, and describe what kind of support could help move the solution forward.
Once approved, your card becomes visible to a wider community of people willing to contribute. They may not all be donors, and that is intentional. They may offer technical skills, time, introductions, communications support, advocacy, mentoring, translation, field collaboration, or pathways to institutions that can help. In this way, your research is no longer left waiting for a ministry, donor, municipality, or organisation to act first.
What Posting a Card Means
Posting a card is not fundraising. It is not a grant application. It is an open call to the community, grounded in your expertise, inviting people to contribute what they can. Some will offer professional skills. Some will offer time. Some will make introductions. Some will help amplify your work. Others may point you toward funding channels. The exact form of support is as varied as the needs you describe.
What You Need to Submit
To post a card, you will need to provide:
- A brief, problem-focused summary of your research (2–3 sentences written for a general audience, not an academic abstract)
- A clear description of the problems you identified and the people they affect
- A specific list of what kind of community support would help advance your proposed solutions
- A link to your original research paper, policy brief, or documentation hosted externally
All submissions are reviewed by the Faseelat Ummah team before publication. We may contact you with editorial suggestions. Once approved, your card goes live on the homepage and becomes discoverable by community members worldwide.
What Happens After Your Card Goes Live
Doers who are interested in supporting your project will contact you through the platform's private message system. You will receive a notification and can review their offer, respond, and decide how to move forward. You can also browse the Doer directory yourself and reach out directly to community members whose skills match your needs.
You remain in full control of your project. Faseelat Ummah facilitates the introduction. Everything that happens after is yours to shape.
For Doers
A Doer is anyone willing to contribute something useful to a meaningful cause. You do not need to be an academic, a specialist, or a donor. You only need to be ready to help with honesty, skill, and responsibility.
On Faseelat Ummah, Doers can support projects through professional services, field support, communication, advocacy, introductions, translation, mentoring, strategic advice, or by directing researchers toward legitimate funding opportunities. The platform is designed to widen the meaning of contribution beyond money and to recognize the many ways communities can support one another.
You may browse all projects freely. When you decide to help, you create an account, describe your skills and location, and contact the researcher through the platform. Researchers can also discover suitable Doers through the platform's internal matching and search features.
What Can You Contribute?
Doers contribute in many different ways. Some of the most valuable contributions on this platform have nothing to do with money. You might offer:
- Professional skills: web development, legal advice, graphic design, translation, data analysis, medical expertise, engineering, architecture, finance
- Time and presence: community organising, fieldwork support, administrative help, research assistance
- Advocacy and amplification: sharing cards within your networks, campaigning, writing, public speaking
- Introductions and connections: linking researchers to institutions, funders, media, or other experts who can help
- Mentorship and guidance: advising researchers on how to navigate specific systems, sectors, or countries you know well
- Funding referrals: pointing researchers toward grants, foundations, or campaigns relevant to their work
If none of these categories quite captures what you can offer, you can always describe it in your own words. Every contribution starts a conversation.
How to Get Involved
You can browse every card on the platform without creating an account. When you are ready to offer help, you will be prompted to log in or register. Registration asks for basic information, your name, your skills, your location, and allows you to send a message to the researcher describing how you would like to contribute.
Your profile is never publicly visible. It is shared only with registered researchers on the platform, so they can reach out to you directly if your background matches a need they have.
Before deciding to move forwards with direct donations for a project, please read the disclaimers in our financial-transactions section.