Illinois · Nonprofit
THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA
THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA (Illinois) receives grants from 133 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,629,784 to it, the largest being AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC ($3,507,380). 78 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 85% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $35M
- Funders on record
- 133
- Grants received
- $14M
- Net assets
- $36M
What The Zakat Foundation of America does
Mission
Zakat foundation of america fosters charitable giving to alleviate the immediate needs of destitute communities and to establish longterm development projects that ensure the individual and community growth. The organization quickly responds to emergencies and disasters anywhere in the world.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Food security, orphan care and sustainability programs:programs include the distribution of food packages/boxes, which provided fresh produce, meat, dairy, and hot meals. Zakat foundation of america has distributed more than one million meals in gaza despite numerous restrictions, hurdles, and risks, even for the un agencies. To address the refugee crisis in the usa, zakat foundation of america has opened a privately-run 'refugee center' in partnership with the mayor of the city of chicago. The sustainability program was designated for food security and provisions of nutrition and economic sustainability through agriculture, livestock distribution, and vocational training, specifically for women. The orphan care program comprises of food, clothing, schooling, essential needs, and seasonal religious festivity gifts for orphans, vulnerable children, and single mothers.
$16,979,873 spentof which $11,096,566 as grants49% of program spendingCommunity development and water projects:recently, the role of the organization has shifted more toward emphasizing the development of community and transforming it into an intra-community integrated environment. This includes providing fresh and clean water to communities by constructing institutional community centers, safe houses (especially for women), shelters, clinics, places for worship, and other development programs in the us and abroad. Water wells and hand pumps were constructed in all regions of the world, mainly in sub-saharan africa and in mena (I.e. Middle east and north africa). The purpose of the water projects is access to fresh water, which is essential for life. Also, help them to water their agricultural land and livestock, towards a vision of sustainable living.
$10,429,500 spentof which $6,815,813 as grants30% of program spendingEmergency response programs:zakat foundation of america provides rapid response to emergencies caused by both man-made and natural disasters. We operate based on "response, rescue, recover," technically known as "3xr," providing essential items like food, clothes, shelter, hygiene products, and weather protection to disaster victims both domestically and internationally.the foundation has been active in various regions, including the middle east, where conflicts have created millions of victims and refugees, particularly women and children. Despite prohibitions on relief operations, the zakat foundation managed to deliver hot meals in collaboration with organizations like the red cross, red crescent, the united nations, and various governments.additionally, the foundation has aided victims of earthquakes in afghanistan; floods in morocco and libya; hurricanes in the us; and other natural disasters globally and within the usa, providing relief to refugees and the homeless.
$4,715,753 spentof which $3,094,875 as grants14% of program spendingHealthcare and education programs: comprehensive healthcare programs were delivered to the poor, needy, displaced, and economically disadvantaged people across all inhabited continents. Services included preventive treatments, health education, rehabilitative interventions, nutritional counseling, chronic illness treatments, and developmental treatments for children with special needs.the zakat foundation places a special emphasis on mental health services and has established the khalil center to address mental health issues among the poor in the us and abroad. Additionally, medical supplies and general sanitization items were distributed under the personal protective equipment (ppe) program.our educational programs include establishing schools and institutions, vocational training centers (vtc), and higher education initiatives. We also award scholarships in collaboration with accredited universities in the us. These development programs aim to create a brighter future for the community, specifically targeting women, children, and single parents by providing education and training to enable economic independence and sustainability.
$2,240,406 spentof which $3,053,783 as grants7% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $34,365,532.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $18M to $29M (+59%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (25% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Halil Demir
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 21 funders to 66 funders, grant income rose $238k → $2.7M.
25 of 133 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 85% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 133 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 26% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
90% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 19% · 2018 23% · 2019 29% · 2020 31% · 2021 30% · 2022 25% · 2023 23% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
46% of THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
85% of THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $2.1M that is directly attributable, 91% of it comes from funders outside Illinois, across 23 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $12M arriving through sponsors registered in 17 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 102 unclassified nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 102 unclassified nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
93% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 51 states
Part of a family of 7 related entities
- Elevated Echelon LLC · disregarded
- Abundant Provisions LLC · disregarded
- Greater Evenness LLC · disregarded
- Seed to Mountain LLC · disregarded
- Foundation Real Estate Holdings LLC · disregarded
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA?
- THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA (Illinois) receives grants from 133 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,629,784 to it, the largest being AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC ($3,507,380). 78 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 85% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA have?
- IRS filings report 133 organizations giving $13,629,784 in grants to THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA, 78 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA?
- AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $3,507,380 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ZAKAT FOUNDATION OF AMERICA find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 133 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing