Related slides 34–35
From a principle to practical help
Indian organisations apply zakat through education support, food assistance and opportunities to earn. Their reports provide examples of what donors fund. These are organisation-reported activities, sometimes described through press reports, rather than a national count of zakat or independent proof of lasting poverty reduction.
Education and livelihoods
AMP's Zakat Fund reports distributing Rs 2,64,26,413 to 4,491 beneficiaries in 2025. Its table lists 552 higher-education beneficiaries, 625 recipients of basic-education support for poor or orphaned children, 223 receiving self-employment support, 3,051 receiving food assistance and 40 receiving livelihood assistance for religious scholars. These entries total 4,491.
A report on Zakat Center India's 2024 annual report gives approximately Rs 6.2 crore collected and 4,923 people supported since inception, rather than in that year alone. It describes allocations of 63% to livelihoods, 18% to food, 13% to education and skills, and 6% to administration. These percentages relate to that reporting period and should not be treated as permanent.
Other forms of support
A March 2024 report on Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust gives Rs 4.91 crore spent on education in 2023–24. It also reports Rs 141.6 lakh on feeding the poor, Rs 4.74 lakh on orphan housing and Rs 1.82 lakh on marriages of orphan girls. These are programme expenditures, not a single total for all zakat in Hyderabad.
Baithuzzakath Kerala describes housing, medical help, self-employment, debt relief, drinking-water and ration or pension programmes. Its website counters mix programme labels and do not establish a clearly dated count of unique individuals. Zakat Foundation of India supports civil-service preparation through a fellowship programme that selects candidates for coaching. This illustrates another use of organised educational support, alongside help with basic schooling and household needs.
Reading the numbers fairly
IndiaZakat is an AMP crowdfunding initiative. A donation, a campaign, a registered user and a person helped are different units. Its live totals change, and its figures should not simply be added to AMP's separate fund totals. Programme participation also does not prove that every cost was paid from zakat rather than another funding stream.
A useful question is what support enabled: staying in school, buying equipment or meeting an urgent need. Those outcomes deserve attention alongside careful reporting of dates, amounts and the people actually reached.
Sources: AMP 2025 [21]; ZCI 2024 [22]; HZCT 2024 [24]; Baithuzzakath [26]; ZFI programme [28]; IndiaZakat [30]
Read next: Hajj and the practice of humility