The Crowdfunding industry is wide-ranging. It includes different running models such as lending, equity, donation, etc. Nuzaki is a purely donation based crowdfunding platform. Every dollar we raise is donated to Nuzaki to be used for the project or as specified by the donor.
Compared to other donation based platforms Nuzaki is:
Interest free: Unlike most of the crowdfunding platforms, neither Nuzaki nor its field partners charge interest to the beneficiaries.
Sustainable: All of our funds are for development! We pull out the maximum potential of every donation we receive by benefiting more than one beneficiary for the same donation: Link to how it works.
Sustainable donation: To be considered sustainable, the donation should fulfil two criteria:
Multiple-time donation: When a donation could be used to benefit more than one beneficiary. At Nuzaki we achieve this through interest free lending to beneficiaries. Once the loan is repaid, the same donation can fund another beneficiary/ project.
For development: When a donation is used for a productive project, unlike for consumption project, it could generate long term revenue and help with the self-empowerment of the beneficiary.
Under the smart donation model, we ask the beneficiary to repay the loan so that someone else can benefit from it. Under the Zakat Donation model, the money is donated, used by one beneficiary, and not repaid.
By nature, Zakat is a one-time donation. To be considered Zakat, the beneficiary must meet a number of conditions, including the following:
The individuals’ basic living expenses are more than their income and assets, so such person fits in the category of poor or destitute.
The individual should be capable to independently managing a small business.
Even though we value relief efforts and crowdfunding for other humanitarian purposes like education, health and disaster relief, we strongly believe that sustainable donation is a severely underserved service by conventional charities.
Unlike relief efforts, sustainable donations could generate long-term revenue and help self-empower the neediest.
We are proud to be the expert in microfinance and particularly sustainable development.
No, you can donate as little as $25.
No, you are either making a one-time donation or a smart donation. If it is a smart donation, then we will lend your donation to another participant once it has been repaid to us.
This option is not available yet, but we are working to make it possible in the future. Right now, we will relend your donation to a similar project, i.e. same country, same field partner, same general attributes and goals.
Nuzaki crowdfunds micro projects for beneficiaries who are often financially excluded and can’t access other fair and affordable sources of credit. Nuzaki gets the list of potential beneficiaries from its field partners. Nuzaki Field Partners and Trustees help identify and vet beneficiaries whose micro projects will be crowdfunded on Nuzaki.
Nuzaki beneficiaries work in many industries. They may be farmers, artisans, students, shopkeepers, builders etc. Many Nuzaki beneficiaries work multiple jobs to generate enough income to support their families.
A local Field Partner uploads the details for each microproject into the system. Nuzaki’s worldwide network of volunteers then helps to edit and translate micro projects before they go live on the website for donors to crowdfund.
Neither Nuzaki nor its donors collect interest. In fact, users are making donations through Nuzaki and should not expect any financial return. ?
No, beneficiaries do not pay interest to Nuzaki’s local Field Partners. The field partners receive fixed operating fees per project to cover the different expenses associated with supporting small microprojects. Many of Nuzaki’s Field Partners also provide additional services with microprojects, including training, financial literacy classes or health services.
Nuzaki is a nonprofit organization. We cover our costs through donations made by individuals to support Nuzaki as an organization, separate from donations made to support microprojects. The remainder of our costs are covered through grants and donations from foundations and supporters.
Nuzaki is able to reach more beneficiaries in some of the most remote places in the world through our global network of Field Partners. These partners are local organizations working in communities who vet beneficiaries, provide services and administer microprojects.
Our Field Partners are nonprofit organizations, microfinance institutions, social enterprises and more. Many provide services with their microprojects, such as entrepreneurial training and literacy skills.
Funds reach beneficiaries through Nuzaki’s Field Partners.
For most microprojects on Nuzaki, our local Field Partners are responsible for distributing the funds to beneficiaries. Depending on the Field Partner, the funds may be given to each beneficiary before, during, or after the individual microproject is posted on Nuzaki.
Beneficiaries seeing loans from Nuzaki are vetted or endorsed by either a local Field Partner, Trustee, or members of the community.
For partner microprojects, Nuzaki conducts due diligence on the local Field Partners that will be administering the microprojects.
All Field Partners must provide financial documentation and detailed plans for using Nuzaki’s capital for microprojects with high social impact. Nuzaki analysts may conduct on-site visits to carry out interviews with leadership, management and beneficiaries.
If a beneficiary is behind on repaying the loan, the Field Partner assists by drafting a more flexible repayment schedule. However, sometimes beneficiaries simply can’t repay and the microprojects end in default. Field Partners may decide not to lend to a specific individual again if they were not able to repay, and in the case of direct microprojects, beneficiaries cannot apply for another microproject with Nuzaki unless they have repaid previous microprojects.