Essay: What is charity?

ABSTRACT

Charity has always been a major source for many of the needy people to survive in every society. Large number of world’s population depends on charity and the increasing inflation rate is making it worst for more to be dependent in near future. This study tries to find out the factors that influence individuals to give charity. The basic aim is to indentify what are the actual reasons that drive people to go for charity and what are the features that they look for in an organization for giving charity.

Primary date was collected for this research and the instrument used was a 3 page questionnaire consisting of 11 questions. A sample consists of 100 respondents and the target market included professionals that have active role in charitable activities. Research hypothesized that credibility of an institution influence people to give charity.

Services provided by an institution influence people to give charity. Religion influence people to give charity.

For testing hypothesis the multinomial model was used to identify the influencing factors based on the p (sig.) value of specific factor and the value of p that was set in the analysis was 0.05

CHAPTER

1: INTRODUCTION

In this research we want to identify the major factors that influence individuals to give charity. Those can be different factors such as religious, social, habitual, occasional etc.

We want to highlight the characteristics that people look in an organization to give charity. Their could be many characteristics that are taken into consideration such as the services provided, credibility of the organization, target market they are focusing on, historical background of the organization etc.

Charity has always been playing a vital role in the development of a society and enabling needy people to live with basic necessities of life such as shelter, food and clothes. The major way to decrease the difference from the different classes of the society taking from privilege ones and distributing among the deserving ones.

Many organizations have been working in this regard for a very long period of time across the globe as it has globally been admitted as the social responsibility of every nation not only to help the local deprived citizens but also take encourage steps to get hold of the poor ones around the effected nations of the world.

Charity could be of different forms, mainly classified as monetary charity or voluntary services provided. Both the forms have their own importance depending upon the circumstances and the need they cater.

Not every scenario needs monetary help, rather man power is essential to get over with the existing problem such as in accidents or fire break downs, one helping citizens to secure their lives and bring them to a safe location would be the best example of the voluntary service charity.

Taking hold of blocked traffic and helping cars especially emergency vehicles like ambulances to get a smooth passage would be a great gesture as it results in saving precious lives get helplessly end in noisy and stuck traffics.

This study will bring in light to the causes that motivate citizens to join a charity or result in supporting it with the best possible way they could.

Statement of the Problem

Increasing number of charitable organizations has made it really difficult for individuals to select which organization to give charity. The diversified nature of these organizations has increased factors to be considered by the donors for selecting which organization to donate. Therefore we need to identify what are those factors that are considered by individuals while selecting an organization to give charity to.

Objectives

Basic purpose of this research is to identify those factors that are taken into priority by people when they are willing to give charity to an organization and want to select which one it should be.

Research Model

MULTINOMIAL LOGIT MODEL.

Hypotheses

Hl: Credibility of an institution influences people to give charity.

H1a: Service provided by an institution influences people to give charity.

H1b: Religion influences people to give charity.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

Charity exists to help people who are in need of basic necessities of life such as food, cloth and shelter. Charity organizations are set up by people who are aware of there social responsibilities and willing to work for betterment of the society.

CHARITY IN ISLAM

Charity has an important standing in every faith that exists and it has been active since the birth of human in one form or the other. Every religion has given it importance as it helps in balancing the society and fulfills needs of its citizens. In Islam charity is termed as

Zakah,

and its importance can be judge by the fact that it is termed as compulsory principle to be followed by believers of Islam through out their lives.

The success of a society depends on the citizens and their way of spending money. Society can only prosper if the citizens care for the deprived ones rather then just running after their away desires. As the saying goes:

Charity begins at home

. One should be always willing to help poor ones, neighbors, family etc.

Charity is not just in form of money it also included services provided voluntary for betterment of others.The most valued charity in Islam is to convey the knowledge one has to others and enlighten their lives in best possible way and this is why education has been the most shared charity in among Muslims since the birth of Islam. Education is one thing that makes humans understand the world and its beauty and it differentiates humans from all other entities and set them above all.

Muslims have a great role model for themselves and that is Muhammad (PBHU) their leader who enlightens the lives of humans with teachings of ALLAH the only creator of the universe. His teachings are passed on since 1400 years from generation to generations. Places specifically established for this purpose are called maktabs and madrasas , that is, place for learning school. These schools are in operation on individuals capacities charging no money for the services they provide.

The wealthy people helped in running these madrasas, not only though Zakah, but also by making endowments (wakf), of their properties as these madrasas. The income from these properties met the needs of these schools. The orphans and poor people were given stipends over and above free board and lodging. (Maulana Wahiduddin Khan)

Forms of charity in Islam

Islam has two forms of charity

1) Zakah ,that is obligatory.

2) Sadaqah that is voluntary.

Charity has always been a major obligation in every religion that has exists in this world, but in Islam it is given importance as never before have strict orders to follow this principle. Charity is the root cause of an ideal community one can think of that’s the whole concept behind this obligation. Contributing ones money to help others is a practice that has been followed not just to please Allah but to the welfare of the

Ummah

the Muslim society. This concept teaches us that every Muslim is brother to other having certain rights that need to be respected and given.

The Qur’an states:

‘And be steadfast in your prayer and pay charity; whatever good you send forth for your future, you shall find it with Allah, for Allah is well aware of what you do ‘ (2:110). Charity is central to a Muslim’s life.

The best charity is to satisfy a hungry person, said Prophet Muhammad (SAS). He also said "

No wealth (of a servant of Allah) is decreased because of charity

." (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 2247).

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME:

The concept behind Charity Begins at Home, Inc. is to contribute directly by raising money oneself and giving it to the deserving people rather then donating it to any formal organizational contributions.

Charity Begins at Home, Inc. was first organized in 1978 and funded primarily by monies from concerts through the efforts of Mr. William Joel. For the past several years, other organizations such as motorcycle groups, Q104 Radio Station, recording studios and many public high schools have held events to raise funds for Charity Begins at Home, Inc.

CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS IN PAKISTAN:

Many active organizations are operating in Pakistan in name of charity, local and international both. Some of them have really made up a impression by helping the real deserving people of the country that set them apart from the rest and are discussed ahead.

ShaukatKhanumMemorialCancerHospital:

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is one of the biggest organizations that has been working for the needy people that cannot offer expensive health treatments and have no hope to get treatment for their sufferings. It was founded my Imran Khan the renowned Campion from the world of cricket who through his fan following enabled this dream to be converted into real happening.

The reason this idea was born within him was his mother’s death due to suffering of cancer. He could not save her and this affected him so much that his life got a mission of fight against cancer.

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital is located in Lahore, Pakistan. It is a project of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charitable organization established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan.

THE HOSPITAL

Over the past decade, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre has been helping poor cancer patients by treating them and letting them survive this dangerous disease with passion and honesty. This amazing organization was established by Imran Khan man need no introduction, a born leader who made this impossibility turn into a reality with record time. Lahore being the place that gave birth to this hospital was a shared effort of people that supported Imran Khan across the globe. Funds were raised through intensive campaign throughout the country and overseas.

Creation of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital was not a miracle it was shared effort citizens of the Pakistan those who contributed what ever they had with their heart and soul. Real miracle is that it has been operating for more then a decade now treating 70% of its admitted free of cost. Spending over Rs. 6 billion (US $ 100 million) in supporting the treatment of thousands of cancer patients it has been the best example of a charity house this nation has ever seen in history of its 60 years.

FAST FACTS

* Founded by: Imran Khan

* Inauguration, 1994 December 29

* Annual Spending: Rs. 2.5 billion (US $ 30 million)

* Free of cost treatment for patients: 70%

* Area/Location: Pakistan, Lahore, 1994

* Beds: 115

The Edhi Foundation

Edhi Foundation the name that reflects the most organized charity based welfare trust existing in Pakistan. Foundation welcomes anyone with arms wide open without taking into notice religion, race and other worldly differences and purely works for human beings. The Foundation modifies the

phrase "Live and let live" to "Live and help live".

The one thing that sets this foundation apart from other organizations is the varied services it has to offer around the clock. The services include shelter for the homeless, orphans, mentality or physically challenged 24 hours emergency services famous for its efficiency ands effectiveness, free treatment for patients and drugs addicts, family planning counseling, and vaccinations, taking care of handicaps and most prominently helping victims of natural disaster losing all their wealth and surviving helplessly.

Edhi vision is based on the principle of self help, and it truly a miracle that is foundation is standing strong without support of any governmental funding or international agencies donations. The rejection of all such offerings has result its survival purely on the donations of individuals of the society locally and abroad.

Edhi is working on its mission for more then 50 years now getting stronger and organized day by day. It has motivated people to donate more and more unintentionally, just by proving itself as deserving foundation for their donation due to the extra ordinary services it has provided since decades and has impressed every human heart who have been aware of the activities in which Edhi has been involved.

Serving humanity is based on basic agenda of helping humans without any discrimination and that is what Edhi has surrendered itself to, treating all humans equally regardless of the prominent differences of their race, color, religion etc. Edhi Foundation has now crossed the local boundaries and stepped into international arena establishing its homes abroad for the needy ones.

Edhi is working purely for the rights of humanity fighting for their survival with support of its donators.

"My religion is humanitarianism… which is the basis of every religion in the world.”

Says Edhi. He mentality has shown that his intentions are clear to overcome all the worldly affairs and strive to help humanity till his last breath simply a blessed nation we are, to have such an amazing person.

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Data Collection

Essentially there are two types of data available for the researchers, Primary and Secondary. In this research primary data has been used that is collected through questionnaires. Primary data was used because the availability of the data was a constraint which compelled the use of primary data. The tool that was being used was SPSS.

Method

A questionnaire survey consisting of three pages was used to collect the data (Primary) from respondents that were professionals. The questionnaire was mailed and e-mailed to the respondents also questionnaire was distributed in shopping malls, grocery stores and gas stations and a random sample of 100 was taken.

Questionnaire Survey

The measurement instrument consists of two major portions:

Part 1: Question regarding charity and related information.

Part 2: Respondent demographics.

The survey part was further classified into three parts.

a) Organizational Factors.

b) Situational Factors.

c) Services Provided.

Pre Test:

A questionnaire testing was conducted to identify flaw in design and instruments. Pre-testing refers to the testing of the questionnaire on a small sample of respondents in order to identify and eliminate potential problem. Here, the researcher intended to conduct a testing to evaluate the questionnaire for clarity, bias, ambiguous questions, and relevance to the study. Burns and Bush (1998) suggested that a pre-test of 5-10 representative respondents is usually sufficient to identify problems with a questionnaire.

Aset of questions was developed to pretest the questionnaire. From the results of the pretest, the final version of the questionnaire was developed (as presented in Appendix)

Sampling

Unfortunately, the questionnaire survey did not result in clear results. Initially it was targeted to have a sample size of 50+ selecting from different locations such as super stores, gas station, amusement parks, restaurants and other place where general public could be reached easily so that a diversified response could gained in order to represent the true practice of the society. The results were observed carefully and a conclusion was drawn out that to have clear results, the sample size has to be increased. Finally, a convenience sampling size was adopted and 100 responses were considered for the analysis that made the sample size usable for analysis.

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Regression

Variables Entered/Removed
Model	Variables Entered	Variables Removed	Method
1	Martial Status, Social Development, Choice of charity, Charity Occasions, Gender, Frequency of Giving Charity, Donate Charity to Organizations, Age, Type of Charity, Decision to Give charitya	.	Enter
a. All requested variables entered.

Model Summary
Model	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	Std. Error of the Estimate
1	.438a	.192	.101	1.76762
a. Predictors: (Constant), Martial Status, Social Development, Choice of charity, Charity Occasions, Gender, Frequency of Giving Charity, Donate Charity to Organizations, Age, Type of Charity, Decision to Give charity

ANOVAb
Model		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
1	Regression	66.031	10	6.603	2.113	.031a
	Residual	278.079	89	3.124
	Total	344.110	99
a. Predictors: (Constant), Martial Status, Social Development, Choice of charity, Charity Occasions, Gender, Frequency of Giving Charity, Donate Charity to Organizations, Age, Type of Charity, Decision to Give charity
b. Dependent Variable: Charity

Coefficientsa
Model		Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	t	Sig.
		B	Std. Error	Beta
1	(Constant)	-.421	1.178		-.358	.721
	Social Development	-.142	.112	-.124	-1.262	.210
	Type of Charity	.286	.347	.086	.825	.412
	Choice of charity	.291	.129	.220	2.259	.026
	Charity Occasions	.202	.158	.129	1.282	.203
	Frequency of Giving Charity	.259	.119	.216	2.180	.032
	Donate Charity to Organizations	-.033	.043	-.078	-.766	.446
	Decision to Give charity	.376	.326	.121	1.154	.251
	Gender	.145	.160	.091	.906	.367
	Age	.008	.147	.006	.057	.955
	Martial Status	.437	.402	.112	1.087	.280
a. Dependent Variable: Charity

General Log linear

Data Information
		N
Cases	Valid	100
	Missing	0
	Weighted Valid	100
Cells	Defined Cells	340200
	Structural Zeros	0
	Sampling Zeros	340101
Categories	Charity	7
	Social Development	5
	Type of Charity	3
	Choice of charity	6
	Charity Occasions	4
	Frequency of Giving Charity	5
	Donate Charity to Organizations	9
	Decision to Give charity	3

Communalities
	Initial	Extraction
Social Development	1.000	.561
Type of Charity	1.000	.731
Choice of charity	1.000	.351
Frequency of Giving Charity	1.000	.617
Charity Occasions	1.000	.711
Donate Charity to Organizations	1.000	.689
Decision to Give charity	1.000	.738
Gender	1.000	.539
Age	1.000	.721
Martial Status	1.000	.747
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Total Variance Explained
Component	Initial Eigenvalues			Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings
	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %
1	1.529	15.289	15.289	1.529	15.289	15.289
2	1.324	13.237	28.526	1.324	13.237	28.526
3	1.271	12.712	41.238	1.271	12.712	41.238
4	1.250	12.498	53.736	1.250	12.498	53.736
5	1.031	10.308	64.045	1.031	10.308	64.045
6	.964	9.643	73.688
7	.802	8.018	81.707
8	.676	6.758	88.464
9	.627	6.268	94.732
10	.527	5.268	100.000

CHAPTER FIVE:DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This section will discuss the presentation of the results and the implications that there may be we will discuss topics on the culture profile and its relationship with the dependent variable.

In the presentation of results section, hypothesis 1 was accepted, that there was Credibility of an institution influences people to give charity.

Furthermore hypotheses la and lb were both accepted. Those were Service provided by an institution influences people to give charity and Religion influences people to give charity.

Conclusion

To begin the conclusion section, it must be stated that to make interpretations on the results of the analysis of this data is somewhat problematic due to the small sample sizes. Some doubt is cast upon the generalization of these results upon the population of large size Pakistani organizations.

The results showed that all three factors have influence on charity it totally depends on people and their priorities due to which they give charity.