A Decade of Charitable Crowdfunding and Its Impacts on the Social Justice Trajectory of Islamic Philanthropy in Indonesia

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the development of charitable crowdfunding and its impacts on Islamic philanthropy and its social justice trajectory in Indonesia. As the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia has thrived and undergone some legal and programmatic revolutions to promote social justice through Islamic philanthropy. However, this study demonstrates that the rapid growth of charitable crowdfunding in the last decade has some impacts on the social justice trajectory of Islamic philanthropy, particularly in the areas of inclusivity, sustainability, and governance. This study draws from the case of Kitabisa, the largest crowdfunding platform in Indonesia, by conduct-ing interviews with the founders and users and observing their online interactions on the platform and social media. This study also collects data on Muslim philanthropic Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that actively used Kitabisa to raise funds, with special attention to Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT), one of Indonesia's largest Muslim philanthropic NGOs. This study found that the trend of crowdfunding has amplified the inclusive space in Indonesian philanthropy where Muslim NGOs actively provide social services and enact collaborations with non-Muslims. However, through crowdfunding, Muslim NGOs have become more accommodating toward short-term social programs or ‘charity’. The crowdfunding trend has also raised accountability and transparency issues in Indonesian philanthropy. This study argues that the broader involvement of grassroots actors, either individuals or informal communities, through crowdfunding explains its impacts on Indonesian Islamic philanthropy’s trajectory for social justice.