Assalaamo Alaikum Brothers and Sisters,
 

Ramadan is a time when many of us pay our Zakat and are more generous with our Sadaqah.
Usually, Sarnia Muslim Association has a fund raising drive in Ramadan to help cover the maintenance and upkeep costs of the Mosque throughout the remainder of the year. A big part of our budget is raised in this month and in 2019 Alhamdulillah our efforts helped us bring in 32% of our total annual income.
This year due to the impact of Covid19, we realize that many in our community are experiencing varying degrees of financial stress and may not have much disposable income to share.
SMA does not wish to add to this burden and so we have decided to postpone our Ramadan fund raising drive this year. 
We do however humbly request you to consider giving what you are able to manage. Just as some of you, SMA finds itself in a period of reduced income stream. Generally we rely on a strong flow of public funds through donation box contributions and from Friday lunch sales. We have lost both these sources of income since closing our doors.
Our monthly fixed expenses like utilities, salaries etc. continue to accrue though. We have tried to reduce costs where we can but some of these are vital to the operation of the Mosque. It also allows us to continue our online programming that keeps us all connected to the community in this time of crises.
As we have in past Ramadans’, SMA will continue to accept Zakaat, Sadaqah (for redistribution) and other donations but instead of cheques and box deposits, we will need to use a method more appropriate to this point in time.
Payments can be made electronically by INTERAC e-TRANSFER through your financial institution using our email address Sarnia.Muslim.Association@gmail.com
We have setup the auto-deposit feature on the account so no security question or answer is required. Please indicate on the transfer if the funds are for Zakaat, Sadaqah or for the Mosque. 
SMA appreciates and thanks you for your donations. May Allah SWT protect and bless you and your family during this pandemic and may He multiply the reward of your contribution in this Dunya and in the Akhirah.



JazakAllahu Khairun,

Sarnia Muslim Association