DOCSLIB.ORG

Introduction to Ngos: Class 2 Role and Functions #1 GRANT SPACE Http

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Introduction to NGOs: class 2 role and functions #1 GRANT SPACE http://grantspace.org/tools/knowledge-base/Resources-for-Non-U.S.-Grantseekers/ngo-definition-and-role Q：What is an NGO? What role does it play in civil society? A: Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, were first called such in Article 71 in the Charter of the newly formed United Nations in 1945. While NGOs have no fixed or formal definition, they are generally defined as nonprofit entities independent of governmental influence (although they may receive government funding). As one can tell from the basic definition above, the difference between nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and NGOs is slim. However, the term "NGO" is not typically applied to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations. Generally, the NGO label is given to organizations operating on an international level although some countries classify their own civil society groups as NGOs. For more detailed definitions of NGOs, please see our selected web sites below. NGO activities include, but are not limited to, environmental, social, advocacy and human rights work. They can work to promote social or political change on a broad scale or very locally. NGOs play a critical part in developing society, improving communities, and promoting citizen participation. Web Sites • Human Rights Organizations | The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in Human Rights Advocacy Many organizations around the world dedicate their efforts to protecting human rights and ending human rights abuses. • * The Role of NGOs | Trinity College Dublin Non-governmental organisations originally appeared in the mid nineteenth century. After the Second World War, and with the creation of the United Nations, the need and place for a consultative role for organisations that were neither governments nor membe • Roles of NGOs | NGO Cafe Among the wide variety of roles that NGOs play, the following six can be identified as important, at the risk of generalization. • Definitions of an NGO | NGO Cafe The diversity of NGOs strains any simple definition. They include many groups and institutions that are entirely or largely independent of government and that have primarily humanitarian or cooperative rather than commercial objectives. • * Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Guide | LibGuides at Duke University Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become increasingly influential in world affairs. They often impact the social, economic and political activities of communities and the country as a whole. • * What is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)? - NGO Handbook A non-governmental organization (NGO) is generally considered to be any non-state, nonprofit, voluntary organization. As a non-state entitity, an NGO is generally independent from government influence-it is not a part of or controlled by government or an #2 GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTER http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/ngo-roles.html Roles of NGOs Among the wide variety of roles that NGOs play, the following six can be identified as important, at the risk of generalization: Development and Operation of Infrastructure: Community-based organizations and cooperatives can acquire, subdivide and develop land, construct housing, provide infrastructure and operate and maintain infrastructure such as wells or public toilets and solid waste collection services. They can also develop building material supply centres and other community-based economic enterprises. In many cases, they will need technical assistance or advice from governmental agencies or higher-level NGOs. Supporting Innovation, Demonstration and Pilot Projects: NGO have the advantage of selecting particular places for innovative projects and specify in advance the length of time which they will be supporting the project - overcoming some of the shortcomings that governments face in this respect. NGOs can also be pilots for larger government projects by virtue of their ability to act more quickly than the government bureaucracy. Facilitating Communication: NGOs use interpersonal methods of communication, and study the right entry points whereby they gain the trust of the community they seek to benefit. They would also have a good idea of the feasibility of the projects they take up. The significance of this role to the government is that NGOs can communicate to the policy-making levels of government, information bout the lives, capabilities, attitudes and cultural characteristics of people at the local level. NGOs can facilitate communication upward from people tot he government and downward from the government tot he people. Communication upward involves informing government about what local people are thinking, doing and feeling while communication downward involves informing local people about what the government is planning and doing. NGOs are also in a unique position to share information horizontally, networking between other organizations doing similar work. Technical Assistance and Training: Training institutions and NGOs can develop a technical assistance and training capacity and use this to assist both CBOs and governments. Research, Monitoring and Evaluation: Innovative activities need to be carefully documented and shared - effective participatory monitoring would permit the sharing of results with the people themselves as well as with the project staff. Advocacy for and with the Poor: In some cases, NGOs become spokespersons or ombudsmen for the poor and attempt to influence government policies and programmes on their behalf. This may be done through a variety of means ranging from demonstration and pilot projects to participation in public forums and the formulation of government policy and plans, to publicizing research results and case studies of the poor. Thus NGOs play roles from advocates for the poor to implementers of government programmes; from agitators and critics to partners and advisors; from sponsors of pilot projects to mediators. #3 KIDS GO GLOBAL http://www.kidsgoglobal.net/community/ngos What's an NGO? They come in all shapes and sizes NGO stands for Non-Government Organization. This means that it is a group that is not part of the government, but that does some of the things that governments do. Like - help with health care, education, human rights and the providing clean drinking water. NGOs can be huge - like the Red Cross, or small like - One Child's Village. Either way they play a role in making the world a better place to live. #4 UN RULE OF LAW http://www.unrol.org/article.aspx?article_id=23 Non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO, also often referred to as "civil society organization" or CSO) is a not-for-profit group, principally independent from government, which is organized on a local, national or international level to address issues in support of the public good. Task-oriented and made up of people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, bring public concerns to governments, monitor policy and programme implementation, and encourage participation of civil society stakeholders at the community level. Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights. NGOs have been partners of the United Nations since 1947. In accordance with Article 71 of the UN Charter, NGOs can have consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Their relationship with entities of the United Nations system differs depending on their location and mandate. For example, NGOs which have an information component can become associated with the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) to help disseminate information on the work and aims of the Organization. Many UN Specialized Agencies operate their own accreditation programmes for NGOs which are relevant to their area of work. Numerous local, regional and international NGOs have played an essential role in national rule of law reform processes and at the global and international level. Some conduct research and analysis in the legal and other fields (e.g. sociology, economics) relevant to the rule of law. In many cases, they produce reports with policy recommendations, for use in their advocacy. NGOs often serve as early warning mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements. Others group professionals or other NGOs in specialized fields or professions into associations, networks or commissions with a view to exchanging knowledge and good practices, and facilitating the provision of rule of law assistance. Most non-governmental organizations in the rule of law field are engaged in some form of direct assistance or services, including advising on law-making and other forms of technical assistance, and/or fund and manage rule of law projects. #5 What is a Non-Governmental Organization? By Professor Peter Willetts, City University, London http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/p.willetts/CS-NTWKS/NGO-ART.HTM #6 NEW INTERNATIONALIST http://newint.org/easier-english/Africa/ngo.html They are private organizations which are concerned with aid, research, information and education in many different fields: for example human rights, peace, poverty, hunger, refugees, health, the environment and so on. Some NGOs work on relief for the victims of wars and disasters, and on longer-term projects in developing countries. Others focus on educating people about certain issues, or campaigning for change. There are now tens of thousands of NGOs. They may be international, national, or local organizations. Many NGOs get money from members of the
Recommended publications
  • Audit Technique Guide – Fundraising Activities

    Audit Technique Guide – Fundraising Activities

    Audit Technique Guide – Fundraising Activities Introduction This guide addresses examining tax exempt organization fundraising and provides: Background information Audit guidelines Audit techniques Audit procedures This guide is not all-inclusive and doesn’t intend to limit agents to identifying issues or using techniques not listed in this guide. For information on fundraising issues involving political organizations, see the Audit Technique Guide for Political Organizations. For information on fundraising issues involving gaming activities, see the Audit Technique Guide for Organizations Conducting Gaming Activities. This manual is organized into five sections: Background information Activities (professional fundraisers, fundraising events, internet fundraising) Records (solicitations, disclosures, cash contributions, non-cash contributions) Reporting (Form 990-EZ, Form 990: Core Return, Schedule G, Schedule M, Form 990-PF, Form 990-T) Audit procedures (pre-audit, field/OCEP, penalty considerations, case closing) Background Most, if not all, tax exempt organizations need money. Many exempt purposes can only be achieved via the application of money. Thus, large numbers of organizations devote significant resources to acquiring money. These organizations use various methods to obtain funds, ranging from selling a product or service, conducting a fundraising event, to just asking for money. Traditional methods of obtaining funds include soliciting donors via the mail, phone calls, newspapers, radio, television, and now via the Internet. Organizations have become creative over the years, conducting activities and events, such as the sales of foodstuffs, car washes, raffles, casino nights, auctions, and pledge drives, evolving towards more sophisticated ways to fundraise, such as targeting solicitations, using patronage levels, crowd-funding, and tax planning, such as conservation easements, lending arrangements, and charitable gift annuities.
  • Volunteering Policy

    Volunteering Policy

    My Volunteering Policy The purpose of this policy is to outline the opportunities and procedures for Thomson Reuters employees to engage in community volunteering activities. By allowing all regular employees time off to volunteer, Thomson Reuters can continue to invest in its local communities, and have a meaningful impact on the world around us one community at a time. Thomson Reuters encourages employees from across the business to take part in volunteering activities with recognized charities and community organizations including accredited schools. To enable this we offer all regular full-time and part-time employees* time off with pay for at least 2 days or 16 hours per calendar year (pro-rated for part-time staff). *Part-time employees are eligible if their regularly scheduled hours are 20 or more per week. Multiply the number of hours worked in a day by two; the result is the annual number of hours eligible for paid time off to volunteer (4 hours a day x 2 = 8 hours a year). GUIDELINES FOR VOLUNTEERING Volunteering during working hours is at your manager’s discretion and subject to the needs of the business. You should obtain your manager’s approval to use paid time off to volunteer and then log your paid volunteer hours into My Community. For full details of how to apply for volunteering, read our My Volunteer FAQ in My Community. RECOGNIZED CHARITIES AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Through this policy and our programs we support organizations that are registered as a charity not-for-profit or tax exempt organizations and accredited schools.
  • Dana Pāramī (The Perfection of Giving)

    Dana Pāramī (The Perfection of Giving)

    Dana Pāramī (The Perfection of Giving) Miss Notnargorn Thongputtamon Research Scholar, Department of Philosophy and Religion, Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India [email protected] Received Dec 14,2018; Revised Mar 4, 2019; Accepted May 29, 2019 ABSTRACT Every religion in the world likes to teach that charity is important. This is the case with Buddhism also. The Buddha describes the three central practices as Dana (generosity), Sila (morality) and Bhavana (meditation). Bhikkhu Bodhi writes, “the practice of giving is universally recognized as one of the most basic human virtues”, and Susan Elbaum Jootle confirms that it is a basis of merit or wholesome kamma and when practiced in itself, it leads ultimately to liberation from the cycle of repeated existence”. Buddhists do not seek publicity for charity. But it is the practice of the vehicle of great enlightenment (mahābodhiyāna) to improve their skillfulness in accumulating the requisites for enlightenment. We now undertake a detailed explanation of the Dana Pāramī. Keywords: Dana (generosity), Bhavana (meditation), Sila (morality) 48 The Journal of The International Buddhist Studies College What are the Pāramis? For the meaning of the Pāramīs, the Brahmajāla Sutta explains that they are the noble qualities such as giving and etc., accompanied by compassion and skillful means, untainted by craving and conceit views (Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2007). Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche renders “pāramīs” into English as “transcendent action”. He understands “transcendent action” in the sense of non-egocentric action. He says: “Transcendental” does not refer to some external reality, but rather to the way in which we conduct our lives and perceive the world – either in an egocentric way or non-egocentric way.
  • QUESTION 32 the Works of Mercy (Almsgiving)

    QUESTION 32 the Works of Mercy (Almsgiving)

    QUESTION 32 The Works of Mercy (Almsgiving) We next have to consider almsgiving or the works of mercy. And on this topic there are ten questions: (1) Is almsgiving or doing a work of mercy (eleemosynae largitio) an act of charity? (2) How are the works of mercy divided? (3) Which are the most important works of mercy, the spiritual or corporal? (4) Do the corporal works of mercy have a spiritual effect? (5) Does doing the works of mercy fall under a precept? (6) Should a corporal work of mercy be done from resources that are necessary for one to live on? (7) Should a corporal work of mercy be done from resources that have been unjustly acquired? (8) Whose role is it to do the works of mercy? (9) To whom should the works of mercy be done? (10) How should the works of mercy be done? Article 1 Is almsgiving or doing a work of mercy an act of charity? It seems that almsgiving or doing a work of mercy (dare eleemosynam), is not an act of charity: Objection 1: An act of charity cannot exist in the absence of charity. But almsgiving can exist in the absence of charity—this according to 1 Corinthians 13:3 (“If I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor ... but do not have charity ...”). Therefore, almsgiving or doing a work of mercy is not an act of charity. Objection 2: The works of mercy (eleemosyna) are numbered among the acts of satisfaction—this according to Daniel 4:24 (“Redeem your sins with alms, and your iniquities with works of mercy for the poor”).

  • The Treasure of Generosity South Bay to Educate the Community and Foster the Spirit of Dana—A Spirit That Recognizes and Manifests the Interdependent Nature of Being

    The Treasure of Generosity This booklet has been published by Insight Meditation The Treasure of Generosity South Bay to educate the community and foster the spirit of dana—a spirit that recognizes and manifests the interdependent nature of being. The primary “If people knew, as I know, the results of giving and intent of this booklet is to encourage the cultivation sharing, they would not eat a meal without sharing it, and practice of dana. IMSB, like most religious and nor would they allow the taint of stinginess or meanness charitable organizations, depends upon donations to to overtake their minds.” sustain its operations. We encourage you to experience —The Buddha, Ittivutakkha 26 the treasures of generosity by giving in ways that retain Generosity is commonly defined as the act of freely the spirit of dana. giving or sharing what we have. The giving of money and material objects, the sharing of time, effort, and presence, and the sharing of teachings all are expressions of generosity. Generosity is at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings. In Buddhist traditions, the act of generosity is called dana, in the ancient Pali language. The inner disposition toward being generous is the less well-known Pali term, caga. The underlying spirit of dana, which began as townspeople offered support to monks and nuns on alms rounds, carries on to this day. Today, our own spiritual practices provide us with the opportunity to explore the rich relationship between dana and caga while pointing us toward a healthy manifestation of non-attachment, non-aversion, and interdependence.
  • Donors Vastly Underestimate Differences in Charities' Effectiveness

    Donors Vastly Underestimate Differences in Charities' Effectiveness

    Judgment and Decision Making, Vol. 15, No. 4, July 2020, pp. 509–516 Donors vastly underestimate differences in charities’ effectiveness Lucius Caviola∗† Stefan Schubert‡† Elliot Teperman David Moss§ Spencer Greenberg Nadira S. Faber¶ ‡ Abstract Some charities are much more cost-effective than other charities, which means that they can save many more lives with the same amount of money. Yet most donations do not go to the most effective charities. Why is that? We hypothesized that part of the reason is that people underestimate how much more effective the most effective charities are compared with the average charity. Thus, they do not know how much more good they could do if they donated to the most effective charities. We studied this hypothesis using samples of the general population, students, experts, and effective altruists in five studies. We found that lay people estimated that among charities helping the global poor, the most effective charities are 1.5 times more effective than the average charity (Studies 1 and 2). Effective altruists, in contrast, estimated the difference to be factor 50 (Study 3) and experts estimated the factor to be 100 (Study 4). We found that participants donated more to the most effective charity, and less to an average charity, when informed about the large difference in cost-effectiveness (Study 5). In conclusion, misconceptions about the difference in effectiveness between charities is thus likely one reason, among many, why people donate ineffectively. Keywords: cost-effectiveness, charitable giving, effective altruism, prosocial behavior, helping 1 Introduction interested behavior: e.g., people more frequently choose the most effective option when investing (for their own benefit) People donate large sums to charity every year.
  • The Definition of Effective Altruism

    The Definition of Effective Altruism

    OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 19/08/19, SPi 1 The Definition of Effective Altruism William MacAskill There are many problems in the world today. Over 750 million people live on less than $1.90 per day (at purchasing power parity).1 Around 6 million children die each year of easily preventable causes such as malaria, diarrhea, or pneumonia.2 Climate change is set to wreak environmental havoc and cost the economy tril- lions of dollars.3 A third of women worldwide have suffered from sexual or other physical violence in their lives.4 More than 3,000 nuclear warheads are in high-alert ready-to-launch status around the globe.5 Bacteria are becoming antibiotic- resistant.6 Partisanship is increasing, and democracy may be in decline.7 Given that the world has so many problems, and that these problems are so severe, surely we have a responsibility to do something about them. But what? There are countless problems that we could be addressing, and many different ways of addressing each of those problems. Moreover, our resources are scarce, so as individuals and even as a globe we can’t solve all these problems at once. So we must make decisions about how to allocate the resources we have. But on what basis should we make such decisions? The effective altruism movement has pioneered one approach. Those in this movement try to figure out, of all the different uses of our resources, which uses will do the most good, impartially considered. This movement is gathering con- siderable steam. There are now thousands of people around the world who have chosen
  • Testing for Altruism and Social Pressure in Charitable Giving∗

    Testing for Altruism and Social Pressure in Charitable Giving∗

    Testing for Altruism and Social Pressure in Charitable Giving∗ Stefano DellaVigna John A. List Ulrike Malmendier UC Berkeley and NBER UChicagoandNBER UC Berkeley and NBER This version: May 25, 2011 Abstract Every year, 90 percent of Americans give money to charities. Is such generosity necessar- ily welfare enhancing for the giver? We present a theoretical framework that distinguishes two types of motivation: individuals like to give, e.g., due to altruism or warm glow, and individuals would rather not give but dislike saying no, e.g., due to social pressure. We design a door-to-door fund-raiser in which some households are informed about the exact time of solicitation with a flyer on their door-knobs. Thus, they can seek or avoid the fund- raiser. We find that the flyer reduces the share of households opening the door by 9 to 25 percent and, if the flyer allows checking a ‘Do Not Disturb’ box, reduces giving by 28 to 42 percent. The latter decrease is concentrated among donations smaller than $10. These findings suggest that social pressure is an important determinant of door-to-door giving. Combiningdatafromthisandacomplementaryfield experiment, we structurally estimate the model. The estimated social pressure cost of saying no to a solicitor is $356 for an in-state charity and $137 for an out-of-state charity. Our welfare calculations suggest that our door-to-door fund-raising campaigns on average lower utility of the potential donors. ∗We thank the editor, four referees, Saurabh Bhargava, David Card, Gary Charness, Constanca Esteves- Sorenson, Bryan Graham, Zachary Grossman, Lawrence Katz, Patrick Kline, Stephan Meier, Klaus Schmidt, Bruce Shearer, Joel Sobel, Daniel Sturm and the audiences at the Chicago Booth School of Business, Columbia University, Harvard University, HBS, University of Amsterdam, University of Arizona, Tucson, UC Berkeley, USC (Marshall School), UT Dallas, University of Rotterdam, University of Zurich, Washington University (St.
  • Monitoring and Enforcement of Charity Governance Dana Brakman Reiser Brooklyn Law School, Dana.Brakman@Brooklaw.Edu

    Monitoring and Enforcement of Charity Governance Dana Brakman Reiser Brooklyn Law School, [email protected]

    Brooklyn Law School BrooklynWorks Faculty Scholarship 2005 Introduction, Symposium: Who Guards the Guardians?: Monitoring and Enforcement of Charity Governance Dana Brakman Reiser Brooklyn Law School, [email protected] Evelyn E. Brody Follow this and additional works at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/faculty Part of the Organizations Law Commons, and the Other Law Commons Recommended Citation 80 Chicago-Kent Law Review 543 (2005) (with E. Brody) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by BrooklynWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of BrooklynWorks. CHICAGO-KENT SYMPOSIUM: WHO GUARDS THE GUARDIANS?: MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT OF CHARITY GOVERNANCE INTRODUCTION DANA BRAKMAN REISER* AND EVELYN BRODY** This symposium comes at a historic time for charities. The U.S. Sen- ate Finance Committee is spearheading a review of federal tax exemption and deductibility rules, and mulling various reforms that would greatly expand federal power over charities and their fiduciaries and employees. ' The Committee staff released a discussion draft outlining a huge number of potential legal reforms last summer,2 and its leadership has called on the nonprofit community to offer constructive responses and suggestions to improve any potential legislation.3 The Joint Committee on Taxation fol- lowed up with an analysis of some of these proposals-and made some additional ones-in January 2005. 4 States also are showing interest in step- ping up their charitable enforcement roles. Some legislatures have consid- ered sweeping reforms of nonprofit corporate law, 5 and attorneys general and courts in these states and others have been deploying their enforcement and oversight powers over nonprofit corporations and charitable trusts to 6 address perceived problems of accountability in the charitable sector.
  • An Introduction to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Management

    An Introduction to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Management

    An Introduction to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Management Compiled by Ali Mostashari Iranian Studies Group at MIT June 2005 What is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)? The term, "non-governmental organization" or NGO, came into use in 1945 because of the need for the UN to differentiate in its Charter between participation rights for intergovernmental specialized agencies and those for international private organizations. At the UN, virtually all types of private bodies can be recognized as NGOs. They only have to be independent from government control, not seeking to challenge governments either as a political party or by a narrow focus on human rights, non-profit-making and non-criminal. As of 2003, there were reportedly over 20,000 NGOs active in Iran. The majority of these organizations are charity organizations, and thus would not fall under the category of development-oriented NGOs. In this document the term NGO is primarily used for organizations other than charitable organizations. The structures of NGOs vary considerably. With the improvement in communications, more locally-based groups, referred to as grass-roots organizations or community based organizations, have become active at the national or even the global level. Increasingly this occurs through the formation of coalitions with other NGOs for particular goals, such as was the case in the case of the Bam earthquake for example. A civil society is composed of three sectors: government, the private sector and civil society, excluding businesses. NGOs are components of social movements within a civil society. In the case of Iran, where civil society is not yet mature, NGOs can have an important role in strengthening the foundations of an emergent civil society.
  • Eight Mechanisms That Drive Charitable Giving René Bekkers

    Eight Mechanisms That Drive Charitable Giving René Bekkers

    Eight Mechanisms That Drive Charitable Giving* René Bekkers and Pamala Wiepking An overwhelming body of knowledge is available on philanthropy in the social sciences. Research on philanthropy appears in journals from very different disciplines. We present an overview of research on determinants of charitable giving from all disciplines. Why Do People Give? Experiments in economics, sociology, social psychology, biology, and marketing have shown how situations can be created that encourage giving. The situations in these experiments are created by researchers, which allows for causal inferences about determinants of giving. From these experiments, conclusions can be drawn about why people give. We reviewed this literature and identify eight mechanisms as the key mechanisms that have been studied as determinants of philanthropy. They are (a) awareness of need; (b) solicitation; (c) costs and benefits; (d) altruism; (e) reputation; (f) psychological benefits; (g) values; (h) efficacy. Below we present the eight mechanisms that drive giving. The order in which the eight mechanisms are presented does not reflect the importance or causal strength of the mechanisms. Rather, the order corresponds to the chronological order in which they affect giving in the typical act of donation. For each mechanism, we present the main effect. In many cases, these main effects can be moderated (or sometimes mediated) by other factors. Moderating factors are factors that weaken or strengthen the effect of the mechanism: conditions or personal characteristics that interact with the main effect. Mechanism 1: Awareness of Need Awareness of need is a first prerequisite for philanthropy. People have to become aware of a need for support.
  • Islamic Charity) for Psychological Well-Being

    Islamic Charity) for Psychological Well-Being

    Journal of Critical Reviews ISSN- 2394-5125 Vol 7, Issue 2, 2020 Review Article UNDERSTANDING OF SIGNIFICANCE OF ZAKAT (ISLAMIC CHARITY) FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING 1Mohd Nasir Masroom, 2Wan Mohd Azam Wan Mohd Yunus, 3Miftachul Huda 1Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 2Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 3Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Malaysia Received: 25.11.2019 Revised: 05.12.2019 Accepted: 15.01.2020 Abstract The act of worship in Islam is a form of submission and a Muslim’s manifestation of servitude to Allah SWT. Yet, it also offers certain rewards and benefits to human psychology. The purpose of this article is to explain how Zakat (Islamic charity), or the giving of alms to the poor or those in need, can help improve one’s psychological well-being. The study found that sincerity and understanding the wisdom of Zakat are the two important elements for improving psychological well-being among Muslim believers. This is because Zakat can foster many positive attitudes such sincerity, compassion, and gratitude. Moreover, Zakat can also prevent negative traits like greed, arrogance, and selfishness. Therefore, Zakat, performed with sincerity and philosophical understanding can be used as a form treatment for neurosis patients. It is hoped that this article can serve as a guideline for psychologists and counsellors in how to treat Muslim neurosis patients. Keywords: Zakat; Psychological Well-being; Muslim; Neurosis Patient © 2019 by Advance Scientific Research. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.02.127 INTRODUCTION Zakat (Islamic charity) is one of the five pillars of Islam, made THE DEFINITION OF ZAKAT, PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING compulsory for each Muslim to contribute part of their assets AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTURBANCE or property to the rightful and qualified recipients.