Baznas RI Reveals Three Strategic Communication Steps for ZIS Collection
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Board of Zakat (Baznas) RI has revealed three strategic communication steps for the collection of zakat, infak, and alms (ZIS), placing public trust as a vital component in the community’s journey towards deciding to donate ZIS.
Fahrudin, Head of the Digital Collection Division of Baznas RI, stated that these three steps must be implemented by philanthropic institutions when conducting fundraising to face changes in public behaviour and the development of the digital communication ecosystem.
“First, connect the data, which means integrating communication, media, digital, donor, and fundraising data. Communication and fundraising need to be viewed as one interconnected journey, rather than two separate functions,” he said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.
He stated that the second step is to ‘measure trust’, which involves building a trust measurement framework that does not only focus on reach, engagement, or publication value, but also encompasses sentiment, message credibility, donor trust or conviction, conversion, retention, and repeat donations.
He noted that every report should ideally not stop at presenting figures, but must be able to answer the questions “So what?” and “What’s next?” as a basis for determining messages, channels, audiences, timing, and budget allocation.
“In ZIS collection, trust is a crucial part of the public’s journey before deciding to donate. The process begins with recognising the institution, considering it, building trust, then donating, donating again, and eventually recommending it to others,” he said.
He assessed that current communication challenges are no longer merely about how to make as many people as possible see or interact with a message.
Furthermore, he said that communication needs to be viewed through its ability to build trust and encourage behavioural change.
This aligns with the measurement framework developed by Bazlar, which tracks the journey from attention, trust, and confidence, to action and long-term relationship.
With this approach, communication success can be linked to fundraising indicators such as donor acquisition, retention, and lifetime value.
Fahrudin exemplified that in Baznas’s communication activities, indicators such as reach, engagement, traffic, and media coverage need to be followed by more substantive questions: does that traffic result in donations, do donors return to donate again, and does their level of trust increase?
“What we measure is not just whether the public sees us, but whether communication helps the public trust us. Because ultimately, trust is one of the factors that enables the public to provide support,” he said.
According to him, this approach is important for philanthropic institutions because the public now receives information through various channels.
Therefore, communication measurement needs to connect what the public says, what they feel, and what they actually do, by combining quantitative and qualitative evidence.
Through this approach, Baznas encourages that future communication should not only be oriented towards activity and exposure, but also be capable of providing evidence of trust and its impact on fundraising.