The National Zakat Foundation (NZF) serves as a critical lifeline for thousands of people in need across the UK. In just over a decade, the faith-based nonprofit has transformed from a grassroots community initiative into a sophisticated operation that processes 25,000 aid applications a month and distributes more than £10 million a year to those in poverty — all while maintaining the dignity of recipients and the trust of donors.
And the tech behind it all? That’s Bubble.
From paper forms to digital transformation
When Monir Mohammed, Head of Technology at NZF, joined the organization in its early days, their operations looked vastly different. “We received applications on paper — around 10 to 12 applications per week, which seemed like a big number at the time,” Monir recalls. “In stark contrast, we’re now getting in excess of 25,000 applications a month.”
This remarkable growth presented significant operational challenges. NZF’s mission is to create a system where those with the means can donate anonymously to people in need while preserving recipients’ dignity. But NZF’s existing tools couldn’t scale with their ambitions.
After struggling with inflexible off-the-shelf solutions and traditional development approaches that required costly maintenance and locked them in on vendors, NZF looked for a more flexible, configurable platform — and discovered Bubble.
“We loved that there was a wonderful community that were really active and building on the platform,” says Monir. That convinced them that Bubble was the flexible, universal solution they were looking for.
Building a complex ecosystem with WeGetDesign
Monir’s early attempts to build on Bubble himself didn’t meet NZF’s needs. Fortunately, they connected with WeGetDesign, a Gold-partner Bubble agency in the UK, to help realize their vision.
“It’s like hiring a builder for your house,” explains Monir. “They’ll do all the hard work for you, find the materials and what bits are needed in the plugins and all of that. WeGetDesign took away all of that headache from us.”
This partnership enabled NZF to focus on what they do best — helping people in need — while WeGetDesign handled the technical implementation. The result is an impressive ecosystem of interconnected applications that power everything from donation processing to applicant evaluation.
A £10 million payment gateway built on Bubble
Perhaps most impressive is NZF’s payment platform, built entirely on Bubble. In 2018, the team wasn’t sure if Bubble could handle a payment gateway at that commercial scale. “The answer was ‘theoretically, yes,’” Monir says, “but in practice, no one had yet tried it.”
WeGetDesign was confident they could do it, so NZF went ahead with the plan to build their entire donation platform on Bubble. Today, that platform processes millions of pounds a year through various payment methods, including bank transfers, scheduled payments, card payments, and PayPal.
“In 2025, we’ll most likely collect in excess of £10 million,” Monir says. “We must be, if not the biggest platform for collecting money in the Bubble ecosystem, certainly one of the largest.”
Streamlining operations with AI and automation
As NZF grew, so did the complexity of their application process. Their team collects approximately 180 different data points from each applicant to determine eligibility and need. Without automation, this process would be prohibitively time-consuming for both applicants and staff.
NZF has leveraged Bubble’s AI capabilities to revolutionize this process. For example, “we take a picture of your ID and then use AI to populate all the data,” explains Monir. “That saves the individual having to type anything in.” This smart approach has reduced application completion time from 35–40 minutes to less than 15 minutes.
Even more impressive, NZF’s waiting period for support has decreased from five months to just two weeks, thanks to AI-powered validation and scoring: The organization created a “vulnerability index” that objectively assesses an individual’s need so that the most vulnerable people are served first.
“All of that happens in Bubble," Monir says.
Powering social impact through technology
For NZF, Bubble is more than just a development platform — it’s the invisible layer that connects donors with recipients and enables the organization to help as many people as possible.
“Do what you’re good at — running your organization and the great work that you do. Don’t worry about systems and technical processes, because Bubble takes care of pretty much 90% of everything you need.”
When asked what he would tell other nonprofit leaders about Bubble, Monir offers straightforward advice: “Do what you’re good at — running your organization and the great work that you do. Don’t worry about systems and technical processes, because Bubble takes care of pretty much 90% of everything you need.”
Looking ahead, NZF is focused on further improving their customer service interface and developing a knowledge base application. These additions will help reduce the workload on their grants officers and volunteers while providing more self-service options for users.
“There are real people in this story,” he adds. “People don’t come to you because they need money. They come to you because they are destitute. They’re in such a difficult position in life. NZF, as an organization, provides a dignified way for people to come and not only ask for help, but then receive it. And Bubble plays a huge part in that process.”
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