Strengthening the Welfare of the Community Through the Effectiveness of BAZNAS (National Zakat Collection Agency) Management in a Case Study of Simpang Pematang District, Mesuji Regency

Abstract

Zakat has a strategic role in poverty eradication and equitable distribution of socio-economic welfare in Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population in the world that has the potential to collect zakat up to IDR 327 trillion per year but its realization has only reached 5-7% of the national potential. This study aims to describe the effectiveness of BAZNAS Mesuji Regency management in managing zakat, infaq, and shadaqah (ZIS) to strengthen the welfare of the people in Simpang Pematang District, with a focus on the functions of planning, organizing, implementing, and supervising. A descriptive qualitative field approach was applied through in-depth interviews with 3 core BAZNAS administrators (chairman, treasurer, secretary) and 5 selected mustahiq, complemented by participatory observation and document analysis using the Miles and Huberman interactive model (data reduction, display, verification). The findings show the high effectiveness of ZIS management: fund collection reaches IDR 150 million per year from a 2.5% ASN salary deduction; Productive distribution reached 120 mustahiq through business training (such as Z-Auto) and tahfidz scholarships, increasing mustahiq income by an average of 25-30%; public data transparency and internal audits ensure sharia compliance.This research contributes to the theory of zakat management of non-profit organizations with a local empirical model, which uniquely integrates planning functions (through RKAT and 2.5% ASN salary deduction), structural organization (division of tasks for deputy heads of funds, distribution, finance, and HR), implementation of productive zakat (such as the Z-Auto program and tahfidz scholarships that increase mustahiq income by 25-30%), as well as transparent supervision (internal audit and public data), especially in the rural context of Lampung with the challenges of low zakat literacy and structural poverty. It is also recommended for policy makers to replicate productive zakat programs in rural areas to accelerate SDGs 1 (no poverty).