Good record-keeping can help demonstrate that your organisational resources are used effectively by saving space and reducing duplication of records. Likewise, they can show that your organisation is able to meet its legal obligations.
In the early 2010s, Islamic Relief Worldwide embarked upon developing an archive service. In this case study, we hear from staff across the organisation on how the service was developed and the essential role it plays in current activities.
Islamic Relief Worldwide is an international humanitarian organisation that operates in over 40 countries. The charity was co-founded in Birmingham by Dr Hany El Banna, and fellow medical students, in response to the famine in East Africa in 1984. Today, Islamic Relief Worldwide is best known for providing disaster and humanitarian relief by responding to disasters, rebuilding lives and preparing people in case disaster strikes. In addition, Islamic Relief also promote sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities, regardless of race, religion or gender.
About the archive
“Our past is a gift that can keep on giving, but only if it is preserved and used.”
Jameelah Almulad, Qualitative Researcher, Islamic Relief Worldwide
Staff at Islamic Relief began to develop an archive service in the early 2010s as part of a wider programme of improving documentation and record-keeping processes. In 2015, the first professional archivist and records manager was employed at Islamic Relief, who set about creating a structured archive service that supported a wide range of organisational activities. Since its foundation, the archive service has achieved many impressive milestones, including launching the Archives Hub catalogue in 2022 and improving access for external researchers.
Co-founder Dr Hany El-Banna and volunteers outside Islamic Relief’s first office on Moseley Road, Birmingham, 1991. Image courtesy of Islamic Relief Worldwide Archive.
The collection includes organisational records from Islamic Relief Worldwide and its activities spanning the past 40 years of its operations. The archive includes annual and regional reports, newsletters, project files, and documentation of major relief efforts spanning the four decades. The archive captures the richness of Islamic Relief’s activities and covers responses to global crises, development programmes, and country-specific initiatives. It provides a unique insight into humanitarianism, fundraising, and operational history grounded in Islamic values.
Challenges and opportunities
The Islamic Relief’s archive service supports a wide range of activities including fundraising, marketing, decision-making, research and policy work. As such, they face many day-to-day challenges, which include:
- Justifying maintaining a professionally-run archives service within organisational resource constraints, which has limited the development of technical infrastructure, staff recruitment and training.
- Inconsistent record-keeping practices of the past and lack of capturing contextual information of records, and it is sometimes difficult to navigate who owns records across many different countries.
- Managing sensitive data across multiple legal jurisdictions can pose significant risks, and ensuring the archive is fit-for-purpose to manage large volumes of complex records.
Despite these challenges, Islamic Relief’s archive presents many opportunities to support organisational activities and preserve its humanitarian legacy. These include:
- Supporting staff training via inductions and fostering shared values by demonstrating how staff and volunteers have shaped Islamic Relief’s mission since the 1980s.
- Creating long-term strategic value by building trust with stakeholders, ensuring legal compliance and supporting organisational accountability that is demonstrated through well-kept records.
- Boosting research and advocacy by providing evidence for campaigns, fundraising and influencing public policy, as well as supporting partnership work with higher education institutions.
What is one piece of advice you would have for others working with charity archives?
“Don’t just save documents – save the right documents. Focus on curating records that show your impact, capture important lessons, and reflect the voices of the communities you serve. When archives are connected to your mission and storytelling, they become powerful tools for learning, advocacy, and growth – not just storage space.”
Mohammed Tariq, Head of Facilities, Islamic Relief Worldwide
When developing an archive service, it is crucial to align the archive with the organisation’s core values and priorities – you may think of this as ‘mission-driven archiving’. In Islamic Relief’s case, aligning archival efforts with compliance culture helped secure internal support. By connecting archiving to the organisation’s mission, archives become more than just records, they support ongoing work and reinforce the organisation’s values.
What’s next
“Being an in-house archive service, we use the archive for a range of activities – from campaigning to marketing, the archive helps bolster the reputation of the organisation. We recently celebrated our 40th anniversary, and we used archival material and it helped show how the organisation has changed over time.”
Tom Poole, Archivist, Islamic Relief Worldwide
Over the next few years, Islamic Relief aims to shift the archives service from being a passive storage area to an active resource for strategic insights and research. Some of the aims for the archive include improving standards of collections care and digital preservation through the creation of dedicated repositories.
In addition, Islamic Relief seeks to transform the archive into an active tool for organisational decision-making, advocacy, and transparency. The vision for the archive service at Islamic Relief is a vibrant and accessible resource—a digital ecosystem and a strategic compass that drives strategy by showcasing the charity’s legacy and impact.
The development of the Islamic Relief Archive has been a collective effort, and has only been possible due to the hard work and commitment of the team. Jameelah Almulad has helped shape the roadmap since the projects’ inception in 2013. In addition, the three archivists who have developed the service: Danny Naylor (Archives and Records Manager), Elizabeth Shuck (Archivist) and Thomas Poole (Archivist).
Find out more
Learn more about the history of Islamic Relief Worldwide
Read a year-by-year review of 40 years of Islamic Relief
The scope of Islamic Relief Worldwide’s collections
Browse the collections of Islamic Relief Worldwide through Discovery