A Continuous Charity (ACC) is a Texas 501(c)(3), EIN 45-5424452, that makes riba-free student loans to American Muslims nationwide and is the only national organization doing so at scale. You repay exactly what you borrowed, dollar for dollar, with no interest and no fees, under a legally binding contract that requires a co-signer. The general application opens in mid-January, closes about eight weeks later, and decisions go out in June, with funds paid directly to your school. ACC reports $10.7 million awarded to 775 students, $5 million already repaid and recycled, and $6.4 million of interest avoided over its lifetime. This review explains who qualifies, what ACC does and does not publish, and how it compares with the other two riba-free options on our halal student loans hub.
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What A Continuous Charity is and how it is funded
ACC describes itself as the first national Muslim charity offering students community-funded, riba-free loans for higher education. It is headquartered in Irving, Texas, and files a Form 990 every year; the Financials page carries 990s from 2015 through 2024 and annual reports from 2015 through 2025, which is more disclosure than most community lenders offer. The loan pool comes from donations, local community fundraisers, sponsors and investment income, and every repaid dollar goes back out to another student. That recycling is the whole model: ACC's own figure is $5 million repaid so far.
Two fundraising structures matter to applicants. The Power of 100K initiative aims for 100,000 donors giving $10 a month to build a $10 million endowment, and ACC also runs a waqf and Legacy Funds that families or businesses can set up to fund students in a chosen field, with ACC handling applications, interviews and servicing. ACC also states that priority goes to students applying from areas where local fundraising has been done, which it calls local investing with local rewards. If your community has never held an ACC fundraiser, your application is competing from a weaker position, and that is worth knowing before you apply.
Who is eligible for an ACC loan
ACC's Apply page lists the basic requirements. International students are not eligible; the program is built for the American Muslim community, and ACC says so plainly. Graduate and professional students are welcome, as are trade and certificate programs, which sets ACC apart from scholarship funds that stop at the bachelor's degree.
- Be a US citizen, permanent resident or DACA recipient with a valid Social Security number (students from the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau are exempt from the SSN rule).
- Be enrolled or accepted at an academic institution and maintain satisfactory academic progress.
- Attend or have attended a community college, four-year institution, master's program, PhD or doctoral program, or a trade, certificate or diploma program.
- Be actively engaged in your community; ACC scores this and asks for evidence.
- Hold a GPA of 3.0 or better, which ACC says is preferred but not an absolute requirement.
- Pass a background check, which ACC states it conducts on applicants.
How ACC chooses recipients: the four criteria
ACC scores applications on four criteria, each earning points. Merit covers academic achievement, test scores, class standing, GPA and awards. Scholarship, in ACC's usage, means the applicant's pursuit of knowledge and the implementation of good character in daily life. Community involvement covers volunteering, club leadership, tutoring and similar work. Need is assessed from the financial position of the applicant, spouse and parents, and ACC says other aid such as FAFSA awards is included in the review, so a student who has already secured Pell Grants is not penalized for it; the gap after grants is what counts.
The documents required are two letters of recommendation from a teacher, employer or local religious leader, a financial statement (Form 1 for dependents completed by parents, Form 2 for married independent students, Form 3 for single independent students) and an IRS tax return transcript, which you order through the Get Transcript Online tool. Finalists are interviewed by phone or video within six weeks of the deadline; there is no in-person interview.
The application calendar from January to June
ACC's program page says the cycle typically opens on January 1 and runs for eight weeks; its Apply page for the 2026 cycle gave January 15, 2026 as the opening date and now shows the general application as closed. Treat mid-January as the start and expect a deadline around mid-March. ACC reviews applications from mid-April to the end of May and sends decisions in June, with the award amount stated in the acceptance letter. That timing matters: an incoming freshman will not know the ACC result until after most college deposit deadlines, so ACC should be planned as a fall-tuition source, not as the deciding factor in where to enroll.
| Stage | Timing published by ACC | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Application opens | Mid-January (January 15 in 2026) | Submit the online form, two letters, financial statement, tax transcript |
| Application closes | About eight weeks after opening | Nothing further; late applications are not accepted |
| Finalist interviews | Within six weeks after the deadline | Phone or video interview |
| Review period | Mid-April to end of May | Wait; ACC does not publish interim status |
| Decisions | Early June, two weeks after interviews end | Sign the loan agreement with your co-signer |
| Disbursement | After signing | Paid directly to your educational or financial institution |
Separate from the general cycle, ACC runs Special Application Cycles through partner organizations and funds such as Legacy Funds, college partnership funds and the Seed Fund. Those have their own windows, and ACC directs applicants to the partner organization's page rather than the general form. If you missed January, ask your masjid or MSA whether it has an ACC partnership fund.
Loan amounts, repayment and credit reporting
ACC does not publish a maximum or typical award on its site. The acceptance letter states the amount, and ACC says the repayment schedule varies by field of study, amount awarded and financial status. What is published: repayment is dollar for dollar with no interest and no hidden fees, every recipient signs a legally binding agreement, and a co-signer is required. Loans are paid to the institution, never to the student. ACC's lifetime average of roughly $13,800 per student (its $10.7 million across 775 students) is only an indication; individual awards can be well above or below it.
Since January 1, 2025 ACC has run a soft credit pull on awarded students only, not on applicants, and the loan appears on the recipient's credit report. Accounts 90 or more days delinquent are reported to a credit bureau. For a student with no credit file this is a benefit: a zero-interest installment account paid on time builds history without any riba. For a student who might struggle to repay, it is a real consequence, and the co-signer's credit is also on the line. Do not treat an ACC loan as a grant; it is a debt owed to the next student in line.
The refinance program for graduates with interest-bearing loans
ACC also lends to graduates who finished their degree, are employed and still carry interest-bearing student debt. The Student Loan Refinance Program pays all or part of the principal directly to the existing loan holder, subject to available funding, and the graduate then repays ACC with no interest. Applicants must be US citizens or in the process of naturalization and must apply during the same annual cycle. ACC states that the student remains responsible for any interest that has already accrued on the old loan, and that personalized repayment plans give priority to applicants who can repay faster. For a working graduate with a $20,000 balance at 6% or 7%, a successful refinance removes the interest entirely; our guide on whether student loan interest is haram explains why that matters so much to the people who apply.
ACC versus Qard Hasan Foundation versus Jafari Credit Union
Two other institutions make genuinely interest-free education loans in the United States. Qard Hasan Foundation, a 501(c)(3) in Austin, lends $5,000 a year, paid $2,500 per semester directly to the school, to students who are active members of a Muslim community in Texas, hold a 3.0 GPA, and are US citizens or green card holders. Repayment is a minimum of $100 a month per $2,500 loan starting 30 days after disbursement, there are no application or processing fees, and a co-signer may be required. QHF and ACC have announced an Educational Partnership Fund so that QHF can support more students, which means applying to QHF in Texas does not rule out ACC.
Jafari No-Interest Credit Union in Houston is an NCUA-insured credit union rather than a charity. Its site lists college loans of $1,200 to $8,000 and refinancing of existing student, auto or home loans up to $35,000 after at least three monthly payments have been made, all at 0% interest, with non-refundable application fees of $25 and $50 and a monthly account fee that starts at $3. Membership is limited to people who attend certain Jafari community centers in Houston, Dallas and Austin, plus their family members anywhere in the US, and borrowers must meet the credit union's income and credit requirements.
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| Feature | A Continuous Charity | Qard Hasan Foundation | Jafari Credit Union |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal form | 501(c)(3) charity, Irving TX | 501(c)(3) charity, Austin TX | NCUA-insured credit union, Houston TX |
| Who can apply | US citizens, permanent residents, DACA, nationwide | Texas Muslim community members, citizens or green card | Members of listed Jafari centers and their US family |
| Amount | Not published; stated in award letter | $5,000 a year ($2,500 per semester) | College loan $1,200 to $8,000; refinance up to $35,000 |
| Interest | 0%, dollar for dollar | 0% | 0% |
| Fees | None | None | $25 and $50 application fees; monthly account fee from $3 |
| Co-signer | Required | May be required | Income and credit requirements apply |
| Repayment | Set per student by field, amount and finances | Minimum $100 a month per $2,500, from day 30 | Per loan agreement |
| Credit reporting | Yes, soft pull on award; 90-day delinquency reported | Not stated | Not stated on main page |
How to stack ACC with FAFSA grants, scholarships and work-study
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ACC counts your existing aid when it scores need, and Qard Hasan Foundation requires a copy of your FAFSA Student Aid Report, so file the FAFSA first even though you will decline the federal loans. Accept Pell Grants, state grants, institutional scholarships and Federal Work-Study, none of which carry interest. Then compute the gap: cost of attendance minus grants, scholarships, family contribution and expected work earnings. That gap is the number to put in your ACC financial statement and the figure to discuss in the interview. Students who arrive with a clear gap and a plan to cover the rest are easier to fund than students asking for an unspecified amount.
Apply to every riba-free source in the same spring. The ACC window in January to March, the QHF cycle for Texas students, and Jafari membership if you qualify can all run in parallel, and ACC's partnership with QHF means the two are complementary rather than exclusive. Our overview of Islamic student loan options in America lists the smaller regional funds, and the interest-free Islamic loans hub covers community qard hasan funds that are not education-specific.
What to do if ACC does not fund you
- Ask the bursar for a tuition payment plan; most US colleges split a semester into monthly installments for a flat fee with no interest, which is a permissible service charge.
- Check whether your masjid, MSA or regional foundation runs an ACC Special Application Cycle or Legacy Fund with a later window.
- Apply to Qard Hasan Foundation if you are in Texas, and to Jafari if you are eligible for membership.
- Ask your employer or your parents' employers about tuition assistance; many reimburse courses without any loan.
- If you already carry interest-bearing debt and cannot pay, ask a local zakat fund. ACC's own zakat policy names al-gharimin, those in debt, as an eligible category for educational assistance, alongside the poor and needy.
- Reduce the bill: community college transfer, in-state tuition, CLEP and AP credit, and a lighter course load with more work hours.
What not to do is take a federal or private loan on the assumption that ACC will refinance it later. The refinance program depends on available funding each year and gives priority to graduates who can repay quickly, so there is no guarantee. Our guide to who is eligible to receive zakat explains the gharimin category if you reach that point, and the zakat hub lists calculators and funds.
Verdict: who should apply and when
A pre-med student entering a four-year program should apply to ACC in every January cycle from senior year of high school onward, with the FAFSA filed, two recommendation letters lined up by December, and the IRS transcript ordered early. Medical school tuition will exceed what any qard hasan fund can cover, so ACC should be treated as one layer, with scholarships, institutional aid and a committed family plan underneath; the refinance program is a fallback for the residency years if interest-bearing debt proves unavoidable. A parent of a high school senior should treat ACC as a fall-tuition source rather than a deciding factor in the enrollment decision, because the June decision date falls after May 1 commitments. Apply in January of senior year anyway, hold a Texas student's QHF application in parallel, and use the summer to arrange a bursar payment plan for whatever ACC does not cover. ACC is honest, audited and genuinely interest-free; its limits are the single annual window, unpublished award sizes and the priority given to communities that fund it. See the A Continuous Charity profile for our standing verdict and the halal loans hub for everything else that is riba-free.
Facts checked against acceducate.org, qardhasanfoundation.org, jafaricu.com on September 30, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is A Continuous Charity legitimate?
Yes. ACC is a registered 501(c)(3) with EIN 45-5424452, publishes its IRS Form 990 for every year from 2015 to 2024 and annual reports through 2025 on its Financials page, and reports $10.7 million awarded to 775 students with $5 million repaid. Loans are paid directly to schools, not to students, and donations are tax deductible.
How much does A Continuous Charity lend per student?
ACC does not publish a maximum or typical award. The amount is set by the selection committee and stated in the June acceptance letter, and the repayment schedule depends on field of study, amount and financial status. Dividing ACC's lifetime total of $10.7 million by 775 students gives an average near $13,800, but individual awards vary widely around that figure.
When does the ACC application open?
The general application opens in mid-January and runs for about eight weeks; the 2026 cycle opened on January 15, 2026 and is now closed. ACC reviews applications from mid-April to the end of May, interviews finalists by phone or video, and sends decisions in early June. Special Application Cycles through partner organizations have their own dates.
Does ACC require a co-signer or a credit check?
A co-signer is required for every ACC loan. ACC does not pull credit when you apply; since January 1, 2025 it runs a soft credit pull on awarded students only, and the loan then appears on your credit report. Accounts that fall 90 or more days delinquent are reported to a credit bureau, so on-time payments build credit without interest.
Can ACC refinance my existing student loans?
Yes, through its Student Loan Refinance Program for graduates who have finished their degree and are employed. ACC pays all or part of the principal directly to your loan holder, subject to available funding, and you repay ACC with no interest. You must be a US citizen or in the process of naturalization, apply during the annual cycle, and you remain responsible for interest already accrued.
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Can international students get an ACC loan?
No. ACC states that its program is targeted at the American Muslim community and that only US citizens, permanent residents and DACA recipients are eligible at this time. International students should look at institutional scholarships, payment plans from the bursar, and their home-country qard hasan funds instead.
