Investasi Pendidikan dalam Bingkai Keagamaan: NU Scholarship Sebagai Model Filantropi Berbasis Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia di Indonesia

Abstract

The allocation of zakat, infaq, and sadaqah (ZIS) funds to the education sector is increasingly vital as a strategic, long-term philanthropic financing model. This conceptual article examines the NU Scholarship (NUS)—a collaboration between LAKPESDAM PBNU and BAZNAS RI initiated in 2023—as an emerging model that integrates social investment logic into productive zakat management in Indonesia. Employing a literature review and qualitative document analysis of official programme documents, verified news reports, regulations, and national statistical data, this article investigates how NUS frames zakat funds within public discourse, its institutional design elements aligned with social investment principles, and its conceptual implications for educational philanthropy in Indonesia. The analysis is guided by three complementary theoretical lenses: social investment theory as the primary framework, Maqashid Sharia as a normative comparison, and philanthropic intermediary theory as a structural complement. The findings reveal that NUS frames zakat funds across three discursive registers—religious, developmental, and diplomatic—and exhibits design elements consistent with social investment principles, such as tiered targeting through diversified scholarship schemes and its function as an educational philanthropy hub, while leaving room for development in long-term impact evaluation mechanisms. This article offers a potential conceptual framework for studying social investment-based Islamic educational philanthropy in Indonesia, while acknowledging the limitations of a single-case design (N=1) and emic data sources.