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8/7/2017 In a Fearful Moment, This Growing Fund Channels Muslim American Philanthropy — Inside Philanthropy

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In a Fearful Moment, This Custom Search Growing Fund Channels Muslim American Philanthropy Philip Rojc

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If there’s a time for philanthropy to pay attention to SIGN UP America’s Muslim community, that time is now. Under fire from the Trump administration and the right-wing press, American Muslims are eager to push back against caricatures and intolerance and support each Featured Jobs other on the ground. The Pillars Fund is one Find Jobs grantmaker that’s been leading the charge from within the Muslim community. Director of Individual Founded several years ago, Pillars is the brainchild of Giving Kashif Shaikh. A veteran of Chicago’s philanthropic Washington, DC - Marie sector with previous stints at the McCormick Stopes International- US Foundation and the Chicago United Way, Shaikh spent President and Executive his early career in an environment where American Direction, Stormont Vail Muslims simply weren’t at the table. “[We] haven’t Foundation been on the radar, except in unfortunate Topeka, KS - Stormont Vail circumstances,” he says. “Foundations weren’t Health explicitly looking at working with Muslims because the Director of Development topic was too loaded and cumbersome.” CA - American Committee for the Weizmann Institute But it’s not that funders didn’t want to back American of Science Muslims. According to Shaikh, they just didn't know Director of Development how. Making those connections is one reason why FL - American Committee Shaikh decided to found Pillars in 2010, along with a for the Weizmann Institute group of well-heeled donors. of Science Chief Executive Officer Pillars started off with a giving circle model as a donor- Portland, OR - Meyer advised fund at the Chicago Community Trust. From Memorial Trust those humbVlei ebwegsi nLneifntgs, it has grown into one of the Vice President of nation’s largest funders of Muslim issues. Development https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/7/25/in-a-fearful-moment-this-growing-fund-channels-muslim-philanthropy?utm_content=buffer0c13d&utm_mediu… 2/10 8/7/2017 In a Fearful Moment, This Growing Fund Channels Muslim American Philanthropy — Inside Philanthropy Unfortunately, despite an estimated 3.3 million Los Angeles, CA - Alliance Muslims in America, this is still an underfunded space. College-Ready Public Schools But Shaikh is optimistic. Five years after its founding, Development Director, Pillars’ funding base grew to over 25 donors Institutional Funders contributing an average of $35,000 a year. Eighteen Los Angeles, CA - Alliance months ago, Pillars made the transition from its College-Ready Public former home at the Chicago Community Trust to its Schools current status an independent entity. Special Assistant New York, NY - Simons Shaikh attributes Pillars’ success to the fact that it’s Foundation tailored to a specific American community. On the Associate, Individual giving end, wealthy donors—many of them fairly young Philanthropy —identify Pillars as a credible place to go when they New York, NY - Rainforest want to give to their own community. On the receiving Alliance side, tiny nonprofits serving American Muslims can Assistant, Individual approach a grantmaker that understands where they’re Philanthropy coming from. New York, NY - Rainforest PAollsiat nac Jeob More jobs Pillars has always striven keep small nonprofits afloat, Powered by and that work continues through its Community Infrastructure Fund. Until August 15, Pillars is accepting letters of inquiry from interested (non- religious) organizations. Says Shaikh, “Most organizations working with the Muslim community are really small, and they don't have the capacity to have conversations with the big funders.”

But in recent years, Shaikh has dedicated his time to another major component of Pillars’ work, culture change. It’s a story we’re seeing a lot of lately, both in response to Trump-era politics and from major initiatives that predate his rise to the presidency. Liberal funders and funders associated with minority communitieVs iaerwe sin Lveesftting directly in projects that

https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/7/25/in-a-fearful-moment-this-growing-fund-channels-muslim-philanthropy?utm_content=buffer0c13d&utm_mediu… 3/10 8/7/2017 In a Fearful Moment, This Growing Fund Channels Muslim American Philanthropy — Inside Philanthropy allow those communities to tell their own stories and set the record straight.

The Pillars Fund has given $2 million to these culture change projects since 2010. They include comedian Aasif Mandvi’s web series Halal in the Family and partnerships with media organizations like Vox and USA Today. Pillars is also interested in working with national funders like Unbound Philanthropy and nonprofits like Define American, which are dedicating resources to cultural initiatives that they hope will shift how groups like Muslims and immigrants are perceived.

Philanthropy and the Fight Over Muslims in America Who’s Sticking Up for Muslim Americans At a Very Scary Moment? This Funder is Laser-Focused on Immigration. Have You Heard of It?

The exciting thing, according to Shaikh, is that there’s also been a lot more buy-in from top funders like Kellogg, Ford, the Open Society Foundations, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. All four have chosen to partner with Pillars, and Ford recently threw in a particularly large grant. As the Trump administration continues insisting on versions of its Muslim ban, Pillars has become an “on-the ground voice for foundations that are starting to get interested in engaging with American Muslims.”

Kellogg, forV itise wpasr tL, epfrtovided the seed grant that let Shaikh launch Pillars as an independent organization. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/7/25/in-a-fearful-moment-this-growing-fund-channels-muslim-philanthropy?utm_content=buffer0c13d&utm_mediu… 4/10 8/7/2017 In a Fearful Moment, This Growing Fund Channels Muslim American Philanthropy — Inside Philanthropy We’ve written about WKKF’s broad, ongoing initiatives to pursue racial healing, and it seems like Muslim Americans are now part of that story. In addition, the same group of funders (plus Unbound Philanthropy, the JPB Foundation, and the General Service Foundation) has just announced the first round of grants in its Pop Culture Collaborative, an initiative to promote “authentic, just narratives about people of color, immigrants, refugees and Muslims in the media.”

At the same time, there’s been a post-election surge in immigrant and race-focused community giving (including to benefit Muslim communities) from funders like the Brooklyn Community Foundation and the Midwest’s Bush Foundation. Lots going on here.

While Shaikh is quick to point to the philanthropic dry well Muslim communities faced for many years, there have been exceptions. Prior to Trump’s election, modest giving from places like Ford, the Proteus Fund, the El-Hibri Foundation, the California Community Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation supported anti-bigotry efforts. That sort of giving skyrocketed, as we’ve seen, in the wake of 2016. As big funders continue to sign on, Pillars is ready to help them find their way around a community that’s too often misunderstood.

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