Muslim Collaboration Prizes

Innovation and collaboration in Muslim nonprofits

The Muslim Collaboration Prizes made a $1.5M investment in innovation and collaboration in Muslim nonprofits that have had an impact on key societal issues.

The prizes were the culmination of an effort that sought innovative ways to galvanize scarce resources towards meaningful outcomes. 2022 was the third and final year of Community Collaboration Initiative’s inaugural cohort. CCI was an action-based participatory research project hosted by Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Twenty-five organizations began with the goal to collaborate towards common goals. Halfway through the three-year project, 23 organizations continued the commitment.

Lead sponsors

• Chicago Community Trust
• WF Fund
• California Charitable Foundation

Along with:

Zakat Chicago, Hamzavi Foundation, Intuitive Solutions, Center on Muslim Philanthropy, Islamic Relief, Penny Appeal USA, American Muslim Community Fund, and the Community Collaboration Initiative (CCI) of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy will open the prizes to current CCI participating organizations.

Goals:

• Demonstrate to the philanthropic sector that Muslim-led institutions are vital contributors to the fabric of society and are partners in reaching social impact goals.
• Building sustainability and impactful collective power by deepening collaboration techniques.
• Uplifting new and innovative models of nonprofit collaboration that can further the work of the nonprofit sector at large.

Prize details: Each of the five groups in CCI’s project had an opportunity to receive a grant of up to $200,000. Rather than competing against each other, groups were evaluated against a set of criteria. The criteria ultimately considered the quality and depth of the collaboration, and the long-term impact of proposed projects.

Learn more about this endeavor by setting up a meeting with the WF Fund.

Email Lina Grajales at lgrajale@iu.edu

CCI participating organizations and their collective goals

• Pilot Muslim Community Organizing Training
• Local/Chicago area mapping system
• Complete Phase 1 deliverables for a convening on public policy
• Develop three programs that unify the mosques/communities
• Create, adopt, and communicate a referral system

The prizes were generously funded by:

• Chicago Community Trust (Lead Sponsor)
• WF Fund (Lead Sponsor)
• California Charitable Foundation (Lead Sponsor)
• Marguerite Casey Foundation
• Zakat Chicago
• Hamzavi Foundation
• Penny Appeal USA
• Islamic Relief
• Intuitive Solutions
• Center on Muslim Philanthropy
• American Muslim Community Fund

Learn more about the endeavor by setting up a meeting with the WF Fund. Email Lina Grajales at lgrajale@iu.edu.

The Muslim Collaboration Prizes was overseen by the CCI leadership team members Dilnaz Waraich and Roohi Younus. Based on feedback from CCI participating organizations regarding the challenges they have experienced in working with organized philanthropy, the Prizes program officer and selection committee were composed of leaders from organized philanthropy who can take deeper learnings of Muslim-led institutions and faith-inspired work back to their organizations. The selection committee had an opportunity to meet with Muslim NFP leaders and get to know our communities more closely through the process of engaging in the Prizes. Engaging with the committee also provided a unique opportunity for applicants to gain learnings and expertise.

Program Officer:

• Muhsin Hassan, Awards Director, Lever for Change (An affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Selection Committee Members:

• Maritza Bandera, Program Officer, Chicago Community Trust
• Zeeba Khalili, Program Officer, Marguerite Casey Foundation
• Molly Schultz Hafid, Executive Director, Butler Family Fund
• Amina Iqbal, Senior Community Investment Officer, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
• Jeffrey Morshed, Philanthropy Professional/Consultant

Thank you to Leonetta Elaiho for serving on the Selection Committee during January–May 2022.

Prizes Partners:

Prizes overview

The Muslim Collaboration Prizes followed the Community Collaboration Initiative (CCI) in its innovation and creativity with an “equitable twist” on the non-profit prize model. Muslim Collaboration Prizes provided each group of applicants (5 total) with an opportunity to receive a minimum amount of funds for their collective goal. By participating in the prize process of submitting an LOI and an application on time, the groups were guaranteed a minimum award of $50,000 and a maximum award of $200,000.

The prizes process commenced in January 2022 and included an “equitable twist” disbursement at the end of the first quarter to defray the costs the organizations incurred by participating in the prize process. The total prize amounts were announced at an in-person convening in October, 2022. The funds for the prizes were held by our partner, the Tides Foundation.

Spring award (2022)

The establishment of the Muslim Collaboration Prizes has been an endeavor to create an informed prize process that centers on equity and collaboration. For some organizations within the CCI, there is still a significant barrier to participating in the prize process. There was a significant amount of time invested in completing the application, which was a challenge, particularly for organizations with little or no staff. Receiving an award amount in the spring eased the financial burden and allowed leaders to dedicate time to the application process. Organizations were awarded $1,000 for a budget over $250K or $2,500 under that budget amount. The spirit of the spring stipend/award was to give organizations with scarce funds the ability to allocate time for the process.

Prize application process

All documents related to the application process, including the LOI and the grant application, can be found here.