After completing 15 years in grantmaking, the El-Hibri Foundation (EHF) set aside time in 2016 to reflect on its overall strategy. In 2017, we opened our grants cycle through a new process that provided nonprofits with the opportunity to share their most critical organizational needs.
Our Grants Process: 350 organizations responded to our Grantee Needs Assessment Form, providing us with insights about institutional challenges and opportunities. The cumulative data from the forms also represented the landscape of nonprofits advancing inclusion of American Muslim communities. Each Needs Assessment Form was read and analyzed by multiple members of our team. This process helped us understand the unique needs of each applicant and make our foundation's strategy responsive to what is most needed at this time. The organizations that fit EHF’s theory of change and internal criteria were invited to submit full proposals. Selecting these organizations was an extremely challenging process because there were so many strong applicants led by transformational leadership teams. We have therefore taken active steps to share applicants' needs with our other funding partners in order to expand resources made available for this work. We are also leveraging every resource at our disposal by providing you and your organizations with leadership and capacity building programs, technical support, and space grants.
We believe that each nonprofit applicant made a compelling case and was deserving of philanthropic support. However, EHF made the determination to focus on the following priority areas: leadership pipeline development and strategic planning; collective action; and the advancement of inclusion in society.
Our Theory of Change: EHF is a philanthropic organization that empowers and equips American Muslim leaders and their allies to build thriving, inclusive communities. We believe that if nonprofit organizations have the capacity, resources, and collaborative relationships necessary for community building, they can become more effective in advancing inclusion in America.
What EHF Funds Support
Strategic Development:
The vast majority of our 2017 grant funding is dedicated to helping organizations train their leadership teams, develop strategic operational plans, and build a talent pipeline for future leaders. We believe that developing leadership and organizational capacity for nonprofits will contribute to their high performance and long-term resilience.
Collective Action:
Grant funding also supports efforts to convene key stakeholders in advancing inclusion and to provide a structure through which to engage, collaborate, and become drivers of social change. We believe that by providing the opportunity to build these relationships, nonprofits can generate interdependent social movements that represent the interests and power of a collective.
Promotion of Inclusive Norms:
Additional grant funding supports programs and initiatives that advance inclusion of American Muslim communities in society and promote inclusive norms. We believe that every individual is entitled to dignity, fairness, and respect.
We are pleased to announce our grant recipients as follows:
2017-18 EHF Grant Recipients
Advancing Inclusion – National nonprofits implementing initiatives and programs to advance inclusion of American Muslim communities and to promote inclusive societal norms:
The Aspen Institute – Inclusive America Project
Glocal Net – My Neighbor's Keeper
Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) – Muslims for American Progress (MAP)
Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC), housed at Allied Media Projects
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
Seftel Productions, housed at Filmmakers Collaborative – The Secret Life of Muslims
Unity Productions Foundation (UPF) – The upcoming film Lamia's Poem
Building Capacity – National nonprofits focused on training current and future leaders with the skills and approaches needed to maximize their development and high performance:
American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM) – Winter and Summer Leadership Programs
Center on Muslim Philanthropy – Development training for nonprofit leaders
Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF) – Increasing American Muslim community representation
KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights – Law and Leadership Summer Program
Muppies Inc. – Empowering and advancing American Muslim professionals
Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST) – Leadership development for students
University of Southern California (USC) Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC) – American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI)
The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC) – Supporting a pipeline of American Muslim youth to enter into public and nonprofit sectors
Organizing Communities – National nonprofits catalyzing collaboration and collective action and building coalitions and inclusive partnerships that strengthen civil society:
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) – Campaign to Take on Hate
Emgage USA – Strengthening civic engagement
Muslim Advocates – Volunteer Lawyer Network
Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom (SOSS) – Convening and training interfaith leaders
The El-Hibri Foundation has also designated grant funds for social services at Dar al-Aytam, an orphanage in Lebanon, as part of its Legacy Grants.
Congratulations to all of our grant recipients! We look forward to working with you and all of our community partners this year.