Dear Philanthropy...

Dear philanthropy...

Over the years I've appreciated learning about charitable giving and philanthropy from the perspective of Islam. What fascinates me is the similarities in other faiths.

The word for charity - 'sadaqa' in Arabic is similar to the word for charity in Hebrew 'tzedakah'.

In Judaism, Tzedakah is the religious requirement of charity regardless of a person’s financial status.

Moses Maimonides (1138 – 1204) was a major Jewish rabbi, philosopher, doctor, mathematician and astronomer.

Maimonides has Eight Laws of Giving.

These are listed in the Mishneh Torah.

1. Giving an interest-free loan to a person in need; giving a grant to a person in need.

2. Giving tzedakah anonymously to an unknown beneficiary via a person (or public fund) who/which can be trusted.

3. Giving tzedakah anonymously to a known receiver.

4. Giving tzedakah publicly to an unknown receiver.

5. Giving tzedakah prior to being asked.

6. Giving adequately after being asked.

7. Giving willingly, but insufficiently.

8. Giving “in sadness” – giving because of the distressing feelings one gets seeing somebody in need.

One of my goals is to become more knowledgeable in the scripture around zakat and sadaqa. There is so much to charitable giving that inspires me. I find it inspiring and a form of humanity that brings out the best in mankind. Philanthropy, the love of mankind is altruistic, it is divine, it is our ability to change the world around us, it is taking action. I'm in love with philanthropy.

Let's all use our ability to act on our faith, do a good deed, have it multiplied, give. Stretch that dollar, see it make an impact.

American Muslim Community Foundation has donated over $2,000,000 since 2017 to more than 190 nonprofit organizations. We've done this through being the only provider of Donor Advised Funds marketed to the Muslim community. We're working with 80 families across the country. Imagine if we worked with 100,000 families. If Muslims are at least 1% of the U.S. population, do Muslims give at least 1% of overall giving? It's hard to calculate since Americans gave $427,000,000,000 in 2018 to nonprofit organizations. I don't think American Muslims gave $427,000,000 in 2018, but I would sure like to prove it one day.

AMCF is working on some really great initiatives to support the nonprofit ecosystem and donor ecosystem. In addition to DAFs, we offer Giving Circles (where groups of families and friends can donate and select charities together. AMCF offers endowments and fiscal sponsorship to help nonprofits achieve short term and long term sustainability. We're launching a podcast on #MuslimPhilanthropy later this month. The 5 Fast Minute series is our prelude. We've hosted webinars and events, which you can watch on our website. And this fall we plan to launch the Muslim Philanthropy Awards and have a Social Impact Nonprofit Accelerator where leaders have access to mentors and funding to work on enhancing their organization.

If you believe in the power of philanthropy, if you believe that Muslims can make the world a better place, if you believe in our ability to change something with our time, talent, and treasures, please donate your hard earned money as sadaqa or zakat to help advance Muslim philanthropy.

Our goal is to raise $75,000 in Ramadan and $250,000 in 2020. We'll need your support to get there. Whatever amount you can spare would mean the world to me.

-Muhi

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Donate today: amuslimcf.org/donation