Muslim Collaboration Prizes
What: A $1.5M investment in innovation and collaboration in Muslim nonprofits making an impact on key societal issues. We are actively seeking foundation support to meet the fund goal.
When: Launching in 2022, the prizes process will unfold over 12 months culminating in October.
Where: Chicago region and throughout the U.S.
Who: Lead Sponsors Chicago Community Trust, Waraich Family Fund, and 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.
Background: The Prizes are a culmination of an ongoing effort seeking innovative ways to galvanize scarce resources towards meaningful outcomes. 2022 is the third and final year of Community Collaboration Initiative’s inaugural cohort. CCI is 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 are continuing the commitment.
Prize details: Each of the five groups in CCI’s project will have an opportunity to receive a grant up to $200,000. Rather than competing against each other, groups will be evaluated against a set of criteria. The criteria will ultimately consider the quality and depth of the collaboration, and the long-term impact of proposed projects.
Join the endeavor by setting up a meeting with the Waraich Family Fund.
Email Lina Grajales at lgrajale@iu.edu
Prizes Funders
The Prizes are generously funded by:
- Chicago Community Trust (Lead Sponsor)
- Waraich Family 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
Join the endeavor by setting up a meeting with the Waraich Family Fund. Email Lina Grajales at lgrajale@iu.edu
Prizes Team
The Muslim Collaboration Prizes is 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 are comprised 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 will have an opportunity to meet with Muslim NFP leaders and get to know our communities more closely through the process of engaging in the Prizes. Furthermore, engaging with the committee will provide 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 follows the Community Collaboration Initiative (CCI) in its innovation and creativity with an “equitable twist” on the non-profit prize model. Muslim Collaboration Prizes provide each group of applicants (5 total) with an opportunity to receive a minimum amount of funds for their collective goal. By participating in the Prizes process of submitting an LOI and an application on time, the groups will be guaranteed a minimum award of $50,000 and a maximum award of $200,000. The maximum amount may be adjusted based on the amount of funds raised at the time of submission.
The prizes process commenced in January 2022 and will include an “equitable twist” disbursement at the end of first quarter to defray the costs the organizations incur in participating in the prize process. The total prize amounts will be announced at an in-person convening on October 1st, 2022. December 2022 will be the 3-year mark of the CCI and the final meeting for the participating organizations. Goals for the Muslim Collaboration Prizes are listed above. The funds for the prizes are held by our partner, the Tides Foundation.
Spring Award (2022)
The establishment of the Muslim Collaboration Prizes has been an endeavor in creating an informed prizes process that centers on equity and collaboration. For some organizations within the CCI , there is still a significant barrier in participating in the prizes process. There will be a significant amount of time invested in completing the application, which is a challenge, particularly for organizations with little or no staff. Receiving an award amount in the spring will ease the financial burden and allow leaders to dedicate time towards the application process. Organizations will be awarded $1,000 for a budget over $250K or $2,500 under that budget amount. The spirit of the spring stipend/award has always been for the organizations with scarce funds to be able to allocate time for the process. This will preserve a majority of Prizes funds to be awarded in the fall, when applicants are providing the details on how they envision the direction of funds.
Prizes Application Process
All documents related to the application process, including the LOI and the grant application, can be found here.
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Action |
Due Date |
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Spring Award |
Complete the form at this link, one per organization. |
February 1st, 2022 |
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Letter of Inquiry ((LOI) |
Complete the LOI form, one per group of applicants.
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March 1st, 2022
7PM CST |
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Spring In-Person Convening with Prizes Team (listed above) |
Register for the In-Person Convening here (one registration per person)
Prepare an up to 10-minute presentation for the steering committee. Details are provided by your CCI facilitator. |
March 12, 2022 |
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Muslim Collaboration Prizes Application Due |
Application will be available on February 1st, 2022
Program Officer Muhsin Hassan will be available to meet with applicants after February 1st. To set up a meeting, contact Melissa Lee at mekelee@iu.edu. |
July 1st, 2022 |
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Virtual “Site Visits” |
After reviewing the applications, the Prizes Selection Committee will prepare feedback questions that will be shared with the groups ahead of the virtual site visit. |
Aug/Sept 2022. Dates vary based on group. |
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Final CCI In-Person Convening & Celebration with Prizes Team |
Prizes amounts will be announced.
Registration for the In-Person Convening will be provided. |
October 1st, 2022 |
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Prizes Awarded |
Transfer of funds follows the Tides Foundation process. |
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