Branding and Marketing for Muslim Nonprofits

Arjumand Khan & B.C. Dodge Two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist · AMCF · 60 min

A two-time Emmy winner and AMCF’s Director of Marketing on the practical mechanics of getting Muslim nonprofit work into the rooms — and onto the screens — where it actually moves.

After two sessions on the why of Muslim nonprofit work, this dual presentation moved to the how. How do Muslim nonprofits get coverage, build audiences, and translate their work into public-facing presence that changes what donors and policymakers believe is possible? Arjumand Khan, a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, covered earned media and crisis communications. B.C. Dodge, AMCF’s Director of Marketing & Communications, joined virtually to share nonprofit marketing and digital strategy insights on audience building and finding the right platform for your message.

Media Relations Is a Discipline, Not a Side Task

Getting coverage is not easy. It’s getting harder, because newsrooms are smaller.— Arjumand Khan

Media relations, Arjumand argued, is a professional craft — not something a board member who happens to be a doctor can do as a favor. She named a recurring failure mode: the call that comes too late. The window for contacting media is two to four weeks before an event, not the day before.

Why Your Iftar Is a News Story

One of the strongest threads was a reframing of the everyday work of Muslim nonprofits as inherently newsworthy. The open house at the masjid. The coat drive. The community iftar. The flood relief. These are stories. The question isn’t whether they’re worth covering — it’s whether your organization is equipped to make them findable and pitchable when the assignment desk picks up the phone.

Crisis Communications

The media will not decide if your story is good or bad. They will go with the narrative you give them.— Arjumand Khan

Crisis communications, she argued, isn’t damage control — it’s organizational hygiene. Having the systems, designated speakers, and relationships already in place so that when something breaks, your organization isn’t improvising at the worst possible moment.

The Coalition Move

A theme connecting this session back to the summit’s collaboration thread: Muslim nonprofits get more coverage when they show up inside coalitions. Most can’t lead a multi-faith press event from scratch — but every organization can join one, and the visibility gained inside a coalition is usually higher than going alone.

Perseverance and Finding Your Classroom

Both presenters converged on one word for cutting through the noise: perseverance. Keep showing up, keep posting, keep pitching. And find your classroom — if one platform isn’t reaching your audience, try another. The platform isn’t the problem; the platform-audience match is.

The 3rd Annual AMCF Nonprofit Summit is in Detroit on September 3, 2026. Theme: Community Building.