With Ramadan just around the corner, there’s no better time for American Muslim families to think strategically about how they give. At the American Muslim Community Foundation (AMCF), that conversation happens year-round — but the generosity of the season makes it especially meaningful. In a recent online panel, AMCF co-founder and Chief Development Officer Muhi Khwaja gathered with donors, a board member, nonprofit leaders, and AMCF’s newly appointed Executive Director Shazeen Mufti to talk candidly about donor advised funds, endowments, the Women’s Giving Circle, and what it looks like to build a truly sustainable American Muslim philanthropic ecosystem.
Here’s what came out of that conversation.
What Is AMCF — and Why Does It Exist?
The story of AMCF starts, in Muhi’s own words, with a summer internship.
Back in 2009, as a senior at the University of Michigan working in the university’s development office, Muhi got a firsthand look at how large institutions like hospitals, athletics departments, and alumni networks use endowments to sustain themselves — not just tuition or annual donations. The seed was planted. After working in development roles at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), at Tetleaf Collective in California, and then for five years as a major gifts officer at the American Red Cross — where he regularly worked with donors giving five, six, and seven figures — he noticed something: many of those high-impact donors were giving through donor advised funds, but there was no Muslim-led, Sharia-compliant version of that tool available.
After hundreds of conversations with Muslim nonprofit leaders across the country, AMCF opened in 2017. Today, it is the only Muslim-led, Muslim-founded, and Muslim-serving community foundation in the United States — one of approximately 900 American community foundations nationwide. In just nine years, AMCF has:
- Partnered with 255+ donor families
- Distributed more than $26 million in grants
- Supported 6,500+ grants to nearly 1,000 nonprofits
- Established nearly 30 endowments for Muslim nonprofit organizations
What Is a Donor Advised Fund — and Why Should Muslims Care?
Think of a donor advised fund (DAF) as a charitable savings account for your family. You make a contribution — cash, stocks, cryptocurrency, or other appreciated assets — take an immediate tax deduction, and then distribute those funds to nonprofits on your own timeline. You’re not locked into giving it all away in the same tax year you contributed.
For Muslim donors, this structure fits naturally with how many of us already think about giving:
- Zakat and Sadaqah in one place. Many AMCF families use their DAF to set aside both their zakat and voluntary sadaqah, making distributions throughout the year with ease.
- Tax-smart giving. If you had a high-income year — a business sale, a bonus, a home sale — you can “bunch” several years of giving into a single large contribution for a larger tax deduction, then distribute the funds over time.
- Appreciated assets. Donated a stock that doubled in value? By transferring it directly into your DAF instead of selling it, you avoid capital gains tax and receive the full current market value as a deduction. It’s a win for your finances and your giving.
- One tax receipt. Instead of hunting down acknowledgment letters from 15 different organizations at tax time, AMCF provides a single consolidated receipt for your accountant or CPA.
- Family giving. DAFs can be opened for individuals, families, LLCs, and corporations — and you can even add your children as advisors, turning charitable planning into a family practice.
Muhi also addressed one common concern nonprofits have: “If donors route gifts through a DAF, will we get less?” The research says the opposite. Studies show that donors who give through DAFs tend to give more — both to individual organizations and in total — because the ease of giving removes friction.
The AMCF Difference: Sharia-Compliant Investing
What sets AMCF apart from a DAF at Fidelity, Schwab, or Chase isn’t just the faith-based community feel — it’s the investment structure. AMCF’s Chief Investment Officer, Andalus Capital, actively manages portfolios that are screened through Zoya Finance for Sharia compliance. So when your DAF or endowment assets are invested and growing, you can be confident they’re growing in a halal way.
AMCF’s community support fee is just .75% annually of your DAF or endowment’s value — competitive with mainstream DAF providers, and those fees go right back into the programs and resources AMCF provides to the community. After $500,000 in assets, that rate decreases further.
A Donor’s Story: Dr. Nabil
Dr. Nabil, a urologist based in Dallas, came to AMCF through a family connection — his uncle introduced him to Muhi at a local gathering. At the time, Dr. Nabil and his wife were giving regularly to causes they cared about, but their donations were scattered. “Come tax season,” he said, “we were hunting around for where we gave all our money.”
After opening a DAF with AMCF, that changed. Every gift — from large Ramadan donations to giving at charity events — now goes through one account. He even described guiding funds to a family in Gaza through a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) partner, with Muhi’s help navigating the process.
One of his biggest surprises? Appreciated stock. Near the end of a recent tax year, Dr. Nabil held stock that had roughly doubled in value. Instead of selling it and paying capital gains tax, he transferred it directly into his DAF — effectively doubling his charitable contribution without any additional out-of-pocket cost. “It was really eye-opening,” he said. “I’m looking for money to put in the DAF now.”
The Women’s Giving Circle: Collective Power in Action
Not every philanthropic vehicle requires six figures to make an impact. The AMCF Women’s Giving Circle, managed by Director of Community Programs Lisa Kahler, is proof that small, pooled contributions can move meaningful money — and build lasting community.
Here’s how it works:
- Women join the circle with a contribution as small as $5 per month
- Contributions pool together throughout the year
- Members nominate Muslim nonprofit organizations they believe deserve support
- At the end of the cycle, members vote on which organizations receive funding
- In the most recent cycle, 50 members pooled $15,500, which was distributed to three organizations: Minnesota Deaf Muslim Community, Fair Collective, and 200 Muslim Women Who Care
But Lisa is quick to point out that the Giving Circle is about much more than the grant dollars. Throughout each cycle, AMCF supports nominated nonprofits with capacity-building resources — helping them claim and optimize their Candid (GuideStar) profile, practice pitching, and develop visibility that outlasts the grant process. Nominees from all three cycles remain listed on AMCF’s website, and a dedicated WhatsApp group keeps grantees connected long after the funding decision is made.
“What if we had 100 members? What if we had 1,000 women?” Lisa said. “Even $5 — imagine what that becomes.” With nearly 2 million Muslims in the United States, the potential of organized collective giving is enormous.
👉 Learn more about the Women’s Giving Circle | 👉 View all WGC nominees
Endowments: Sustainability for Muslim Nonprofits
If DAFs are for donors, endowments are for organizations. Any 501(c)(3) can establish an endowment with AMCF — and it doesn’t require a massive initial investment to start.
Some AMCF partner organizations contribute 10% of their annual operating revenue to their endowment. Others start with as little as $5,000–$10,000 and grow from there. Through a straightforward MOU agreement with AMCF, Andalus Capital manages the investment — meaning nonprofits don’t need a finance expert on staff or on their board to make it work.
Dr. Ali Sayed, a psychiatrist and founder of Khair Collective — a mental health nonprofit rooted in Islamic principles — joined the panel as a Women’s Giving Circle nominee and grantee. He shared how the Giving Circle experience opened his organization’s eyes to endowments as a tool for long-term resilience, especially as federal grants for mental health face cuts. “To have our own endowment fund, invested in value-based halal markets,” he said, “is something we absolutely should pursue.”
👉 Learn more about Khair Collective
EverWaqf: Giving That Lives On
For donors looking to create a lasting legacy, AMCF recently launched EverWaqf — a perpetual fund modeled on the Islamic concept of waqf, or enduring charitable endowment. The fund is designed to operate in perpetuity, with its distributions focused on care for women, orphans, and mosques. Like a traditional waqf, EverWaqf allows donors to leave something meaningful behind long after they’re gone — a charitable act that continues generating reward indefinitely.
Save the Date: 3rd Annual Nonprofit Summit — Detroit, September 3–4
Each year, AMCF hosts a Nonprofit Summit bringing together Muslim nonprofit leaders from across the country for two days of networking, strategy sessions, and collaboration. Last year’s summit — held in Chicago right before the ISNA Convention — brought 40 leaders together in person, with additional attendees joining online. Sessions covered fundraising, marketing, finance, and nonprofit leadership, and were hosted at the Zakat Foundation’s meeting space.
This year’s 3rd Annual Nonprofit Summit will be held in Detroit on September 3rd and 4th, 2026, right before the 63rd Annual ISNA Convention. If you lead or work at a Muslim nonprofit, this is one of the most valuable two days you can invest in your organization.
👉 Register for the Nonprofit Summit
Ready to Get Started?
Whether you’re a donor looking to organize and grow your charitable giving, a nonprofit seeking long-term financial sustainability, or a woman ready to join a community of purposeful givers — AMCF has a vehicle designed for you.
- 📋 Open a DAF: amuslimcf.org/dafs/
- 🌐 Donor Portal: amuslimcf.fcsuite.com/erp/portal
- 📚 Explore all programs: amuslimcf.org/events/
- ✉️ Contact our team: DonorEngage@amuslimcf.org
As Naima Bilal, AMCF board member and professional philanthropy strategist, put it: “AMCF allows me to contribute my time, my talent, and my treasure — and build a beautiful community at the same time.”
The tools exist. The community is here. The only thing left is the intention.