What happens when Muslim women pool their resources, sharpen their philanthropic instincts, and vote together on which nonprofits deserve support? In just four years, the answer has become impossible to ignore. The AMCF Muslim Women’s Giving Circle has grown from a small experiment launched at the height of a pandemic into one of the most dynamic expressions of Muslim women’s collective power in the country — and it is just getting started.
A Circle Born in Uncertainty
The year was 2021. The world was still navigating the upheaval of COVID-19, and the future of in-person community felt genuinely uncertain. It was exactly the right moment to build something new.
The founding members of the AMCF Women’s Giving Circle came together with a deceptively simple idea: that Muslim women, even — or especially — in times of disruption, could find meaningful ways to give intentionally, learn from one another, and change lives together. Each founding member contributed $35 a month, pooling their resources into a collective fund that would be directed, through member vote, to organizations doing vital work in Muslim communities.
Five years later, that idea has become a movement. Over four cycles of collective giving, the Women’s Giving Circle has raised nearly $56,000, funded nine organizations, celebrated 36 nominees, and built a connected community of over 60 members whose influence extends far beyond the dollars they give.
How It Works: Giving with Intention, Together
The Women’s Giving Circle runs on a model that is participatory by design. Nominations open each cycle, and the community — members, partners, and the broader AMCF network — puts forward organizations doing exceptional work in Muslim communities. From those nominations, five finalists are selected by the voting membership and given something money alone cannot buy: pitch training, coaching, and the opportunity to present their work directly to an engaged community of Muslim women philanthropists.
Decision Day is exactly what it sounds like — a live event where finalists present, answer questions, and make their case. Members deliberate. Members vote. And three organizations receive funding, either through outright grants or endowment contributions designed to build long-term sustainability.
But the impact doesn’t stop with the grantees. Every nominee receives capacity-building support, including guidance on achieving Candid Seals of Transparency — a credential that strengthens an organization’s credibility and fundraising readiness long after the giving cycle ends. In 2025, 14 of the Circle’s 20 nominees achieved Gold or Platinum Seals as a result of this process. That is infrastructure-building embedded in the grantmaking itself.
The 2025 Cycle: What Muslim Women Built Together
The 2025 cycle was, by every measure, the Circle’s most ambitious yet.
Sixty members collectively donated $15,600 — their votes determining which three organizations would receive funding. At AMCF’s National Muslim Philanthropy Awards in November, the 2025 grantees were announced:
- Minnesota Deaf Muslim Community — used funds to open a new endowment, building permanent financial infrastructure for an underserved community
- 200 Muslim Women Who Care — added funds to their growing endowment, deepening their long-term capacity
- Khair Collective — as a newer organization, chose an unrestricted grant to fuel their early-stage growth
As Dr. Ali Syed, Founder of Khair Collective, reflected: “Participating in the AMCF Women’s Giving Circle has been an incredible journey. The opportunity to connect with fellow Muslim-led organizations across the country has not only expanded our network, but also deepened our sense of shared purpose and community. We truly appreciate the sense of belonging and empowerment fostered by AMCF’s Women’s Giving Circle.”
Beyond grantmaking, the 2025 cycle supported 17 webinars, 8 virtual events and gatherings, 2 conferences, and 8 in-person activities across Southern California and Chicago — reaching 900+ attendees and registrants, 8,800+ people on social media, and more than 10,000 through newsletters averaging a 50% open rate. Sixteen partner organizations contributed programming, from Philanthropy Together to Rabata to Muslim Women Professionals.
More Than Money: The Five T’s of Giving
What makes the Women’s Giving Circle genuinely different from a standard grant program is how it understands giving itself. The Circle is built around the Five T’s of Giving — time, treasure, talent, ties, and testimony — a framework that treats financial contribution as just one expression of philanthropic engagement.
Members don’t just write checks. They shape webinar topics, suggest speakers, connect AMCF with new partners and nominees, and co-lead programming that reaches Muslim women across the country. That member-led model has produced outcomes that no dollar figure can fully capture: connections formed, leaders developed, and organizations strengthened in ways that ripple outward for years.
Two members — Eaman Shebley and Dr. Agnes Chong — went on to launch Raiya595, a social enterprise born directly from their Giving Circle connections. At the 2025 AMCF Nonprofit Summit, two-thirds of all speakers, attendees, staff, and planners were women — the majority of them connected to the Giving Circle ecosystem. This is what leadership development looks like when it is woven into the fabric of giving itself.
The Circle’s Leadership Circle — Madiha Patel, Eaman Shebley, Dr. Agnes Chong, and Zahra Bokhari Hassan — provides strategic guidance and mentorship that keeps this growing community grounded and forward-moving.
Looking Ahead: Growing to 100
The 2026 cycle is open, and the goal is bold: grow to 100 members. Plans are already underway for an in-person Women’s Giving Circle meet-up in California, continued monthly educational webinars chosen by members, and fully accessible virtual programming for all events in partnership with MUHSEN.
The 3rd Annual AMCF Nonprofit Summit — scheduled for September 3 in Detroit — will again be deeply shaped by Women’s Giving Circle members as speakers, planners, and leaders.
And the bar for entry remains intentionally low. Joining the Women’s Giving Circle starts at just $5 a month — because this community was always meant to be for every Muslim woman who believes in the power of giving together, regardless of what she can give.
Join the Circle
If you are a Muslim woman who wants to give with purpose, vote with her values, and be part of a community that is actively shaping the future of Muslim philanthropy — this is your invitation.
Join the AMCF Women’s Giving Circle on Grapevine →
Start with $5/month. Vote on which organizations receive funding. Connect with Muslim women nationwide. Access exclusive webinars and events. Shape the future of Muslim women’s philanthropy.
Have questions? Schedule a virtual chat with Lisa Kahler →