About Pillars Fund
Pillars Fund amplifies the leadership, narratives, and talents of Muslims in the United States to advance opportunity and justice for all.
Focus Areas
Storytelling grantsPillars Artist FellowshipMedia labs and fellowshipsNarrative changeCreative and civic leadership
Funding Style
program/project-specific supportrestricted program fundingdirect service or programmatic grants
About Pillars Fund
Pillars Fund centers Muslim leadership, narratives, and creative power in the United States, and its recent grants show that mission in action through repeated support for organizations working on community well-being, civic participation, media, and cultural change. The largest grants in the file go to Inner City Muslim Action Net in Chicago, Detroit Revival Engaging Mus in Detroit, and the Muslim Wellness Foundation in Philadelphia, each receiving $135,000 to $155,000 for program support. That pattern points to a funder that backs operating work rather than isolated one-off projects, with grants often revisited across multiple years. The foundation’s portfolio also includes institutions and intermediaries that shape public conversation and rights-based work, such as Defending Rights and Dissent in Washington, DC, and CUNY School of Law in Long Island, New York. Alongside those larger institutional grants, Pillars Fund supports Muslim-led and Muslim-serving organizations across several cities, including Chicago, Dearborn, and San Diego, using program support to reinforce narrative change, civic leadership, and creative practice. The overall picture is of a national funder with a strong focus on Muslim communities and the systems that shape representation and opportunity.
What Pillars Fund Funds
A clear throughline in the grant record is narrative and cultural power. Pillars Fund gave $100,000 to Muslim Anti-Racism Collab in Alta Loma, CA for program support, and it made repeated program support grants to Allied Media Projects in Detroit, MI, indicating sustained interest in media and content ecosystems. The foundation also funds civic and legal infrastructure. It gave $135,000 to Defending Rights and Dissent in Washington, DC, and $130,000 to CUNY School of Law in Long Island, NY, both for program support. Muslim community well-being is another visible area. Muslim Wellness Foundation in Philadelphia, PA received $135,000, while Sirat Chicago in Chicago, IL received $125,000 and $100,000 across the file. In addition, Georgia Muslim Voter Project in Suwannee, GA appears repeatedly with grants of $125,000, reflecting support for civic participation work.
How Pillars Fund Gives
Pillars Fund’s typical grant size clusters in the middle range: p25 is $25,000, the median is $50,000, and p75 is $100,000. The recent grant list also shows many awards above that range, including several $125,000 and $130,000 grants, which suggests a layered strategy that combines smaller grants with larger program commitments. This is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make PRIs. The grant record shows repeat support to the same organizations across 2023, 2024, and 2025, which points to recurring relationships rather than isolated awards. Grants are described as program support and align with restricted program funding and direct service or programmatic support.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$816K
Total Assets
$20.9M
Total Revenue
$17M
Total Expenses
$4.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $25K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
Geographic Reach
National19 states funded
About 16% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Kashif Shaikh
Accepts unsolicited proposals
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Pillars Fund Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Pillars Fund.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 127 | $7.3M | 99.2% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 1 |
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