Page 9 - The Future of Philanthropy

Tania Hossain Fellow
Can you please describe
the fellowship project you’re working on?
I’m looking at best ways to measure diversity and inclusion (D&I) in an organization.What are the core benchmarks that can be used to see if an organization is meeting their D&I goals? Part of the research will involve looking at both for-profit and non-profit organizations that have over the years been publishing reports and creating metrics that have been successful in helping them measure their D&I in their workplaces.
What part of the program
are you most excited about so far?
I’m excited to connect with the network of talented individuals who have been par t of this fellowship. I also look forward to staying connected with the fellows beyond this program and to having that camaraderie amongst this group of people who are part of the fundraising sector.
Irshad Osman Fellow
Can you please describe
the fellowship project you’re working on?
How are donors recognized in the Muslim community and how do they see the value of being recognized? Is it different than other communities?
My project aims to answer these questions and set up principles and guidelines for donor recognition. I plan to contact mosques that are doing fundraising, and to interview donors and the people at the mosque about their policies and practices.
When I used to fundraise in mosques, we would raise $50,000 to $60,000 in half an hour. However, no one got tax receipts because the mosque where I volunteered to fundraise didn’t have charitable status. So instead of formal recognition, all they would receive is prayers and blessings invoked upon them and their families.
I intend to research how mosque administrations retain these donors without standard recognition that we fundraisers believe is the primary motivation for giving.
How do you think your organization will be different after you complete the fellowship?
We’ll take the fundraising to the next level.We have seen lots of progress mainly because I have access to a larger network of fundraisers.
We wanted to star t an endowment fund. I sent an email and everyone responded quickly. It’s not like reading a book or Googling.You get knowledge and experience from the AFP network, the knowledge base and evaluations.
How do you think the fellowship
will change you and your work?
Through the fellowship, I’ve realized that there is solidarity and growing interests for many in the field to see best ways to integrate D&I in our everyday conversations and as well within our workplace practices. On a sectoral level, I believe this fellowship mobilizes people and accelerates the creation of long awaited conversations and practices around the importance of diversity and inclusion. It will increase and encourage individuals in this field to be more thoughtful, conscious of how each of us plays a role in creating inclusive practices in our workplace.
Through the AFP Facebook page somebody posted that Newman’s Own Foundation was inviting funding applications. I applied and in December we got the confirmation that we will receive $25,000.The organization has been operating for 45 years and that is the largest grant we have ever received.
How do you think the fellowship program will change AFP? How will it change the philanthropic sector?
In some communities fundraising is not viewed as a profession.This program helps increase the credibility of fundraising as a profession, and this will encourage people from diverse communities to pursue fundraising as a
career and the communities will not run short of potential fundraisers.