Pillars Fund

Background

The Pillars Fund was founded in 2010 as a volunteer-based organization. ² Pillars Fund became an official nonprofit organization in 2015. ² Kashif Shaikh, the president and founder of the organization, created the Pillars Fund as an intermediary through which contributions could flow to other Muslim organizations. ²

Shaikh has stated that he was inspired to form the Pillars Fund after participating in a workshop hosted by the Stanford University Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS). ² Beyond the workshop, Shaikh has noted that the Pillars Fund was inspired by other community-focused organizations, including the United Way and local Jewish federations. ²

Finances

In 2019, Pillars Fund received $2,244,617 in total revenue, ³ made $2,052,444 in expenditures, ⁴ and possessed $2,564,821 in net assets. ⁵

Funding

In December 2025, the Pillars Fund was one of multiple organizations that received a grant from Yield Giving, the philanthropic initiative started by MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. In 2025 alone, Scott, through Yield Giving, donated over $7.16 billion to philanthropies and other charity organizations around the world. ⁶

Grantmaking

Grants in 2022

In 2022, the Pillars Fund made contributions to 32 Muslim organizations, touching on a variety of subject matters including voting law and race- and ethnicity-based social and economic policies. ⁷

Pillars Fund supported a number of organizations that advocate for government policies that benefit specific groups over others with taxpayer dollars based on race, ethnicity, and religion such as the Action Center on Race and the Economy ⁷ and the Appellate Project, a left-of-center organization that hosts an incubator program to increase minority participation in appellate-level litigation. ⁸

Pillars Fund has contributed to  the Action Center on Race and the Economy, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, Mpower Change, Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, Pillars of the Community, Vigilant Love, Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment, American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, New American Leaders, the Hurma Project, Malikah, Project South,  and the Inverse Surveillance Project. ¹

In 2022, the Pillars Fund contributed to Believers Bail Out, ¹ an organization that provides bail for incarcerated individuals and individuals held in custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ⁹

In addition to pooling money to provide bail, Believers Bail Out advocates for abolishing the bond system entirely, ⁹ and refers to bail as a “system that criminalizes poverty and is inherently racist in nature.” ⁹

In 2022, the Pillars Fund contributed to organizations that advocate for weakening voter integrity laws, such as the Georgia Muslim Voter Project, which has opposed voter identification laws and limits on absentee voting, ¹⁰ and Inner-City Muslim Action Network, which has advocated for individuals on parole and probation to have voting privileges. ¹¹ Other organizations supported by the Pillars Fund include the IL Muslim Civic Coalition and the Emgage Foundation. ¹

In 2022, the Pillars Fund contributed to Muslim-related museums, publications, and medical research centers, including the International Museum of Muslim Cultures, American Muslim Health Professionals, Global Deaf Muslim Project, the Stanford Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab, and Maristan. ¹

Grants in 2019

In 2019, the Pillars Fund made contributions to 26 Muslim organizations. ¹² In 2019, the Pillars Fund contributed to NEO Philanthropy ($26,000), ⁷ a left-of-center grantmaking organization. ¹³

In 2019, the Pillars Fund contributed to the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute at University of Southern California ($51,000), Allied Media Projects ($42,500), Muslim Wellness Foundation ($26,500), Muslim Power Building Project, Muslim Advocates ($51,000) , Action Center on Race and the Economy ($10,000), the Hurma Project, Mpower Change, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding ($54,000), Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, Pillars of the Community ($16,000), and Project South ($26,000). ⁷

In 2019, the Pillars Fund contributed to the Emgage Foundation ($21,000), Georgia Muslim Voter Project ($11,000) , and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network ($50,000). ⁷

In 2019, the Pillars Foundation made contributions to a number of hospitals, museums, universities, and media companies, including the CUNY School of Law ($26,500), Georgetown University ($10,000), Huron University Fund ($16,000), Indiana University Foundation ($10,000), International Museum of Muslim Cultures ($26,000), Islamic Scholarship Fund ($16,000), Brooklyn Historical Society ($21,000), Children’s Museum of Manhattan ($21,000), Film Makers Collaborative ($21,000), and Unity Productions Foundation ($26,000). ⁷

Leadership

Kashif Shaikh is the founder and president of the Pillar Fund. Prior to forming the Pillar Fund, Shaikh worked for United Way and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. ¹⁴