The strongest foundation of any successful nonprofit stems from its ability to receive funding as well as collaborating and extending opportunities to voices that haven’t traditionally been given seats at the table. Research and data play a key role in ensuring this foundation is built as it sheds light on an organization’s impact and how that can be replicated for continued success. Along with a strong emphasis on research, nonprofit leaders must listen and speak to their communities, find organizations with similar missions, and advocate for legislation and policy change that will change how organizations that are often overlooked are funded. Maintaining a level of resiliency, a continued focus towards an end goal and a commitment to lifelong learning are all steps that will ensure an organization and its leaders are on the path to success.
For someone who wants to set aside money to establish a Philanthropic Foundation or Fund, what does it take to make sure your resources are being impactful and truly effective? In this interview series, called “How To Create Philanthropy That Leaves a Lasting Legacy” we are visiting with founders and leaders of Philanthropic Foundations, Charitable Organizations, and Non-Profit Organizations, to talk about the steps they took to create sustainable success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dilnaz Waraich.
Dilnaz Waraich is a philanthropist, community organizer, educator and interfaith activist with more than three decades of experience in relationship building, cultural sensitivity facilitation, spiritual engagement activities and civic empowerment. Known for bringing awareness and recognition to multiple causes, serving and connecting individuals through uplifting programs, and collaboratively engaging communities within the Chicagoland area.
Thank you for making time to visit with us about a ‘top of mind’ topic. Our readers would like to get to know you a bit better. Can you please tell us about one or two life experiences that most shaped who you are today?
About seven years ago, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro after a death in the family. I needed to get away, process who I was and center where I wanted to go moving forward. Not only did I need to take time for myself, but I wanted a physical challenge. Leading up to this experience, I prepared for six months and knew I was ready for the physical and mental demands of the experience when the time came. I never could have predicted what a transformative experience it was going to be.
It was a seven-day hike, and all I had to overcome the mountain was my backpack, my body and my mind. I felt as if every step of the way I was having a conversation with God, and I was just processing where I wanted to go next in life. After the hike, I came back and realized my priorities in life are number one, God, number two, myself, and then everything else came next. If I do not put those priorities first, I can’t do the work that I want to do and I won’t be focused on my work. I think a lot of times people call what I did a “midlife crisis,” but I call it a midlife awakening.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? We would love to hear a few stories or examples.
- Focusing on our end goals and everything that comes with it. For me, being philanthropic is about knowing my space in the philanthropy world and being active in that role. Additionally, it’s important to make sure that I have openings for future partnerships. I’m actively working towards those openings and connections. I have to keep the whole picture and our larger goals of our path forward in mind.
- Avoiding micromanaging. It’s important to remember that you cannot do everything yourself. I try to surround myself with good people that are going to do great work. When I connect with people in my sphere, I am confident that they are the best and I trust them to do quality work without constantly checking in.
- Being a lifelong learner. I’m always making sure that I’m acquiring new information about various aspects of life. I am curious about different opportunities and am consistently engaged in questioning what’s happening and why. Philanthropy is about making change for the better based on feedback and information.
What’s the most interesting discovery you’ve made since you started leading your organization?
One thing I’ve learned in the past few years is that there is a difference between cooperation and collaboration. On the one hand, cooperation feels less intentionally driven and comes from a scarcity mindset, when different organizations feel as though they have to compete with each other for limited resources and dollars. On the other hand, collaboration is very intentional. You put it on your calendar, you have an agenda, you truly focus on getting things done, and you have a goal to work towards. I think many people don’t realize how difficult it is to collaborate, but, when they do, it comes from an abundance mindset, which is the belief that there are enough resources in the world for everyone, in this case the nonprofit space. To facilitate a space that allows for collaboration, we really do have to create an abundance mindset, where everyone can succeed together.
Can you please tell our readers more about how you or your organization intends to make a significant social impact?
Philanthropy moves with data and research; it’s not sexy. The Community Collaboration Initiative is a three-year research-based initiative that brought 22 Muslim-led nonprofits together to tell their stories and be present at the philanthropic roundtable. And, through the Muslim Collaboration Prizes, we were able to connect those nonprofits with grants and philanthropists in order to develop deeper partnerships and networks between each other that could only be accessed through a collaborative effort. We then observed the five collaborative prize groups, their projects, interactions, successes and learnings. Research is so important in making sure we collect data on nonprofits and the impacts they have so we can replicate the success stories and move away from unsuccessful or wasteful models.
I’m extremely excited about what’s next for us. Looking forward, I believe what we were able to do with philanthropy in Illinois can translate to conversations in different states too. Nationally, we want to continue to look at how we can bring nonprofits and philanthropists together to create a second version of the Community Collaboration Initiative and Muslim Collaboration Prizes.
What makes you feel passionate about this cause more than any other?
I would say my passion stems from a collection of conversations that I’ve had with nonprofits and their struggles with funding. We realized early on in CCI research that Muslim-led nonprofits have been intentionally erased from a lot of conversations. This wasn’t because we weren’t doing the work, but big donors and philanthropists weren’t seeing the importance of investing and funding these groups. Because of this, I wanted to make sure that Muslim-led nonprofits had a seat at the table. Even if some of the organizations I engaged with weren’t ready to have those large-scale conversations with philanthropists, we wanted to ensure they had a support system for when they were ready to join the conversation.
Instead of only putting one or two nonprofits at the table and tokenizing, we want to ensure that we’re all at the table and we’re all supporting each other. Significant donors are also now aware of the blind spot in their philanthropic portfolio; Muslim-led nonprofits in their communities.
Without naming names, could you share a story about an individual who benefitted from your initiatives?
There was one nonprofit that has been around for 25 years and they understood the importance of being in these philanthropic spaces but did not know how to get a seat at the table. I realized at that moment that I wanted to figure out how to get more of these great organizations an opportunity to submit a funding request — a seat at the table. We do that by training the trainers. Once you are at the table, you need to understand how to do grant writing, leadership building and capacity building to further your organization when given the opportunity. That systemic movement only happens when you create a comfort level when you’re not working in your silos. I want our partners to have an abundance mindset while working with each other: I want them to say, “I received this grant, and now I’m going to teach you how to get it too.”
We all want to help and to live a life of purpose. What are three actions anyone could take to help address the root cause of the problem you’re trying to solve?
- Listen to communities. When you think about nonprofits, even as a donor or a person that’s a nonprofit leader, simply listening to the community is vital. You need to make sure that you hear what the community wants and that you are truly working towards the community’s needs instead of making assumptions about the community.
- Participate in collective action. Find organizations that have similar goals and bring them together. Make sure that the groups and community do not feel like they have to do things alone.
- Advocate for legislation and policy change. You do this in order to change the narrative. You change how things are currently being funded, therefore prioritizing steps for meaningful change is very important for any organization.
Based on your experience, what are the “5 Things You Need To Create A Successful & Effective Nonprofit That Leaves A Lasting Legacy?” Please share a story or example for each.
In the philanthropic space, you need to understand your formal and informal spheres of change. Those are the first two. For example, a reader digesting and interacting with this article is in my formal sphere of change — we’re intentionally learning from each other’s experiences. The informal aspect of the sphere we are in is just as important, since you can carry on and spread the knowledge of this into other spaces. Understanding your formal and informal spheres of change is key because of the ripple effects that happen through these interactions. You need to make sure the ripple effects are creating a new world and community that reflects the work you do.
The strongest foundation of any successful nonprofit stems from its ability to receive funding as well as collaborating and extending opportunities to voices that haven’t traditionally been given seats at the table. Research and data play a key role in ensuring this foundation is built as it sheds light on an organization’s impact and how that can be replicated for continued success. Along with a strong emphasis on research, nonprofit leaders must listen and speak to their communities, find organizations with similar missions, and advocate for legislation and policy change that will change how organizations that are often overlooked are funded. Maintaining a level of resiliency, a continued focus towards an end goal and a commitment to lifelong learning are all steps that will ensure an organization and its leaders are on the path to success.
How has the pandemic changed your definition of success?
The pandemic proved to all of us how resilient we are. The nonprofit leaders’ ability to pivot and make sure they have the adequate funding, time and resources really showed to me as a funder the resilience of these organizations. The pandemic emphasized that these nonprofits have a mission and are always working towards their mission. Although the pandemic made these missions clearer, it also made all nonprofit leaders realize that they cannot do everything. These leaders are also human and do not have 25 hours in a day. Given the resources available, what is most important to accomplish first. The pandemic brought priorities into focus. I believe that this realization of the sphere of control we have as well as the reliance we showed exemplified the steps towards being a successful organization by focusing on what is most important first.
How do you get inspired after an inevitable setback?
We all have setbacks. All of us have challenges and how we get up the next day is more important than how we initially dealt with that challenge. I think it comes back to what I had said earlier. My focus is making sure that I’m pleasing God. Each day I wake up and go into the day with the goal of doing the most I can do. At the end of every day, I think to myself “Hey you know what, this is all I could do today. I will leave the rest to a higher being.” If I did not accomplish something one day, I will leave that task for tomorrow and approach the next day in the same manner. It all comes down to trying to do your best every day, and being proud of that alone.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world who you would like to talk to, to share the idea behind your non-profit? He, she, or they might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I’ve actually thought this through very well. In the last five years, I have had this vision of Melinda French Gates, Mackenzie Scott and I having coffee and talking about philanthropy as women in this space. I would love to have a conversation about how we can be effective philanthropists and how we can ensure that we bring more people to the table to this as well.
You’re doing important work. How can our readers follow your progress online?
Readers can follow our progress on LinkedIn at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and at Waraich Family Fund. You can follow me personally at Dilnaz Waraich.
Thank you for a meaningful conversation. We wish you continued success with your mission.