Trends in the Canadian Muslim Civil Society Ecosystem: An Analysis of 50 Muslim Charities.

As the Muslim presence in Canada grows and matures, so too does local Muslim philanthropy and the number of Muslim-serving, Muslim-led, and Muslim-focused charitable organizations. Limited scholarship currently considers how resources are allocated within this ecosystem. This paper analyzes trends in the Canadian Muslim charitable ecosystem. Building on Qasqas and Chowdhury's (2017) methodology, which looks at annual CRA data on Islamic religious groups, we conduct an analysis of publicly available data on the 50 largest Muslim-serving, Muslim-led, and Muslim-focused charities. We use an analytical framework adapted from Nimer's (2014) typology of Muslim organizations to help categorize organizations and philanthropic investments within this ecosystem. Through this categorization, we show there is disproportionate focus among Canadian Muslims on directing philanthropic investments internationally and toward international organizations and limited publicly available information on the value of Canadian Muslim philanthropic investment in Muslim public affairs and research organizations. These philanthropic patterns may result in Muslim organizations in key areas of interest experiencing underinvestment relative to local Muslim communities' needs. We argue that Canadian Muslim philanthropists should consider donating locally and based on areas of strategic need, and this requires a more systematic assessment of local communities and their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]