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PILLARS FUND

EIN 81-0983087 CHICAGO, IL

Browse the largest nonprofits in Illinois

Revenue 2025
$17,032,203
Expenses 2025
$4,512,117

Program services were 65.4% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
T12
Classification
1200
Street
200 W MADISON 3RD FLOOR

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Other organizations at this address

1 other organization in the IRS Business Master File lists the same street address. matched by us

We match the street line and ZIP code as the IRS gives them, ignoring case and outer spaces and nothing else, so "AVE" and "AVENUE" count as different streets and this list can miss some. A shared address can mean related organizations or a shared office, but it can also be a registered agent, a mail drop or a service provider holding mail for unrelated clients. It is not, by itself, evidence that two organizations are connected.

Mission and programs · 2025

Mission

The mission of the Pillars Fund is to amplify the leadership, narratives, and talents of Muslims in the United States of America to advance opportunity and justice for all. The Organization drives this mission by supporting civic institutions and culture change.

  • Pillars' largest program services include its fellowship programs, which identify and invest in Muslim leaders across the arts, media, and creative industries through a competitive selection process evaluating creative practice, leadership potential, and mission alignment, providing fellows with financial support, mentorship, and connections to funders and industry partners; a storytelling prize, which recognizes and funds pioneering storytellers advancing more accurate representation of Muslim communities in arts and media, with recipients selected for the originality and impact of their work and awarded unrestricted funding and public recognition; community building events that convene artists, community members, and partner organizations around shared cultural and civic experiences not otherwise widely supported; and research that documents the state of Muslim representation and leadership in arts, media, and civic life to inform the field's understanding of where investment and advocacy are most needed.

    Expenses $2,949,845 · Grants $884,529

As filed on the 2025 return.

Officers and directors · 2025

As listed in Part VII of the 2025 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • Kashif Shaikh

    Executive Dir.

    Total calculated
    $318,293
    From this org
    $299,597
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $18,696
    Hours/week
    40

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $299,597
    Bonus
    not reported
    Other
    not reported
    Deferred
    $8,988
    Nontaxable benefits
    $9,708
    Filer's total
    $318,293

  • Kalia Abiade

    Executive VP

    Total calculated
    $232,011
    From this org
    $225,621
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $6,390
    Hours/week
    40

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $225,621
    Bonus
    not reported
    Other
    not reported
    Deferred
    $6,390
    Nontaxable benefits
    not reported
    Filer's total
    $232,011

  • Arij Mikati

    VP of Programs

    Total calculated
    $208,201
    From this org
    $194,220
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $13,981
    Hours/week
    40

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $194,220
    Bonus
    not reported
    Other
    not reported
    Deferred
    $5,826
    Nontaxable benefits
    $8,155
    Filer's total
    $208,201

  • Kelly Jones

    VP of Operations

    Total calculated
    $163,272
    From this org
    $157,910
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $5,362
    Hours/week
    40

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $157,910
    Bonus
    not reported
    Other
    not reported
    Deferred
    $4,737
    Nontaxable benefits
    $625
    Filer's total
    $163,272

  • Leah Pallant

    Operations Mgr

    Total calculated
    $118,584
    From this org
    $107,264
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $11,320
    Hours/week
    40

  • Aya Nimer

    Program Mgr

    Total calculated
    $114,331
    From this org
    $104,198
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $10,133
    Hours/week
    40

  • Mawish Raza

    Program Mgr

    Total calculated
    $108,443
    From this org
    $104,759
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $3,684
    Hours/week
    40

  • Sameer Shamsi

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2

  • Rashid Shabazz

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2

  • Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2

  • Deana Haggag

    Secretary

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    4

  • Nancy A Khalil

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2

  • Noorain Khan

    Treasurer

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    4

  • Dr Rami Nashashibi

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2

  • Shakeeb Alam

    Board Chair

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    4

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2025
    Revenue
    $17,032,203
    Expenses
    $4,512,117
    Contributions
    $16,997,625
    Grants paid
    $884,529
  • 2023
    Revenue
    $2,398,957
    Expenses
    $4,783,807
    Contributions
    $2,397,775
    Grants paid
    $2,071,423
  • 2022
    Revenue
    $3,855,611
    Expenses
    $4,338,145
    Contributions
    $3,854,432
    Grants paid
    $2,149,193

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

  • 2021 · 990

    Revenue
    $11,056,329
    Expenses
    $2,415,365
    Assets (EOY)
    $11,143,935

  • 2020 · 990

    Revenue
    $2,212,348
    Expenses
    $2,306,946
    Assets (EOY)
    $2,603,865

  • 2019 · 990

    Revenue
    $2,244,617
    Expenses
    $2,052,444
    Assets (EOY)
    $2,621,737

  • 2018 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,454,674
    Expenses
    $1,097,966
    Assets (EOY)
    $2,405,417

  • 2017 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,906,122
    Expenses
    $692,094
    Assets (EOY)
    $2,021,096

  • 2016 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,077,075
    Expenses
    $275,163
    Assets (EOY)
    $809,746

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all.

Grants made

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Where these grants went next →

Grants received

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 11 November 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 9 November 2026 and read 9 November 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2025, the newest we have parsed for this organization.