MAC Community Report - 2020

COMMUNITY REPORT 2020

BUILDING STRONG E R COMMUNITIES

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MESSAGE FROM ED / CHAIR

SELF-CONFIDENCE 42

INITIATIVES

SECTION 1: BUILDING FOR RESILIENCY 8

BUILDING FOR RESILIENCY

10

2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

12

BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP

BUILDING BY SUPPORTING COMMUNITY

44

STOPPING THE CONVEYOR BELT TO

HOMELESSNESS 46

STORIES OF US: FROM DESPAIR TO

OPPORTUNITY HELPING THOSE WHO HELP

OTHERS 48

BUILDING BY LISTENING TO OUR COMMUNITY

SECTION 2: BUILDING FOR GROWTH 16

THE URGENCY OF NOW

18

BUILDING BY ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORM

20

BUILDING BY MEETING EMERGING NEEDS

22

STORIES OF US: #MACGIVECHALLENGE

24

BUILDING VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

26

BUILDING BY CULTIVATING A LEARNING

CULTURE

SECTION 4: BUILDING BY EXPANDING 51

BUILDING B Y EXPANDING THE CIRCLE

52

BUILDING BY BECOMING A CATALYST

54

BUILDING BY WEAVING NETWORKS

56

BUILDING BY PLATFORMING OUR MESSAGE

58

SECURING A SEAT AROUND IMPORTANT TABLES

60

BUILDING BY ADVOCATING FOR A STRONGER

28

STORIES OF US: NAVIGATING THE NEXT NORM

OF INSTRUCTION DELIVERY

30

IN-FOCUS: MEASURING SOCIAL VALUE

SECTOR

31

IN-FOCUS: MAC SCHOLARS SUMMIT: INSPIRING

61

BUILDING BY RE-IMAGINING THE FUTURE

Q

BELIEVERS IN THE TIME OF STRESS

LOOKING AHEAD WE MAKE THE PATH BY

32

BUILDING BY IMPLEMENTING COMPREHENSIVE

WALKING

GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

34

MANAGING RISKS DURING A PANDEMIC

SECTION 5: FINANCIAL

SECTION 3: STRONGER COMMUNITIES

64

37

68

BUILDING BY INVESTING

66 FINANCIALS

BUILDING BY MAKING COMMUNITIES

THE WHOLE IS LARGER THAN THE SUM OF THE

STRONGER

PARTS

38

BUILDING BY SERVING

70

THE GIFT OF GIVING

40

IN-FOCUS: BUILDING BY NURTURING

71

A PRAYER

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MESSAGE FROM ED/CHAIR

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INTRO It is an honour to share our 2020 Community Report with you. This report is unique as it records work done under unique circumstances dictated by a global pandemic.

Our lives have been shaped by Covid-19 pandemic. It has impacted all aspects of our lives from our worship to work, to interacting with friends, and delivering services.

While it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, pandemics have been part of human existence since time immemorial. Along with the destruction and death they normally leave behind, they also bring clarity to our human condition. Covid-19 is no different. It exposed many cleavages that exist within our society and beyond. It exposed the fundamental flaws in the social and economic order that created huge disparities in wealth distribution and income inequality. More acutely, the impact is not shared equally among all communities. For example, Indigenous communities are more susceptible to the ravaging effects of pandemic outbreaks due to inadequate health services and housing. Many racialized communities are more likely to live in poorer neighborhoods suffering disproportionately from the impact of these problems.

Just as this pandemic is getting under control, other plagues rouse and attack the foundations of our social cohesion. Bigotry is another plague that never dies. It only fades and mutates into a different form. The old plagues of racism are becoming the spreaders of Islamophobia. The old is finding new ways to spread. Through digital platforms, hate speech is finding new megaphones and impressionable minds. We need to rise to fight racism with the same resolve and purposefulness. Our work must continue to support the growth of our community and in the process, we commit to be a strong voice for our community and one that will make a difference for its development and growth.

MAC was envisioned to be a bridge for brighter future for our community. It gives us great pleasure to let you know that while we spent considerable time building the bridge, we kept our focus on who will cross it. Our community will always be at the center of what we do.

Nabil Sultan

Chair of the Board

Sharaf Sharafeldin Executive Director

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BUILDING FOR RESILIENCY

Section

1

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BUILDING FOR RESILIENCY

For organizations and institutions, resilience is delineated by three interconnected principles:

1. RESPONSIVENESS 2. ADAPTABILITY 3. STABILITY This is evident through an organization’s capacity to deliver essential programs to fulfill its mission, its capacity to design new programs, and its ability and ease to adjust management systems and implement policies during crisis. However, few organizations have an action plan for a global pandemic that confines 80% of the population to their homes. Nonetheless, capacity to anticipate, adapt and respond to changing needs and shifting priorities is critical. Stability is achieved by enhancing predictability and decreasing volatility through institutionalization of good practices and norms. It is also reflected in the capacity to identify and mitigate internal and external risks through risk management.

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BUILDING FOR

During times of economic, health or climate crisis, the resilience of nations is manifested in their ability to anticipate and prepare for shocks and effectively manage crises as they unfold. The ability of governments to design and implement the right combination of short- and long-term policy measures is thus critical for sustaining and building greater resilience over time. We are blessed to live in a country that its government did just that.

For organizations and institutions, resilience is delineated by three interconnected principles: responsiveness, adaptability, and stability. This is evident through an organization’s capacity to deliver essential programs to fulfill its mission, its capacity to design new programs, and its ability and ease to adjust management systems and implement policies during crisis. However, few organizations have an action plan for a global pandemic that confines 80% of the population to their homes. Nonetheless, capacity to anticipate, adapt and respond to changing needs and shifting priorities is critical.

Stability is achieved by enhancing predictability and decreasing volatility through institutionalization of good practices and norms. It is also reflected in the capacity to identify and mitigate internal and external risks through risk management.

to emergencies and manage risks. Like all other nonprofit organizations across the nation, MAC faced significant challenges including the closure of our facilities and in particular our mosques during a period which included Ramadan; drying up of financial resources. All the while, we needed to think about how to meet our financial obligations, and ensure the health and safety of our staff, the communities we serve, and supporting those families who depend on our services.

Immediately within weeks of the onset of the pandemic, we developed a response strategy that

The Covid-19 environment provided an effective stress-test to evaluate the resilience of our systems, and validate our processes and governance principles, as well as test our capacity to respond

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BUILDING FOR RESILIENCY

AT THE ONSET OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

13.7 % focused on the continuity of program delivery, and ensuring health, well-being, and productivity of our staff and the communities we serve. We pivoted to building digital capacity to ensure smooth transition to virtual communities and we are positioning our organization for the path of recovery and rebuilding by reimagining the future of work, program delivery, networks and communities of the future.

As we share in this report, MAC was blessed to be able to deliver much and was blessed with an opportunity to support many people across various segments of the nation through this difficult time.

5.5 MILLION

increase

workers affected

GDP

18 %

decreased

DECLINE OF HOUSEHOLD SPENDING/BUSINESS INVESTMENT

11.5%

compared to 2.9% after 2008 financial meltdown

BLACK PEOPLE IN OTTAWA

37%

of all cases since the start of the pandemic. Source

TORONTO RECENT DATA

79% Muslim Association of Canada

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of COVID-19 cases in the city identified with a racialized group as per recent data from Toronto Public Health

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ADAPTING TO NEW NORM IEW IN REV

Building virtual communities

Building digital capacity

11 March 2020:

EXPANDING THE CIRCLE WHO declared a Global COVID-19 Pandemic

Supporting community initiatives & organizations.

$ 355,000 in 25 charities in Canada

17 March 2020:

Convening community meetings: Virtual iftars:

Ontario declared a state of emergency, Other provincial premiers did the same

23 April 2020:

•

2 premiers,

•

4 ministers,

•

4 mayors

31 July 2020:

Eid Al-Adha Hajj Season without Canadian Muslims making the pilgrimage

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Keeping places of worship open

MEETING EMERGING NEEDS

10K 35K

• Addressing food insecurity: MAC Give FoodShare - 10,000 meals - 30 organizations • Virtual Eid coast-to-coast 35,000 people attended ~ • Seniors Program • Building Virtual communities

Virtual Eid:

DELIVERING PROGRAMS

•

20 organizations,

•

12 political leaders including Prime Minister Trudeau, 25 scholars

•

• Continued the FT School programs (9 FT schools were open)

Community consultations about opening places of worship.

First Ramadan & Eid in a pandemic

Delivery of full-time schools & child-care programs

Delivering key programs under new covid-19 protocols.

• Pre-school & childcare centers were open during the summer after easing of the lockdown

Addressing Islamophobia attacks Mobilizing community by word and deed. Platforming our message Creating content: •

10 opeds,

•

11 earned media stories

Advocating for a stronger sector

Muslim Association of Canada

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• Delivering 80 programs in Ramadan & beyond (national & local) • Established eLearning channel: 10,300 hours of viewership • Building MAC Connect Hub: 71,750 views of pages / 8000 active users on the portal

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BUILDING FOR RESILIENCY

COMMUNITY BUILDERS

$ 22,972,271

$77,204,000

50,000

20 CENTRES

Invested in Programs

Capital Assets

People Served Weekly

9 Full-Time Schools

COMMUNITY OF EDUCATORS Our theory of change is built around Education. It starts from the school grade age and continues into adulthood.

9 Full-time schools. Integrated educational program.

Quran &Arabic after-school programs

Youth leadership/ Mentorship programs

COMMUNITY CONVENERS We are a catalyst for people to want to come to the table.

We convene meetings to discuss community needs.

We mobilize our community by word and deed

COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS We learned how to build learning communities, virtual communities, to deliver programs in Covid-19.

We learn how to design and evaluate programs

We learn by doing, researching and collaborating.

NETWORK WAIVERS We expand our reach by building our networks

Building relationships with key organizations like UnitedWay, Ontario Nonprofit Network, and Imagine Canada

We connected with 30 organizations to address food insecurity.

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We supported partners to address homelessness, support people with disabilities, and we joined many tables and circles.

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BUILDING FROM THE

GROUND UP For the structure that we raise, Time is with materials filled; Our to-days and yesterdays Are the blocks with which we build.

Strategy is never created on an empty canvas as the saying goes. Rather, it is built on the existing foundation and it is impacted by the culture and the resources of the organization.

By the grace of Allah, much was achieved in the past few years: organizational capacity, strong national profile, good governance framework, and greater brand recognition to name a few. Those investments did bear fruit during this pandemic.

By nurturing an enduring a culture founded on the Islamic principles of God-consciousness, personal development, service to the community, and education, we were able to build a strong organizational character that transcends services, programs and events, and even structure and leadership. A culture that accentuates our core values, norms, mind sets and traditions. Social impact is enabled by key capacities such as capacity to learn, to develop and as well as to link and network.

Capacity also enhances the organization’s

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BUILDING FOR RESILIENCY

Resilience allows us, even in the most extreme moments, to keep learning, to change. It is a kind of battlefield courage, the ability to innovate under fire because we’ve prepared in the right way and because we’ve developed the strength to keep moving even when we’re slapped by the unexpected.”

— The Age of the Unthinkable, Joshua Cooper Ramo

resilience. According to McKinsey and Company, true resilience requires balanced focus on six dimensions: financials, operations, technology, organization, reputation, and business model.

• FINANCIAL RESILIENCE where short- and longer-term financial aims are balanced.

A solid capital position and sufficient liquidity enables organizations to weather rapid drops in revenue, increased cost, or credit issues.

• ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE: Resilient firms foster a diverse workforce in which everyone feels included and can perform at their best.

They deliberately recruit the best talent, develop that talent equitably, upskill or reskill employees flexibly and rapidly.

• REPUTATIONAL RESILIENCE • BUSINESS-MODEL RESILIENCE: Resilient organizations maintain business models that can adapt to significant shifts in customer demand, the competitive landscape, technological changes, and the regulatory terrain

• OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE: Resilient organizations maintain robust program delivery capacity that can both flex to meet changes in demand as well as remain stable in the face of operational disruption, all without The Covid-19 pandemic did provide an extreme sacrificing quality. stress test in all six domains of resilience. As can • TECHNOLOGICAL RESILIENCE: Resilient be demonstrated by the events unfolding since firms invest in strong, secure, and flexible the start of 2020, it was clear that resilience and infrastructure, including to manage cyber capacity are key to surviving such extreme events threats and to avoid technology breakdown like a global pandemic.

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BUILDING FOR GROWTH

Section

2

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Muslim Association of Canada

With a national platform rooted in a strong presence in many local communities, we invest our passion, energy and resources into creating vibrant communities, supporting families raising their children and helping youth navigate their individual paths while staying connected to their faith in meaningful and profound ways, and helping newcomers acclimatize within their new environments.

When the pandemic hit, it became clear that our deep connection to our communities is one of the fundamental pillars of our value-proposition. We were able to respond to this emergency by optimizing existing delivery channels and creating new channels to enable delivery of new programs, and to build new capacities and deliver new programs to respond to the realities of the crisis.

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BUILDING FOR GROWTH Muslim Association of Canada

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THE URGENCY OF

NOW With a national platform rooted in a strong presence in many local communities, we invest our passion, energy and resources into creating vibrant communities, supporting families raising their children and helping youth navigate their individual paths while staying connected to their faith in meaningful and profound ways, and helping newcomers acclimatize within their new environments.

When the pandemic hit, it became clear that our deep connection to our communities is one of the fundamental pillars of our value-proposition. We were able to respond to this emergency by optimizing existing delivery channels and creating new channels to enable delivery of new programs, and to build new capacities and deliver new programs to respond to the realities of the crisis.

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DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC; FAMILIES CONCERNED ABOUT:

BUILDING FOR GROWTH

MAC recognized the need to quickly pivot and respond to the immediate needs of Canadians.

The urgency of Now dictated that we: • Build new capacities for program delivery • Deploy digital solutions to enable virtual programs delivery from Full-time schools, to educational programs, to Ramadan and Eid programs.

• Enable all employees to work virtually from home.

• Create an eLearning platform, and share content to provide authentic and accurate information, and engage the community.

• Develop new learning around health and safety

74%

Balancing childcare, school & work

61%

Managing your children’s behaviors, stress level, & emotions

43%

Staying connected with family & friends

30%

Feeling lonely in your own home

• Meet new needs: such addressing food insecurity, and creating virtual platforms to celebrate Eid and conduct graduations, and iftars.

• Create models of best practise that could then help replicate and provide learning to help support transitions and adjustments for others in the community

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BUILDING BY ADAPTING TO THE

NEW NORM Systems are built to function within predictable environments where risks are managed and outcomes are monitored and plans are adjusted accordingly. This global pandemic was a disruptive force that no system was designed to handle.

However, resilient systems must respond to these new realities. Within the sector, about four in ten charities say their organizational capacity has decreased since the onset of the pandemic.

Our organizational capacity is built around key drivers: our governance model, management operational systems, financial management, and brand promise and attributes.

• Online multilingual programming for various segments including families, youth, MAC juniors to help engage and support Canadians across the country stay connected

BUILDING DIGITAL CAPACITY:

• Provided an online platform for local, provincial, and federal leaders and healthcare professionals to communicate with the Muslim community and provide much needed updates and guidance as communities adjusted to new norms

MAC’s recent investment in technology in the classroom, as well as data center server and virtual machine infrastructure and collaboration platforms such as Office 365, G-Suite and Zoom helped us greatly in managing the new demands for digital bandwidth and delivery capacity. All staff moved to work-from-home immediately at the lock-down.

Our school educational programs delivery moved seamlessly to online platforms. Both synchronous and asynchronous learning environments were created within 1 week of the lockdown.

• Educational programs in our centers were transferred to virtual mode.

• Created an online Covid-related hub to share information and exchange ideas.

• We created a national pre-iftar program.

Featuring speakers and Quran recitation.

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• All our operations went into work remotely and our staff were enabled to work from home within days of the lockdown.

• Mobilized new fundraising plan with a payment system that facilitated easier donation options and more automated processing.

• A complete suite of Ramadan programs was created from inception to production within a few weeks from the lock-down.

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• We also developed and delivered French programming which included interactive sessions and competition which draw considerable viewership.

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BUILDING FOR GROWTH

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• Established an eLearning Channel with new educational content including creation of educational materials from renowned scholars.

• Delivered a unique national coastto-coast, engaging Virtual Eid Program. .

ENSURING SAFE PROGRAM DELIVERY: By the grace of Allah, our organization has the organizational capacity to develop and deploy new policies to manage lock-down, opening and operating under various provincial directives. These models were then taken up by the provincial and healthcare sector to inform the re-opening protocols. Online and social guidelines were developed and implemented on short notice.

Policies, procedures and guidelines were developed and implemented across all work units. (see data on right)

INVESTMENT IN DIGITAL CAPACITY

$241,000 $146,000

$95,000

HARDWARE

SOFTWARE

$200,000 FURNITURE

COVID-19 RELATED INVESTMENTS

$164,000 Muslim Association of Canada

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BUILDING BY MEETING

EMERGING NEEDS The most striking aspect of the pandemic was that community organizations identified needs on the ground before even the government could. This entrenched presence within communities imposed the need to act. Therefore, Covid-19 provided an on-time test for capacity to design programs, and ensure their successful delivery. In addition to the above major programs, through the Grace of Allah, we successfully initiated and delivered many program.

CLICK BUTTON TO VIEW OR TYPE IN URL BELOW FOODSHARE 2020 - 1 HTTPS://BIT.LY/3KXO25X

FOODSHARE 2020 - 2 HTTPS://BIT.LY/30F9QAB

VIRTUAL EID 2020 MESSAGE FROM PRIME MINISTER

HTTPS://BIT.LY/3WMB2HU

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BUILDING FOR GROWTH

He is not a true believer who eats his fill while his neigbhor is hungary” − Hadith

MAC GIVE COMMUNITY FOODSHARE CAMPAIGN: At the onset of the pandemic, food security was a vulnerability to key constituencies such as the marginalized and the vulnerable populations of seniors. We initiated a national Foodshare Program:

10

Across 10 major population centers

VIRTUAL EID CELEBRATION:

Provided Hot meals for seniors and food parcels for families of fixed income or new comers.

Delivered groceries, basic hygiene needs to families

30+

This program was extended to Eid Al-Adha where an Udhiya Distribution Program was created and executed locally. Fresh Halal meat was shared with local community members during Eid Al-Adha 2020.

Over 30 partnership(s) with businesses & community organizations

10,000+

Families served – food hampers & hot meals.

$120,000+

Recieved in grants from government granting agencies.

The pandemic impacted our lives in many ways. Ramadan was an especially difficult time, given how stringent lockdown measures were at the time of Ramadan and Eidt. It is normally a time we spend together where we enjoy community gatherings, communal iftars and congregation prayers.

This difficult time culminated on the day of Eid under lockdown. To provide a platform where Muslims across the country could feel a sense of connection, celebration and community, MAC delivered a coast-to-coast live production. A huge production of a Virtual Eid event with 10 hours of production time. A program that drew 100 volunteers and many guests and performers.

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STORIES OF US

#MACGIVE CHALLENGE “WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GATHER, BUT WE CAN GIVE” As Ramadan was fast-approaching and the lock-down was starting to take hold, Haiqa started calling a few friends to float the idea of engaging the wider community to share the spirit of Ramadan.

A small team came together and launched #MACGiveChallenge. It was built on a simple premise: to ask Muslims to nominate their friends of other faith-persuasions to buy a MAC Pack; and the cycle continues as everyone who answers the challenge should call on their friends to do the same.

To increase the impact, MAC has partnered with Capital Region Housing as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. The plan was simple: we deliver MAC Packs, Ramadan Care Packages, to tenants in need.

WE SERVED

400+ 500+ ADULTS

WE RAISED

“For generations, Muslims have been serving the greater community but we rarely see our stories and community work reflected in mainstream media.

We decided to change that. We told an incredible story of Muslims and non-Muslims coming together from all walks of life to address food security in a pandemic. The MAC Pack Campaign was a highlight of my pandemic Ramadan.” said Haiqa, the lead organizer of the campaign.

By the Mercy of Allah, we’ve had the members of the wider community step up, from businesses to MLAs to City Councilors and Members of Parliament.

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CHILDREN

$21,000+ with more than half of that donated by friends of other faiths.

Click button to view or type in URL below

FOODSHARE 2020 EDMONTON HTTPS://RB.GY/PYQKV2

macnet.ca

BUILDING FOR GROWTH

FOODBANK USERS

52%

of food banks saw an increase in the month of March compared to the previous year. *

34.1%

* Hunger Count 2019 – Food banks of Canada

42%

are children

48.1%

are single adult households accessing food banks

of food banks reported a reduction in volunteers to be a challenge of critical importance since March. * * Hunger Count 2019 – Food banks of Canada

COVID-19 HAS BROUGHT A NEW SET OF FINANCIAL CHALLENGES TO SO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS CITY.” − Hailey Helset, Manager at Edmonton’s Food Bank.

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IN-FOCUS

BUILDING

VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES Click button to view or type in URL below

MAC EIDFEST 2020 (BEHIND THE SCENES) HTTPS://RB.GY/VGBTQ8 The virtual world became mainstream during this pandemic. Virtual communities were everywhere from local masjids to neighbours and family members establishing their virtual space to connect and share their stories. MAC established few key virtual programs:

• MAC ELEARNING (elearning.macnet.ca) : MAC launched the eLearning platform offering over 20 original online courses in different subjects.

• MAC REFLECTIONS & WEBINARS: Daily pre-iftar Ramadan program and weekly MAC Live Webinars live webinars to address current themes with speakers that included scholars, community leaders and practitioners.

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• MAC SPECIAL WEBINARS: MAC offered an opportunity and a platform to politicians at different government levels to engage with our communities. MAC hosted 4 mayors, 4 ministers, 2 premiers and several MPs, MPPs and MLAs on our special webinars and programs.

• MAC CONNECTHUB: A digital resources and connection hub that was established with COVID19 and continued through Ramadan for Ramadan resources and shared events calendar for MAC events and programs.

• VIRTUAL graduations for graduating classes so students and families would not miss out on celebrating major milestones.

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BUILDING FOR GROWTH

Example of Creating a Virtual Ramadan Community for children and teens:

THE AMAZING RACE THE AMAZING RACE

518

HTTPS://RB.GY/FJJHEA

participants

Click the to view video

300

WEEKLY RAMADAN YOUTH TALK SHOW

500

registrants

“TALES WORTH SHARING” WEBINARS

160

participants weekly

“STORIES OF THE PROPHETS” WEBINARS

185

children participated

“CULTIVATING THE LIGHT WITHIN”

130

children participated

198

children attended

285+

children registered

VIRTUAL PAINT NIGHT

“EID BAKE N’ MAKE”

50

submissions weekly

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B U I L D I N G B Y C U LT I V A T I N G A

LEARNING CULTURE Strong learning cultures enable organizations to adapt and innovate to meet new realities and adjust to acute challenges such as those presented by COVID-19. MAC has used a number of strategies to nurture learning. We are expanding our learning horizons beyond our internal sources, and we are always looking for opportunities to engage partners and experts in different fields as a way to enrich our programs and enhance the learning opportunities. From enriching the learning environments in our schools, to partnering with experts in their respective fields, MAC continuously integrates new learning and uses new tools to deliver its message and programs.

Some of the examples include:

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SENIORS PROGRAMS: Edmonton MAC Community Center is collaborating with the University of Alberta Recreation Department to enhance the Senior Living Program. The center runs a Seniors program which is informed by the findings/research of the university initiative.

Our program provided feedback to the team under Dr. Jordana Salma supervision. During the pandemic, the program moved virtual and seniors were provided ipads and helped them to set-up their accounts and use the program resources.

INSTRUCTION DELIVERY: Adaptive learning model: Immediately after the state-of-emergency declared by many provincial governments, MAC Schools developed a plan to move virtually. The plan was communicated to parents, aligned the teachers to deliver it, and put the hardware and the tools to deliver it.

ENRICHING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: MAC Schools engaged many partners to enhance the STEM curriculum, the Arts and Physical Education programs.

• Enrich the student learning through creating opportunities to attend competitions, training, and extracurricular activities and clubs.

• DECA Inc. - HOSA - Model UN – University of Waterloo STEM

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BUILDING FOR GROWTH

In times of change, it is learners who inherit the future.

Those who have finished learning find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists” — Eric Hoffer (1902 – 1983) was an American moral and social philosopher.

FOUR STUDENTS AMONG THE TOP 10 IN PROVINCIAL HOSA COMPETITION

SEVEN STUDENTS SELECTED TO COMPETE IN DECA IN ONTARIO

FIFTEEN STUDENTS ACHIEVED HONORS WITH DISTINCTION IN “BEAVER COMPUTING CHALLENGE”

• Edmonton MAC Islamic School participated in the APEGA Science Competition in Edmonton. Likewise, students from Ottawa Al-Furqan full-time school participated in a city-wide student writing competition.

• Enriching curricula by creating learning opportunities for the students through engaging the universities in the city: Enrichment Mini-Courses Program at Carleton and Ottawa university; Canadian Law course; Mobile Maker Workshops at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Engineering; Discovery Days program Canadian medical hall of fame at university of Ottawa; Media Literacy workshop School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University; Brain Awareness Week, four presentations by Carleton University department of Neuroscience for different grade levels.

• Build know-how to increase digital footprint including creation of educational material, broadcasting capacity to produce live events, and virtual conferences.

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STORIES OF US

N AV I G AT I N G T H E N E X T N O R M O F

INSTRUCTION DELIVERY Of course, the virtual shift has not been without its challenges and constraints and while elements have pivoted, we must evolve to meet the needs of all participants. A number of elements evolved to meet participant needs but two were very important.

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1. //

CREATING STRATEGY

MAC ensured that there was a concerted National and local strategy around online learning, beyond just access to technology.

Our strategy provided multiple means of engagement, critical thinking, representation and ways in which learners could demonstrate their learning so that all learners could benefit. The strategy allowed for differentiated instruction and had universal design principals at its core.

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BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATION Conscientious thought was given to building community through collaboration: There was special attention given to building community and comradery between students online that was as similar as the social cohesion we experience in the classroom in person.

We adapted a few standard classroom community-building practices to this new environment: 1. Actively building in breakout rooms to have students forage close interpersonal relationships with each other.

2. Establishing a digital community agreement and cultivating a culture of trust and respect. For example, a more robust code of conduct for online learning, courses in digital citizenship because in this new environment everyone will leave a digital footprint and finally coconstructing norms of collaboration with students in each course that underscore communication within an online environment.

3. Robust mental health strategies for school students and staff.

BUILDING FOR FOR GROWTH BUILDING GROWTH

2. //

TOP MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES:

STRESS / SOCIAL ISOLATION / ANXIETY / GRIEF & LOSS

PARENTS RATED SYNCHRONOUS VIRTUAL LEARNING THEIR CHILD RECEIVED AS:

Excellent

29%

Good

39%

Satisfactory

23%

Poor

9% 0

20

40

60

100

80

BALANCE BETWEEN THE SYNCHRONOUS VIRTUAL LEARNING

64%

23%

felt it is the right amount

felt it is too much

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IN-FOCUS

MEASURING

SOCIAL VALUE Creating safe spaces and a supportive environment is essential so the young can feel comfortable navigating important questions about their identity and place in society. Equally important is the ability to measure success. Part of our efforts in building a learning culture is to draw best practices from the sector and infuse new ideas and learning in our systems. Devising tools to perform informative evaluation that enable measuring impact is a recognized need within the sector. We contracted SIMPACT to do a social impact study about MAC Educational model. The scope of the study was focused on the Olive Grove School.

The study was elaborate involving: 2 Parents’ survey Interviews with MAC executive team Interviews with school leadership team Interviews with teachers Interviews with parents

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THE MAIN FINDINGS CONFIRM OUR CONCLUSION: of OGS students report feeling greater ease with their Muslim identity in public

BUILDING FOR GROWTH

of OGS students also report learning skills to deal with real life situations

of parents equate the quality of instruction at OGS to a top-tier private school in the greater Toronto area

The value created for parents as a result of the opportunity to send their children to OGS. For each $1 paid on tuition, $1.62 created in value or 62% dividend

IN-FOCUS MAC SCHOLARS SUMMIT: *This project was conducted before the pandemic. *For more info. on the SROI methodology, please contact SiMPACT Strategy Group at

www.simpactsg.com

INSPIRING BELIEVERS IN TIME OF STRESS In Dec. 2020, with the pandemic in full swing, what is more pleasing than inviting families for inspiring words of wisdom from scholars and community organizers.

MAC SCHOLARS SUMMIT was a virtual conference themed: Deeply Rooted.

Standing Strong. A 10-day trilingual summit that combines the expertise of 30+ scholars, leaders, experts & activists. This summit was designed to fill a gap in our channels to communicate our message. It was envisioned as a vehicle to bring to light the most important issues impacting MuslimCanadians today - what principles ground us; how to be authentic to our identity; and what legacy do we aspire to. It included 30 scholars and speakers engaged in 25 panels, attracting 40K views.

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BUILDING BY

IMPLEMENTING COMPREHENSIVE GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

Every organization is exposed to and takes risks daily. Risks vary from political realignment and regulatory changes to climate change to liability and financial risks. What made the Covid-19 pandemic unique is its scope and immediacy.

Uncertainty on the scale of a global pandemic can be both overwhelming and even immobilizing as it’s not always clear what is coming next. This is even more pronounced when operating a charity with delicate balances between the duty to protect and duty to serve, as well as financial resources that are tied to delivery of programs. Once those balances are shifted, the extent of these risks can be revealed.

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The PESTLE analysis framework (i.e. Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) is robust tool to gain deep insight into those risks and how to plan for their mitigation.

This pandemic had put this framework to the test in ways never conceived. Key investments in the past decade to increase the organization footprint, and in diversifying revenue streams helped MAC to weather this pandemic. Managing and controlling expenditures, and building cohesive brand strategy enhanced our capacity to deal with these risks. The robustness of our operational systems provided us with the strength to steer through this pandemic with least negative consequences.

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.

POLITICAL FORCES

P

ECONOMIC FORCES

E

SOCIAL FORCES

TECHNOLOGICAL FORCES

S

ADDRESSING REPUTATION DAMAGE BY OWNING OUR NARRATIVE: With the systemic biases in media and institutions, it is important to build a strong brand and capacity to own the narrative around the organization and the community. Through various initiatives of civic engagement, earned media stories, op-ed published in major media outlets, and partnerships with key community organizations. Reputational risk management through proactive brand management and protective measures to guard against attacks.

T

LEGISTATIVE FORCES

ENVIROMENTAL FORCES

L

E

BUILDING FOR GROWTH

PE S T L E

traditionally run inside physical spaces with limited distribution, there was the need for enhanced controls around sharing of content through streaming and broadcasting, and data security.

VOICE FOR BALANCE AND AUTHENTICITY: Balancing safety precautions with the importance of prioritizing prayer and worship became very important during the lockdown. From vaccination to opening places of worship, an authentic Islamic voice became a necessity and MAC aimed to bring such a balanced presence.

REDUCING RISK IN THE DIGITAL NORM:

IDENTIFY OTHER RISKS FROM THE OPERATIONS:

We invested in the consolidation of our digital platforms and developed guidelines for approvals and process controls. With increased exposure through the virtualization of programs that were

Reduce liabilities through systemic assessments and addressing of root-causes of such potential liabilities.

In the sea there are countless treasures, but if thou desirest safety, it is on the shore.”

— Poet Saadi (The Golestan of Saadi - translated by Sir Richard Burton) Muslim Association of Canada

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MANAGING RISKS DURING A

PANDEMIC With the emergence of Covid-19, we refocused our efforts in developing guidelines for program delivery, and opening and closing procedures, developed health and safety guidelines, and provided guidance for work-from-home procedures. We enacted social media protocols and zoom-virtual working guidelines.

PROCEDURE FOR REOPENING CENTERS

Muslim Association of Canada

PROCEDURE FOR REOPENING SCHOOLS

Click button to view or type in URL below

We promptly developed a set of guidelines that became the standard for places of worship and schools.

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GUIDELINES FOR CENTER PROGRAMMING

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.

Those guidelines were centered around safety and hygiene, effective mechanism for contract tracing, and containment of spread in the event cases were identified.

An organization-wide COVID response strategy and procedures for each institution channel was developed along with a COVID inspection protocol. This checklist helps support MAC schools and centers with multiple layered measures to mitigate risks and plan for safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

83% 85%

Respondents were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the measures taken to respond to Covid-19 @ MAC centers

Respondents were satisfied or extremely satisfied with measured taken to respond to Covid-19 @ MAC Schools

No amount of care and procedure will prevent infection. However, proper handling of such cases is critical to keep the community safe.

Throughout 2020, we dealt with: • 49 Total COVID Cases Reported of which 3 were in centers, 3 in childcare and the rest in full-time schools 3 outbreaks • The PHU’s (Public Health Units) conducted 11 inspections of the following institutions and all our institutions have passed their inspection with no citations • 7 sites inspected internally - all policies were adequately applied across the premises we inspected.

We welcomes community members while adhering to the strictest health and safety protocols:

9 SCHOOLS PREMISES

4

20

CHILDCARE PLACES

MOSQUES / MASJIDS

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BUILDING FOR GROWTH

Those policies were shared with the Government of Ontario and became the basis for opening the places of worship during the summer months.

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

Section

3 83%

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BUILDING BY MAKING COMMUNITIES

STRONGER The Covid-19 pandemic revealed a lot about ourselves, the communities we live in, and what is important and what is essential. It provided a space for us to examine our assumptions and appreciate what makes us stronger communities.

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

Family, friends, neighbors, community, networks are some of the key elements that ground us in place and allow us to function. Trust is the real currency in building strong networks and communities. We anchored our Covid-19 response to meeting our community needs at each stage of the pandemic: from providing assurance and hope in times of anxiety, to ensuring families get the programs they need to maintain normalcy in their lives. To that effect, we made sure educational programs were uninterrupted, and childcare services are there when needed. We anchored program delivery guidelines in the provincial medical officer’s directives so that to build predictability and meet the highest health and safety standards. To that effect, we developed operational guidelines and re-opening procedures for: full time schools, pre-schools and Childcare centers, and Community Centers.

Agility became part of the daily response. Securing proper and adequate supply of PPE, especially at the time of greatest demand and limited supply. Ensuring safe opening of place of worship with proper contact tracing tools. The need to improvise and re-conceptualize some of the key functions of a program.

The school year was consummated by organizing virtual/drive-in graduation ceremonies for graduating classes (primary, middle, high schools).

Building virtual communities and ensuring educational content meets the needs of our community members. Expanding the concept of community to include the charitable sector and the civic society. Working with our sector partners to ensure our sector survives this pandemic. These efforts were successful in securing the inclusion of the sector in the federal subsidies programs.

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.” — Malcolm X Muslim Association of Canada

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BALANCING THE DUTY TO SERVE WITH T H E D U T Y TO P R OT E C T

BUILDING BY SERVING

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At the heart of these questions is how to navigate safety and control of spread of covid while providing the community with the essential services. Who got to define essential services? How to balance physical with mental health, how to nurture the soul while protecting the body?

We anchored our assessment to those questions in following the science and best medical advice by following the provincial health authorities’ directives, and providing safe and nurturing physical spaces.

FULL-TIME SCHOOLS: We planned around 3 options: 1. Normal school day routine with enhanced public health protocols - Students going to school every day, in classes that reflect standard class sizes.

2. Modified school day routine Based on public health advice, an adaptive delivery model to allow for physical distancing and cohorts of students.

3. At-home learning - Should the school closure be extended, or some parents choose not to send their child back to school, schools need to be prepared to offer remote education.

Elaborate detail about establishing cohorts to limit mixing, acquisition of new protective materials to minimize transmission, and scheduling. The developed guidelines and projections around staffing, cleaning, health and safety, support to staff, and fundraising.

Childcare centers were opened according to the provincial guidelines. Because it is a key working principle to provide safe and dependable service to working families, we opted to open the childcare centers during the summer months despite low enrolment numbers, to provide a reliable service for our community.

REOPENING OF THE CENTERS: With the easing of the lock down measures by provincial governments, we developed a framework for reopening our centers. Started with Alberta and BC, MAC developed a robust framework to ensure safety and ability to do contact tracing when needed. These guidelines were the core principles adopted by the Ontario government for reopening places of worship.

Our guidelines were included in the minister’s submission to the Chief Medical officer for reopening places of worship.

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

As the spread of the virus became critical, operating within this fast-changing environment became overwhelming. Changes come swiftly, situations shift on a daily basis, and competing priorities are continuously assessed at the decision tables.

Questions like are the Masjid open?... how many people can we accommodate?... is the childcare available?... is it safe to open in-person schools? ...how will we celebrate Eid? These are some of the questions we faced on a daily basis.

Some programs in addition to the daily and Jumma prayers.

Delivered modified summer camp programs in Calgary and Montreal. We drafted a framework for programming and facility usage until the end of 2020.

During the month of Ramadan, most programs went virtual. Local education programs were directed to the local community members.

National flagship programs were directed to a national audience. These include daily pre-iftar program, weekly youth programs, and children-focused engaging programs.

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IN-FOCUS

BUILDING BY NURTURING

SELF-CONFIDENCE The students learned that as Muslims, it is not enough to stay home and practice social distancing; we also try our best to help those around us.

Through the MAC iRISE - You Got This! (Stay Home Version), students from Ottawa to Edmonton demonstrated that they too can make an impact in their own way, even while staying home!

While staying home and observing necessary safety measures, students showcased their talents and creativity by presenting their projects through videos, powerpoints, short films, e-cards, websites, social media pages, posters, emails, and more! The MAC iRISE National Team received projects from 264 groups of students, ages 9-14, from 6 schools.

Topics were diverse and covered a wide range: From creating tutorials about how to make home-made masks and hand sanitizer, to raising awareness about health and safety about Covid-19, to raising funds for social service organizations,

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students collaborated in teams and shared their ingenuity and imagination.

Some Exemplary Projects: #16 ABRAAR S (8B) - This group created an app to help users live with a consciousness of Islamic values and implement iRISE values in their daily lives. App features include prayer times, the 99 names of Allah, and more. #22 OGMS (6B) - This group created the “5 Good Things in One Day Challenge” to encourage kids to implement positive habits and help out around the house during quarantine. #24 OGMS (6B) - This group sought to help those in need during this pandemic by donating food to the Muslim Welfare Centre, donating money internationally, volunteering at the food bank, and raising awareness about the dos and don’ts of COVID-19.

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MAC iRISE - You Got This!

THEIR REACTIONS: WE WERE TOLD THAT THEY WERE REALLY HAPPY AND SOME OF THEM WERE CLOSE TO TEARS

#49 OGMS (7C) - This group recognized that this pandemic is taking a toll on everyone’s mental health so they created an Instagram account to promote positivity and happiness through quotes and photos. #99 OGS (4C) - This group made goodie bags (craft kits & cookies) for children staying at Nisa Homes, a shelter for Muslim women.

workshops

9

# of times delivered

24

SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED

632

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

#38 OGMS (7A) - This group made and sent Thank You cards to show appreciation to frontline workers at clinics in their community.

WORKSHOPS DESIGNED

25

1,700

#101 OGS (4C) - This group made craft kits and mailed them to Sick Kids Hospital to surprise the children there and keep them entertained.

TRAINING SESSIONS CONDUCTED

STUDENTS THAT PARTICIPATED

#198 MGS (G6) - This group created an Instagram account to raise awareness about COVID-19. They purchased medical supplies and sent them to a hospital in Winnipeg, and they also raised $1200 to support COVID-19 research initiatives.

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STAFF SUPPORTED THIS EFFORT

264

TRAINING VIDEOS WERE CREATED

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BUILDING BY SUPPORTING

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

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Truly shape and fashion these; Leave no yawning gaps between; Think not, because no man sees, Such things will remain unseen.

•

Supported organizations that.help community members who are struggling with homelessness and financial hardship by investing in their programs.

•

Muslims with disabilities are an important segment of our community. We supported Deen Support Services (Canadian Charity that operates a number of programs & services in Mississauga, Ottawa and Scarborough and serves all individuals with disabilities) by adopting drop-in program at Muneeba Center in Mississauga. MAC promoted the global Friday Khutba initiative to bring focus to the needs of people with disabilities.

•

MAC partnered with the Blood Services agencies across the country to support their call to increase the blood supply due to covid-19. Many of our centers conducted open clinics or directed community members to donate at the agency’s drives.

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

This pandemic made it evidently clear that community needs are many and diverse, and no single organization can have the expertise, delivery systems, networks to to meet all these needs.

The most efficiently way to address those needs is by pursuing a collaborations and building robust support system where expertise and resources are brought to the table to address those needs.

CONTRIBUTED $350,000 TO 25 CHARITIES IN CANADA IN 2020

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S T O P P I N G T H E C O N V E Y O R B E LT T O

HOMELESSNESS Like the sun rays entering through the window make the dust particles visible, so did the Covid-19 pandemic shine light on many of the lingering social ills and their manifestations on the population.

Poverty and homelessness are among those. Prior to the pandemic, it was estimated 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year with an estimated 35,000 homeless on any given night. For the vast majority of people who experience homelessness in Canada the experience is relatively short with over 85% of people entering and exiting homelessness in days.

The plight of those who experience it normally come to focus during the winter months.

Homelessness has many social and economic causes, but it is preventable. Just like vaccines prevent the spread of diseases, preventing homelessness can be achieved by the right policies and timely intervention tools. While governments are expected to address the primary prevention measures, communities and organizations can support secondary prevention measures such as intervention strategies that aim at disrupting the conveyor belt to homelessness. Those include a range of options from emergency financial assistance, family mediation, and domestic violence victim support, to name a few.

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MAC has leveraged the instrument of Zakat to alleviate some of the immediate needs for individuals who are on the brink of losing their homes, or not able to get their medication or suffer from food insecurity. Some of the actions taken were • Pay rent to landlords to prevent evictions.

• Pay pharmacies to secure availability of prescription medications.

• Provide support to Zakat-eligible persons to help with basic needs like food and groceries.

• Partnering with agencies and organizations that provide support.

MAC also supported agencies and organizations that provide secondary prevention services such as those mentioned above.

Before the onset of the pandemic, MAC met with the Department of Shelter Planning in the city of Toronto to discuss their Homelessness Initiatives and Prevention Services and how MAC can play a role in this. Our first project was with the Family Residence. We assisted 20 families moving from the shelter to housing by providing a gift card to help with buying household items and groceries. Also, provided gift cards for the 154 households who call the Family Residence shelter home.

MAC also supported the work of Sakeenah Homes and Nisa Homes that provide services to women in transition.

MAC will continue to work with partners to ensure the conveyor belt to homelessness is stopped one person at a time.

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ZAKAT FUNDS

$83,500

$255,000

to meet immediate needs for individuals

contributed to Charitable Organizations to support their work to help the needy

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

DISPENSED

Pathways to Hom elessn ess ( s t udy in 20 0 5 )

45%

27%

FINANCIAL

PERSONAL CONFLICT - ABUSE

18% SUBSTANCE ABUSE

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.”

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STORIES OF US

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FROM DESPAIR TO OPPORTUNITY

HELPING THOSE WHO HELP OTHERS Sharifa contacted Sakeenah Homes in hopes of escaping the abuse she was experiencing by her controlling father which she endured for years, until she finally gathered the courage to move out on her own. Fatima contacted Sakeenah Homes when the pandemic first started because she was facing domestic violence from her husband. With her three kids, she escaped when she knew home was not a safe environment for her children. There are examples that tell the story of those who find themselves in crushing circumstances and despair.

We partnered with Sakeenah Homes to help them expand their work to provide hope for those who need it most. Sakeenah Homes has served over 2,750 women and children during the pandemic.

MAC provided financial support to ensure that the remote work could continue and we could help all

those who need it. That financial support included emergency shelter, transportation, food, and counselling. The call volume rose 700% during the pandemic.

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

Social stigma, and community norms can be powerful smoke screens that hide real problems within our community. From homelessness, to mental health, to food insecurity, to various forms of abuse, many suffer from these experiences in silence and behind the curtain of stigma, shame and secrecy.

Since the start of the pandemic, MAC has assisted in establishing three new transitional shelters: Ottawa, London, and Montreal. These places have a capacity of 8 – 14 women and children, and they run at capacity most of the time.

OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS, MAC HAS SUPPORTED SAKEENAH HOMES IN ASSISTING OVER 6,000 WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

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BUILDING BY LISTENING TO OUR

COMMUNITY Surveys of stakeholders form an excellent source of insight into our program delivery and the value associated with these programs. They also provide a powerful feedback loop that assists our program managers to update, and upgrade our delivery systems and encode best practices.

Using the standardized Net Promoter Score (NPS), to gauge the community satisfaction with MAC Schools and MAC Centers. *

RESPONDED & ACTED FOR THE COVID-19 PROGRAMS

THE NET PROMOTER SCORE

46

-50

-100

57

50

100

Centres

* NOTE: The Net Promoter Score is the world’s leading metric for measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. It is calculated as NPS = % of Promoters (respondents selected 9, 10 ratings) – % of Detractors (respondents selected 6 to 0 ratings). It can range from -100 to 100, depending on the scores and their distribution.

AGREED

•

That MAC Centers/places responded appropriately to the covid-19 pandemic.

•

The center acted proactively to help protect my health and safety.

Felt safe with the safety measures

91%

Promoted & maintained safety rules

93%

(masking & physical distancing)

0

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89%

OUR MAC CENTERS SCORED HIGH IN THE PROMOTION OF BEST PRACTICES DURING THE PANDEMIC.

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40

60

80

100

72%

Parents were satisfied with the health & safety precautions taken by the school contributed towards protecting my child from COVID-19

Parents were satisfied with the level of communication regarding changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic from the school

Muslim Association of Canada

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

86%

74% Students agreed that students were protected from getting COVID-19 because of the health & safety precautions that were being taken at my school

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BUILDING BY EXPANDING

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

Section

4 83%

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BUILDING BY

EXPANDING THE CIRCLE As the American political scientist Robert Putnam wrote in the bestseller “Bowling Alone”, stronger communities nurture and produce a social capital that reinforces trust, norms, and networks that add to maintaining a healthy society. There is no better time to expense this social capital than during a pandemic.

As a society, this pandemic forced us to cross examine our readiness for building inclusive communities. On the other hand, it puts the urgency for communities to build networks and collaborations to ensure they have the social capital to expand their missions.

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BUILDING BY EXPANDING

At their core, networks serve as platforms to mobilize people and resources for collective action on a larger scale. By creating infrastructure that enables people to connect with one another and with new opportunities, network platforms can catalyze engagement and amplify results. Covid-19 pandemic created the conditions to navigate and connect the important dots to create robust networks that can amplify our work and help society meet the needs of the most vulnerable.

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BUILDING BY BECOMING

A CATALYST for people to want to come to the table

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Click button to view or type in URL below

NATHAN SQUARE HOPE PRAY 2019 HTTPS://RB.GY/VASZM5

Just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, MAC hosted a community roundtable with the government of Alberta about Diversity and inclusion, Education, Health and Economy.

Premier Kenney and our Executive Director Mr. Sharafeldin chaired the meeting. Minister Aheer addressed the religious freedom, Fairness for Newcomers Action Plan at a roundtable with Premier Jason Kenney.

With the onset of the pandemic, Covid-19 brought many opportunities and our team utilized these to advance our brand as a credible voice within the Muslim community and in the sector.

The pandemic created opportunities for working together, and many volunteers and organizations were supportive to initiatives that address the immediate needs of communities.

For example; MAC initiated the Foodshare program to reduce the impact of food insecurity during the pandemic. We worked with 30 organizations and forged many relationships to deliver the Foodshare programs. This included Islamic Family & Social Services (IFSSA) Edmonton; Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society - Edmonton, Our Saviour Lutheran Church - Edmonton, London Food Bank London, Salvation Army Centre of Hope - London to deliver the Udhiya fresh meat to community members.

BUILDING BY EXPANDING

Building on its partnership with the GTA United Way and the support for this initiative from across the major community organizations, MAC used its national footprint as a catalyst to gather people and organizations around the important tables to address unmet needs.

National Alliance of Children and Youth: MAC Youth was a major sponsor for The Knowledge Exchange Youth Conference. This included participation and presentation of research findings on challenges facing Muslim youth (ages 13-32) across Canada at the #CanadaWeWant Knowledge Exchange. Collaboration with The Students Commission of Canada State on the Youth Report (SOYR) commissioned by the Canadian Government - by setting up youth focus groups to contribute to the report.

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BUILDING BY

WEAVING NETWORKS Nothing useless is, or low; Each thing in its place is best; And what seems but idle show Strengthens and supports the rest.

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After considerable investment, our brand is maturing and gaining presence beyond our circle within the Muslim community. Covid-19 brought many opportunities which were effectively utilized to weave our network and expand our circle of allies and partners.

1. MAC hosted virtual iftars with political leaders across the 3 levels of governments: including: 2 premiers (Hon Premier Ford, and Premier Kenney), 4 Ministers including Min Hussien, Min Rod Smith, and 4 mayors (Mayor Tory, Crombie), and several MPs, MPPs and MLAs on our special.

2. MAC led the engagement within the Muslim community to other faith communities to ensure safe opening of the places of worship during the reducing of the lockdown measures.

3. MAC worked with other Independent Schools in Ontario to form a coalition to address the inequities of the Ontario government’s response to COVID-19 and asking for parent support to petition the provincial government to allocate a portion of these funds to independent schools. Over 6,000 supporters participated in this effort and sent letters to their local MPP. 4. Utilized MAC Virtual Eid to build social capital: Engaged 12 political leaders including the Prime Minister and premiers, and ministers. 20 major charitable organizations, 25 religious scholars and leaders, and nearly 30 major mosques, centers and Islamic schools across the country.

5. MAC worked with sector leaders to advocate for support to the sector through the formation of the Recovery Collective Roundtable to engage the federal government and other political leaders to voice the needs and hopes of our sector.

BUILDING BY EXPANDING

Brands can play a strategic role to drive broad social goals. In the past years, we focused on build the elements of the brand and increase bandwidth and the capacity to communicate the values of the brand and share them with our network.

Network weaving is a term coined

by June Holley to describe the act of deliberately connecting others in an effort to strengthen social ties.

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IN-FOCUS

B U I L D I N G B Y P L AT F O R M I N G

OUR MESSAGE MEDIA

11

10

PUBLISHED OPED’S

DEDICATED MEDIA STORIES

11

MAC E-LEARNING CHANNEL:

10.30K

71.75K VIEWS OF OUR DIGITAL CONTENT

HOURS OF VIEWERSHIP

VIRTUAL EID-2020

10K (35,000-40,000) VIEWS

PEOPLE WATCHED

PORTAL PAGE VIEWERSHIP

8,000 TO 18,000 PEOPLE WATCHING OUR PORTAL PAGE 56

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MENTIONS OF MAC IN VARIOUS STORIES

There were over 10 Opeds published in major news outlets.

They range from expressing the hopes and fears of the Muslim community, to sharing the virtues of our faith and educating the public about it.

Our work earned at least 10 dedicated media stories, and 11 mentions of MAC in various stories.

The major initiatives attracted media interest. For example, our virtual eid, the Foodshare programs were some of those.

Below is a sample of these stories, and for a comprehensive list visit macnet.ca/mac-new

TORONTO STAR

SHARAF SHARAFELDIN

TORONTO STAR

SHARAF SHARAFELDIN

TORONTO STAR

WAQQAS SHAFIQUE

https://www.macnet.ca/2020/01/03/what-muslims-expectfrom-the-liberal-government-in-2020/

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/05/22/ for-this-years-eid-festival-muslim-communities-can-connectonline.html https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/05/19/ our-hearts-can-stay-open-how-faith-based-organizations-arefighting-hunger.html

https://www.therecord.com/opinion/columnists/2020/05/19/

THE RECORD

ASIF MANSOOR

grassroots-muslim-group-at-forefront-of-fighting-covid-19hunger-in-waterloo-region.html

ABDUSSALAM NAKUA

RABBLE.CA

https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/views-expressed/2020/05/ ramadan-passover-and-easter-time-hope-age-uncertainty#.

XrNp3g7QKL8.twitter https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/06/01/opinion/activ-

NATIONAL OBSERVER

SARAH ATTIA

ISLAMIC HORIZONS

MEMONA HOSSAIN

FREE PRESS VOX POPULI

WAEL HADDARA

THE HILL TIMES

SHARAF SHARAFELDIN

ism-gives-muslim-youth-way-connect-amid-pandemic-social-isolating https://issuu.com/isnacreative/docs/ih_september-october_20/s/10896506 https://lfpress.com/opinion/columnists/haddara-coronavirus-exposes-weakness-in-health-care-buildings-technology-and-training https://www.hilltimes.com/2020/09/07/erin-otoole-mustmake-amends-to-garner-canadian-muslim-vote-in-the-nextelection/262404 https://muslimlink.ca/news/charitable-activism-provides-pur-

THE MUSLIM LINK

SARAH ATTIA

POLICY OPTIONS

KHALED QAZZAZ

NATIONAL NEWS WATCH

MEMONA HOSSAIN

pose-and-connection-for-canadian-muslim-youth-during-pandemic

https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2020/islamophobia-is-on-the-rise-during-covid-19/

https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2020/11/19/wordsmatter-canada-needs-to-move-beyond-divisive-language/#.

YS8E-Y5KiUk

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BUILDING BY EXPANDING

Our organization was blessed to have our voice and narrative propagated through many media outlets throughout 2020.

SECURING

A SEAT AROUND IMPORTANT TABLES

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Associate Minister of Digital Government

MICHAEL TIBOLLO Associate Minister of Mental Health & Addictions

ROD PHILLIPS Minister of Finance

MONTE MCNAUGHTON Minister of Labor, Training & Skills Development

SAM OOSTERHOFF Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education

Using the examples of MAC reopening in Alberta and British Columbia, MAC presented a proposal to open mosques in Ontario at policy meetings hosted by MPP Kaleed Rasheed. Speaking to Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo, Minister of Finance Rod Phillips and Minister of Labor, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton, our proposal to reopen mosques was based on two important premises: that reopening can be done safely and that it should be done.

Our proposal was endorsed by MPP Kaleed Rasheed and Minister Monty McNaughton as the best practice guidelines for mosques to reopen in Ontario. The Ministry of Labor crafted their guidelines for places of worship using our guidelines. This proposal was presented to over 250 Muslim organizations in Ontario over three virtual community presentations in collaboration with the Ontario Government. These COVID safety measures can now be seen across all mosques in Canada.

BUILDING BY EXPANDING

MPP KALEED RASHEED

Our capability to offer synchronous learning online during the first lockdown attracted the attention of the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry asked us to share our strategy which was presented to Sam Oosterhoff, parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Education as a successful synchronous learning option for students across the province.

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in the government relief packages, MAC was consulted by the government on the efficacy of these programs and how they can be improved to be more accessible for the sector.

BUILDING BY A D V O C AT I N G FOR A

STRONGER SECTOR Mariana Mazzucato observed that “countries that handled the Covid-19 crisis well maintained productive relationships with value creators in society, while investing in critical capacities.“ This pandemic brought visibility to the largely impactful but invisible charitable and non-profit sector to our lives. From film to music and arts, to sports associations and religious congregations, to environmental advocacy to civil rights organizations; to professional associations, to community foundations, our sector connects communities together.

Following this, MAC was invited to be a founding member of the Recovery Collective roundtable.

The first project of this group was developed in the later months of the year to raise the profile of the sector on Parliament Hill, and drew the proposed four policy solutions for an equitable recovery: • funding to stabilize organizations, • seeking a shift in the relationship with the government from an ad-hoc stakeholder to a strategic partner.

• modernizing the regulatory framework to bring it to the 21 century.

• promote better data on our sector • This engagement will continue until we chart a new partnership with the federal government.

Despite its great contributions, this pandemic brought clarity to the fact that the sector is greatly misunderstood by policy makers and its potential is underrated. For example, our sector was not included in the first round of government relief packages . MAC was part of the core organizations that started the engagement with government and political leaders of all major parties. MAC was featured as one of 7 organizations in the submission of Imagine Canada on the behalf of the sector. Following the inclusion of the sector

For, according to the teachings of Islam, moral knowledge automatically forces moral responsibility upon man. ….. for morality lives and dies with the human endeavour to establish its victory upon earth.” — Muhammad Asad 60

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BUILDING BY RE-IMAGINING THE FUTURE LOOKING AHEAD:

W E M A K E T H E PAT H B Y WA L K I N G

• Protected our workforce and the communities we served.

• Secured financial stability • Continued program delivery by pivoting delivery systems to address the new reality.

We are at a junction point that invites imagination and reflection. We need to explore new models and ways to deliver our message and create value for our stakeholders. Within this

next norm, we need to examine our role and the ways and means to play this role. As we witness a transformational phase taking hold where new ways are replacing the old from the way we live, work, connect and learn. All these changes provide a strong impetus to examine the possibilities available to us and seize the opportunities ahead of us.

our community’s existence in this land, opportunities abound and we are in a great position to examine our collective future with much hope and promise.

This will involve reframing some of the key value-propositions • Seize new growth opportunities • Reimagine relationships, networks, and community.

Our focus is to increase resilience by:

• Transform relationships by focusing on the power to convene and to mobilize.

• Investing in human resources and, enhance agility

• Reimagine role in community and community development.

• Maximize digital access • Enhance digitization and increase automation

As MAC welcomes its 25th anniversary, we are reminded that the path we built was done by walking, and the new path will be made the same way as there is no roadmap for this journey in community building.

• Calibrate risk paradigms to address emerging risks like cyber security.

As we enter into a new phase of

Muslim Association of Canada

BUILDING BY EXPANDING

Covid-19 exposed many social cleavages and inequalities. It exposed the real cost of these cleavages and inequalities, both economically and socially. Equally important, it exposed weak links in the systems that sustain our work and resilience. We are grateful that we were able to respond to the needs of the moment and continued operations throughout the pandemic:

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FINANCIAL REPORT

Section

5 83%

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One other lesson this pandemic taught many is that capacity matters when building organizational resilience. From financial resources to digital transformation to network expansion, the whole is larger than the sum of the parts. Our organization’s structure and organizational framework enabled us to respond to those emergent needs more effectively than most organizations in the sector. We effectively leveraged our resources to either expand or build those key capacity areas to enable growth and program delivery to address unmet needs.

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BUILDING BY

I N V ESTI N G

The summary financial information

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted all aspects of our lives from how we worship to how to work and across all ages and segments of the community.

It imposed strict limits on how we interact and connect. We have been improvising new ways to interact with friends, and deliver services. These changes had direct impacts on revenue and huge implications on expenditures and how to manage financial resources during uncertain times.

According to a new report by Imagine Canada, Sector Monitor Report, which was commissioned to take the pulse of how organizations and leaders were faring during the pandemic and involved the input from 1000 organizations, the revenues are down for over half of charities (55%) and the average revenue decline for these charities at least -43%.

Three quarters of charities have seen donations drop and half have seen declines in earned income.

The only major area where revenues are on the rise is government funding, with two fifths of organizations reporting increases, largely driven by Federal and Provincial support programs.

presented here is derived from our audited financial statement for the fiscal year Jan.1, 2020 – Dec. 31.

2020, which was audited by Deloitte LLP. The financial statement was prepared in accordance with the Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations. This is a consolidated statement based on all the accounts and not reflective of any particular project. The Association has received a fully acceptable audit opinion on its financial statements consistent with that of a non-profit charitable organization.

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By the grace of Allah (swt), MAC navigated this unsettling time with prudence and focus.

The investment and planning to build diverse and balanced revenue streams paid off. Built our financial sustainability around the four pillars of financial sustainability: Strategic and financial planning, Income diversification, Sound administration and finance, and income generation By the grace of Allah (swt), for the fiscal year of 2020, our financial balance sheet remains strong.

While earned income remained at reasonable levels as many of the operations were sustained, the revenue from donations did drop by 26% ($7,774,807) compared to pre-pandemic levels ($10,478,094 in 2019). For an organization like MAC, this level of reduction was expected to be high because the large bulk of the donation revenue comes from after-Jumma (Friday congregational prayer) donations and fundraising events. With the centers locked down, all fundraising activities shifted online.

Investments in digital and marketing capacity enabled our fundraising shift and were key to the success of this transition. Even though the overall revenue from programs was increased by 15%, in part due to the government covid-19 support programs, some programs hit hard by the pandemic such as the the childcare and part-time schools. Another stream of revenue that was impacted by the pandemic was income-generating sources (e.g. leases).

It was reduced by 11%. The revenue from the government grants compensated for the reduction in other revenue sources.

On the Expenditures, the grand total of the expenditures was reduced by 15%. The management and administration recorded an increase to 7% (6% in 2019) and Fundraising costs increased to 6% (5% in 2019). The program spending was down by 18% due to reduction of in-person programs.

Major revenue sources and expenses highlighted on the following tables.

are

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FINANCIAL REPORT 66

Muslim Association of Canada

TOTAL ASSETS VS. TOTAL LIABILITIES 2016 – 2020 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000

20,000 0

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Assets

68,262

72,259

77,354

85,378

86,848

Liabilities

23,707

23,129

23,962

22,569

20,986

TOTAL GROWTH IN DONATION REVENUE 2016 – 2020 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000

2,000 0

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

11,237

10,111

9,943

10,478

7,775

Donation Revenue

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Decline in Donation Revenue

REVENUE

2020

2019

(000)

(000)

Donations

$7,775

$10,478

Donations

$7,775

$10,478

$24, 329

$21,197

$1, 318

$1,527

$33,422

$33,202

Programs Revenue Other Income

DONATIONS

OTHER INCOME

4% 23% REVENUE

73% PROGRAM REVENUE

EXPENSES

2020

2019

(000)

(000)

Management & Admin.

$ 2,169

$ 1,789

Fundraising Costs

$ 1,814

$ 1,597

$25,832

$ 28,169

$29,815

$31,555

Programs & Services

MANAGEMENT & ADMIN

7%

FUNDRAISING COSTS

6%

EXPENSES

87% PROGRAMS & SERVICES

ASSETS

2020

2019

LIABILITIES

2020

2019

Current Assets

$9,933

$7,832

Current Liabilities

$6,570

$6,415

Capital Assets

$75,639

$74,906

Long Term Liabilities

$20,986

$22,569

Other

$1,276

$1,275

Other

$983

$1,035

$86,848

$84,013

$28,539

$30,019

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THE WHOLE IS LARGER THAN

THE SUM OF THE PARTS One other lesson this pandemic taught many is that capacity matters when building organizational resilience. From financial resources to digital transformation to network expansion, the whole is larger than the sum of the parts. Our organization’s structure and organizational framework, by the Mercy of Allah(swt), enabled us to respond to those emergent needs more effectively than most organizations in the sector. We effectively leveraged our resources to either expand or build those key capacity areas to enable growth and program delivery:

1. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY: Overall, The organization mobilized human resources to: ensure delivery of educational programs by moving in the distance-learning mode and centers remained open while following the guidelines, and all Ramadan programming was immediately transferred to online platforms. We engaged our donors and supporters as well as our partners in the sector.

venues and tools becoming not available, MAC pivoted to digital fundraising tools. By expanding our online fundraising capacity through upgrades to digital payment options and the donor interfacing experience.

Expanding reach through digital marketing and social media platforms. But, by the generosity of Allah(swt), we still managed to collect $7.7 million. Although there is a drop in donations by 26% compared to pre-pandemic levels, we were encouraged by the continuous support of our donors. We acquired 10% more new donors and increased our retention rate by another 10%. Because of the diversification of our revenue sources, we have a balanced revenue stream which enabled us

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3. PROGRAM DELIVERY CAPACITY: MAC quickly pivoted to build new capacities for program delivery such as: deploying digital solutions to enable virtual programs delivery. Notable examples are: full-time schools, educational programs, and Ramadan programs. All our operations immediately transitioned into remote working models and our staff were enabled to work from home within days of the lockdown.

All Ramadan Programs went virtual. Created a national pre-iftar program, featuring, speakers, community leaders, politicians, youth programming, and Quran recitation.

The French version of this program included interactive sessions and competition which drew considerable viewership.

2. CAPACITY TO ADDRESS FINANCIAL STRESS: With traditional fundraising

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to successfully operate during this pandemic with minimum disruptions to services. We were able to manage the fiscal deficit in the donation collection through applying for the government subsidies programs: Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and to a lesser extent the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA).

Delivering a unique national Virtual Eid Program that featured several unique elements and a special message from the Prime Minister to MAC.

4. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CAPACITY: Covid-19 imposed an immense strain on the capacity to manage programs. By the grace of Allah(swt), our organization was well equipped with the capacity to develop and deploy new policies to manage lock-down, opening and operating under various provincial directives.

Online and social guidelines were developed and implemented on short notice. In regards to

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COVID in particular an organization wide COVID response strategy and procedures for each institutional channel was developed along with a COVID inspection protocol.

5. CAPACITY TO BUILD VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES: This past year, virtual programming became the norm. Virtual communities were everywhere from local masjids to neighbors and family members establishing their virtual space to connect and share their stories. The year of the pandemic also gave birth to the virtual programing in MAC established few key programs: • MAC E-Learning (elearning.macnet.ca): MAC launched the eLearning platform offering over 20 original online courses in different subjects.

• MAC Virtual Eid: The first coast to coast virtual Eid celebration in the country during COVID. A full day mega live production was provided for the community.

• Daily pre-iftar Ramadan program and weekly MAC Live Webinars.

• MAC ConnectHub : A digital resources hub.

• MAC Scholars Summit

7. CAPACITY TO BUILD NETWORKS: Covid-19 brought many opportunities to expand our networks and build new connections. By the Grace of Allah(swt), MAC was recognized as a credible and influential voice within the Muslim community and in the sector.

8. CAPACITY TO EXPAND OUR REACH: From publishing opinions to participating in important discussion tables, to engaging and inviting new partners, Alhamdulillah, MAC expanded its reach considerably over the past year. Our voice in 2020 was propagated through many media platforms.

9. CAPACITY TO AMPLIFY THE SECTOR VOICE: MAC was part of the core organizations that started the engagement with government and political leaders of all parties. We reached out to sector leaders and participated in engagement with the government to include the sector in any support programs for the business sector.

Following this, MAC worked with sector leaders to found the Recovery Collective table.

This is a roundtable of sector leaders with the mandate to influence policy during the recovery and rebuild phases of the pandemic.

6. CAPACITY TO PIVOT TO MEET NEW NEEDS: Responding to the emerging needs of the community during this pandemic, we engaged key stakeholders to reduce the impact of Covid-19. We delivered two new programs that were focused on: reducing the impact of food insecurity, and helping to address the shortages in blood supply.

Expanding the Concept of Eid: With mobility restrictions imposed across all the provinces, in-person Eid celebrations were not an option.

An ambitious coast-to-coast virtual Eid was planned as part of the Ramadan Program.

This elaborate program was 10 hours long and involved 100 volunteers.

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S T E P P I N G U P TO T H E P L AT E THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO SUPPORT THIS WORK:

GIVING NOW CASH GIFTS:

GIFTS OF STOCKS AND SECURITIES: A gift of publicly traded securities is both simple and tax-effective. You

• Your gift –by

receive a greater tax benefit through a gift of securities than you would

• cheque,

if you sold the securities and donated the cash proceeds to charity. Gifts

• credit card,

eligible for this preferred tax treatment can include any of the following

• direct deposit, or

securities: prescribed bonds, units of mutual funds, and shares, warrants,

• establishing a monthly pledge

bills and futures that are listed on the stock exchanges prescribed by CRA Click button or type in URL below

DONATE HERE HTTPS://WWW.MACNET.CA/DONATE/ You will receive a donation receipt for the full value of your gift.

GIVING LATER Interested in leaving your mark in the sand of time for your

THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY TO LEAVE A LEGACY ™ • Prepare a will

community?

• Leave a gift in your will for MAC that makes a difference in your life We invite you to shape the

• Leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your assets to MAC

future of MAC. Anyone can

• Consider using assets for your legacy gift

leave a positive legacy for others to build upon. Here are

• Name MAC as a beneficiary of your RRSP, RRIF or pension plan

some ideas to help you do just

• Remember loved ones with memorial gifts

that:

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(10:61) (O Prophet!) Whatever you may be engaged in, whether you recite any portion of the Qur’an, or whatever else all of you are doing, We are witnesses to whatever you may be occupied with. Not even an atom’s weight escapes your Lord on the earth or in the heaven, nor is there anything smaller or bigger than that, except that it is on record in a Clear Book.

— (TAFHEEM-UL-QURAN - ABUL ALA MAUDUDI)

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WE ENVISION MAC TO BE AN ORGANIZATION THAT REFLECTS THE CONSCIENCE OF OUR COMMUNITY, PLAYING A VITAL ROLE IN ITS DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCY.”

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