Annual Report - Interfaith Youth Core

Building the Movement
Interfaith Youth Core 2007 Annual Report
Introduction
Changing the Conversation
Dear friends,
The Message P. 6
Conversation Partners
Media
Diversity is a fact in our world, but diversity will not produce stronger
communities without leaders who are committed to building mutually
beneficial relationships. People neither respect nor hate others on instinct—
they must be taught. How is it possible, then, that in the midst of images of
young people blowing each other up in the name of religion, 40 young
people participated in a transformative international exchange between
Chicago and Amman, Jordan, cementing their dedication to promoting
peace and forging unlikely friendships?
P. 7
P. 10
Inspiring Action
Days of Interfaith Youth Service
P. 12
Outreach Education and Training
P. 15
Inspired to Serve
P. 17
Pluralism doesn’t just happen. How is it possible, then, that within a culture
of deep suspicion of religion in the public sphere, 200 educational,
religious, and civic communities have worked with IFYC to empower local
young people to build partnerships through collaborative cooperation in
their own communities?
These achievements are possible because there is an interfaith youth
movement taking hold across the globe. Interfaith Youth Core is at the
forefront of the thousands of young people, educational institutions,
religious and civic organizations, think tanks, foundations, and government
agencies that are taking action to make religious pluralism a priority.
Nurturing Leadership
P. 21 InterAction Youth Exchange
P. 23 Internships
P. 24 Investing in the Future
Supporting Partners
P. 26
Foundation and Corporate Support
P. 27
Supporting Organizations and Individuals
P. 28
IFYC Staff and Board of Directors
P. 29
Statement of Activities
To build pluralism takes time, training, and vision. IFYC has been busy this
year, training young leaders, consulting with policy makers, and telling the
story of religious pluralism in the public sphere. I am glad that you have
chosen to be a part of building the interfaith youth movement with us.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Eboo Patel
Executive Director
2
3
Introduction
4
Introduction
Our Mission is to build a global
movement
of
interfaith
youth
cooperation by generating mass
public
support
for
interfaith
IFYC teaches emerging leaders on college
campuses, in religious groups, and civic
organizations the skills necessary to build
interfaith communities. IFYC writes papers for
influential journals and consults with thought
leaders in government, think tanks, and
foundations, focusing on the critical need for
young people to build religious pluralism both
domestically and internationally. In addition,
IFYC promotes public awareness of the need
for religious pluralism and the role that young
people can play in building it. IFYC is redrawing
the blueprint for the interfaith youth movement.
Just look and you’ll see it — the movement is
here.
youth work and equipping youth-
focused institutions to positively
engage their religious diversity
and nurture the emerging leaders
of this movement.
O
ur hands are calloused, our clothes are spattered, and
we could not be more excited. For Interfaith Youth Core
(IFYC), 2007 was all about building the interfaith youth
movement. Surely you have seen the old blueprints. Four
young extremists blow up a London subway. This was the public’s
image of being young and religious. Businesses, think tanks, and
policy makers stay away from religion because it is just too risky.
This used to be how religion was dealt with in the public sphere.
At IFYC, we have a new blueprint. We are building on the
legacy of prior generations with a new method that engages
the public. Instead of approaching dialogue from political or
theological differences, IFYC aims to introduce “a different kind
of conversation about religion,” one that is based on the values
we share across religious and moral traditions. IFYC’s three-part
methodology of storytelling, shared values, and service-learning
provides a unique opportunity for young people to strengthen
their own identities while also building respect and understanding
for other religious and moral traditions.
Our Vision — Interfaith Youth Core
envisions a
world in which young people from diverse religious
and
moral
perspectives
interact
peacefully
to
create understanding and collaboration, thereby
strengthening civil society and stabilizing global
politics.
Changing the Conversation
P. 6 The Message
P. 7 Conversation Partners
P. 10 Media
Changing
the
Conversation
“I had several reservations
about taking a trip to Jordan,
a country I associated with
a deep personal pain and
some fear.
The program
allowed me to meet and
befriend Jordanians and
renegotiate my opinions. It
enabled me to represent
myself, my personal history,
and my family to others who
may have never met a Jew.
Together we were able to
put aside stereotypes and
formulate our own opinions.
Moreover, I was able to
come home and share
my
new
understanding
with my family, friends and
community.”
— Adva Salinger, 22
The Message
Until now, many of the loudest
voices have shouted that the
only potential for peace is
through religious conversion, total
privatization of faith, or absolute
annihilation of whole groups of
people and belief systems. But a
new voice has emerged. There
is a clear message motivating
students on college and university
campuses,
impacting
policy
makers, and building communities.
IFYC is changing the conversation
and sending the message that unity
can be strengthened by diversity
when each of us is committed to
service for the common good.
6
7
8
Changing the Conversation
“Mr. President,
my commitment is to help my
generation gain the knowledge that is only
possible through the exchange of words, the
sharing of a meal, and the joy of helping
others together.”— Adva Salinger, 22, to former President Clinton.
Conversation Partners
Who would have dreamed when IFYC founded the Chicago Youth
Council (CYC) in 2002, that five years later a member would have a
conversation with a former U.S. President? Adva joined her Jordanian
friend, Nabeel Ali, and Eboo Patel at the Clinton Global Initiative mid-year
meeting on April 19, 2007. Adva met Nabeel during IFYC’s InterAction
Youth Exchange between Chicago and Amman, Jordan.
IFYC is also changing the conversation reader by reader. Tens of
thousands of readers frequent Eboo Patel’s Washington Post On Faith
blog, “The Faith Divide,” which generates daily responses to his examples
of and threats to religious pluralism. In June, 2007 Eboo’s memoir, Acts
of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of
a Generation, was published by Beacon Press with accolades from
President Bill Clinton, Reza Aslan, Jim Wallis, and Diana Eck. Acts of
Faith is a call to build religious pluralism and also traces the growth and
development of Interfaith Youth Core.
Participating in the Conversation
Aspen Institute
Brookings Institute
Center for American Progress
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Clinton Global Initiative
Council on Foreign Relations
Duke University Islamic Studies Center
EastWest Institute
Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
International Interfaith Centre
New America Foundation
United States Institute for Peace
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
9
Changing the Conversation
Changing the
Conversation at Home
Chicago, IL
Changing the Conversation
Around the World
Great Lakes Association of Independent
Schools Conference
London, UK
Creating Common Platforms Between
Muslim and Western Societies to Tackle
Extremist Discourse
University of Chicago Graduate School
of Business Entrepreneurship Conference
Canberra, Australia
Australia Deliberates Muslims and NonMuslims in Australia Conference
Auckland, New Zealand
High Level Symposium on the United
Nations Alliance of Civilizations Report
Kyoto, Japan
World Conference of Religions for
Peace
Chicago Thought Leaders Forum
Peacemaking in the Age of Terror
Conference
Idealist.org Conference
10
Media
IFYC is changing the conversation
person by person. Forty-six million
people heard IFYC’s message
in 2007 through media outlets
including NPR’s Diane Rehm Show
and Talk of the Nation, the Tavis
Smiley Show, PBS’s Religion and
Ethics Newsweekly, and CNN
Presents with Christiane Amanpour.
IFYC entered households across
the U.S., placing interfaith youth
work in the public consciousness.
IFYC’s work has also been featured
internationally in print, on television
and on radio from Europe to Jordan
to Australia.
International Youth Volunteerism Summit
Tallahassee, FL
Institute on College Student Values
Annual Conference
When IFYC
Albuquerque, NM
kind of conversation about
National Service Learning
Conference
starts a different
religion, that conversation
translates into action.
Inspiring Action
P. 12
Days of Interfaith Youth Service
Interfaith Youth Core
P. 15
Outreach Education & Training
by empowering others to organize and run
P. 17
Inspired to Serve
Inspiring
Action
is
inspiring
action
service projects, training leaders in dialogue
facilitation, and connecting organizations
to
collaborate
communities.
and
build
strong,
Days of Interfaith Youth Service (DIYS)
DIYS is a global initiative that pairs community
service and interfaith dialogue. Events are
planned and run by local student leaders,
college & university chaplains, congregational
youth leaders, and interfaith organizers who are
united in a vision of social change. Instead of
brick by brick, IFYC is building the interfaith youth
movement person by person, community by
community, project by project, uniting people
of diverse faith traditions through community
service to achieve common goals like ending
hunger, increasing literacy, and providing
housing for those in need.
active
12
13
Inspiring Action
In New Orleans, 750 volunteers from six faith
traditions completed 15 service projects in
New Orleans in April 2007 as part of the Days
of Interfaith Youth Service (DIYS). “We cleaned
streets littered with debris, planted ‘edible
gardens,’ cleaned parks, and cleared areas
for children to play,” remembers volunteer Eric
Schwarz. “I joined with volunteers I had never
met before to share an interfaith Shabbat
dinner on Friday evening hosted by New
Orleans’ oldest synagogue and catered by the
local Hindu temple. When our work was done,
our community’s Muslim leaders led a dialogue
on the shared value of service across differing
religious traditions.”
14
15
16
Inspiring Action
15,000
IFYC’s
trainings,
people were introduced to
methodology through
workshops, and presentations
800
Outreach Education and Training (OET)
The Outreach Education and
Training program recruits and
nurtures partnerships with youthfocused institutions to run effective
interfaith youth work. This includes
major
talks
and
speeches,
workshops, trainings, and curricula
development. When trained in
IFYC’s methodology, young people
have the power to transform their
communities.
Jessica Kent, a student at Brandeis
University, became part of IFYC’s
inaugural Fellows Alliance. She and
several Brandeis students were active
participants and presenters at IFYC’s
5th International Interfaith Youth Work
Conference. On a campus that has
recently become more religiously
diverse, the personal and institutional
relationships IFYC has helped facilitate
are more important than ever before.
leaders developed their skills
in building religious pluralism
IFYC has led the effort to build partnerships
between campuses, and civic and religious
organizations in Boston. Jessica’s story is just
one example of how partnerships like these
can help turn a place like Boston into a
model interfaith youth city.
34
colleges
and
partnered with
universities
IFYC
to build
religious pluralism on campus
17
Inspiring Action
Inspired to Serve (I2S)
In collaboration with the Search Institute, IFYC’s Inspired to Serve initiative
has sparked sustainable partnerships that are building city-wide interfaith
youth movements. In Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia and St. Paul,
visionary teams of diverse religious groups have built relationships and
organized interfaith service work to develop young people’s assets and
address community’s needs.
The St. Paul program drew young people
from eight different faith traditions to work
together in service. Youth from multiple
traditions spoke to their peers about what
their faith had to say about compassion
and seeking justice. Students served at
six sites, sorting clothes, packing boxes of
books, packaging meals, caring for young
children, and visiting with the elderly.
The Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia held a 13-session, year-long
program called Walking the Walk. During retreat-style sessions, up to 18
young people and an adult group leader from different faith traditions
learned about the values of hospitality, caring, and the dignity of others by
looking at sacred texts from faith traditions to explore both commonalities
and distinctiveness.
18
20
Nurturing
Leadership
P. 21
InterAction Youth Exchange
P. 23
Internships
P. 24
Investing in the Future
What if 40 emerging leaders from
Chicago, USA and Amman, Jordan
took a risk and built relationships
across thousands of miles?
What
if these emerging leaders were
inspired to open their cities, cultures,
and homes to one another?
What if, because of their
experiences, those 40
young leaders committed
the rest of their lives
to promoting religious
pluralism around the
world?
21
22
Nurturing Leadership
InterAction Youth Exchange
Chicago Youth Council
During the InterAction Youth Exchange,
young people from Chicago, USA and
Amman, Jordan participated in a yearlong interfaith youth council, performed
community service projects, and dialogued
with one another about their faith inspiration
to serve those in need. These Chicago
Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim
youth were welcomed into the homes of
their Jordanian hosts in December 2006 and
served as hosts to their Jordanian friends in
June 2007. Participants also shared ideas
and built relationships with their Jordanian
peers through mini-videos, blogs, and photos
through the use of an interactive website.
“The past week in Jordan has been one of the most
eye-opening experiences of my life. I never thought
a ten-day period could create such a close group
of friends, especially across nationalities, religions,
and ethnicities.” ­— M Y
,C
Y
C
M
att
alowitz
hicago
outh
ouncil
ember
The youth partnered with Chicago’s
Interfaith Refugee and Immigration
Ministries (IRIM), a local organization
that provides direct services to refugees
and immigrants. CYC members created
a holistic tutoring curriculum and
provided literacy training to 15 children
from Ghana, Iraq, Liberia, Russia,
Somalia, and Turkey. These gatherings
culminated in a live performance titled,
“Coming To….”, which was performed
in front of a full house at the Chicago
Cultural Center in the spring of 2007.
The 2007 CYC brought
together 14 high school
and
university
students
to engage in a weekly
dialogue about the shared
values in their faith traditions
and to organize community
service projects that applied
those shared values.
23
Nurturing Leadership
In 2007, IFYC launched an
intensive intern orientation
and mentoring program
for eight graduate and
undergraduate
students
from colleges and universities
around
the
country.
Interns were immersed in
an interfaith environment,
participated in leadership
training with IFYC staff, and
provided valuable feedback
on curricula development
and training methods.
Whittney Barth is one of the
exceptional students who
participated in this internship
program. As an IFYC intern,
Whittney created a dialogue
guide
and
conducted
independent
research
analyzing the concepts of
the environment and care
for creation in different
religious traditions.
Nurturing Leadership
Investing in the Future
In 2007, IFYC selected its first class of Fellows. The Fellows Alliance is an
intensive leadership development program that identifies, trains, and
mentors the emerging leaders of the interfaith youth movement. This
inaugural class of 17 college students from around the country is working
with IFYC to assess their communities’ needs and assets and develop
interfaith initiatives on their campuses.
Internships
After her summer internship, Whittney
recruited students for IFYC’s 2007 National
Conference on Interfaith Youth Work and
led a successful workshop with her fellow
interns entitled, “Student to Student:
Brainstorming Projects that Work.” At
the conference, she met students from
Harvard University and Xavier University
and they subsequently developed an
open online forum devoted to supporting
interfaith youth organizers around the
world. Whittney and her colleagues are
working on plans for a National Interfaith
Awareness Week that will link college
campuses across the country. Whittney is
also organizing a Day of Interfaith Youth
Service event in April 2008.
Get to know our 17 Fellows by reading their
weekly blog submissions at
http://fellows.wordpress.com/
and . . .
See what our conference was like with
panelists and high profile contributors like Dr.
Martin E. Marty, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and
Sally Quinn. Check out the videos at
http://ifyc.org/events/conference
IFYC hosted its 5th National Conference on Interfaith Youth Work at the
Chicago Cultural Center on October 28-30, 2007. Five hundred people
from five continents and 30 states came together over three days to
participate in 50 skill-building workshops, six plenary sessions, and numerous
meetings where students, faculty, think tank representatives, foundation
officers, young people, media and non-profit leaders exchanged ideas,
celebrated successes, networked and collaborated.
24
Supporting Partners &
Statement of Activities
26
Foundation and Corporate Support
Al-Saud Company
Argosy Foundation
Beatrice Snyder Foundation
Goldberg, Kohn, Bell, Black, Rosenbloom and Moritz Foundation
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Henry Luce Foundation
Hunt Alternative Fund
Jenesis Group
Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation
Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation
Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Fund
Polk Bros. Foundation
Rauner Family Foundation
Rita & Harold Divine Foundation
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Rockefeller Foundation
Seabury Foundation
Shinnyo-En Foundation
Silverton Family Foundation
Woods Fund of Chicago
27 Thank you to all of our generous partners
IFYC gratefully acknowledges The Jenesis
Group for their landmark multi-year
investment of $3.3 million. This investment
has had a transformative impact on the
organization, enabling IFYC to double
in size and dramatically expand our
influence throughout the United States
and internationally. As a result, we have
forged new collaborations and solidified our
place at the forefront of the interfaith youth
movement. The Jensen Family has been
an invaluable partner to IFYC since its first
contribution in 2005.
Supporting
Organizations
Islamic Networks Group
St. Francis De Sales
St. Pauls United Church of Christ
Individuals
Firas Ahmad
Sultan Al Qasimi
Rachel Amdur
Cheryl Anderson
Judith Angel
Jeffrey Apfelberg
Roy Bahat
Michael Baker
Stephen Bell
Jason Bentley
Ed Bloch
Hallie Bourne
Patrice Brodeur
Colman Buchbinder
Susan Buchbinder
Byron Beasley
David Chizewer
Jack Christ
Jeff Clinger
Kayla Cohen
Nancy Simon Cooper
Denise Davis
Linda Dean
Ben DeHayes
Karina DeHayes
T.J. Demas
Emily Denesha
Bill Drayton
Nicole Duclos
Bethany Ehlmann
Ann Feldman
Mark Feldman
Linda Frank
Curt Franzmann
Tom Gagnon
Sunil Garg
Tasneema Ghazi
Peter Gilmour
David Gortner
Heather Gortner
Megan Gregory
Mary Grina
Anne Hallett
Zena Handlon
Sarfaraz Hansraj
Sherilyn Henry
Megan Hughes
Jean Judd
Tazim Kassam
Cheryl Keen
James Keen
John Keller
Judy Keller
Irfan Ahmad Khan
Mohammad Wasiuallah Khan
Ron Kinnamon
Sally Kinnamon
Eva Klein
Gregory Kulis
April Kunze
Janine Lacava
David Lander
Jennifer Larson
Jay Lee
Dafna Lender
Jeff Levy
Franklin Lewis
Andrea London
Richard Loundy
Ernest Mahaffey
Sheila Mahaffey
Joseph McGough
Linda McGough
Jackie McKay
Donald Meyer
Margaret Meyer
Deborah Moore
Robert Corin Morris
Barbara Morrison
John Morrison
Brian Murphy
Patty Connor Murphy
David Neuroth
Deborah Neuroth
Omar Amanat
Elizabeth Oscanyan
Eboo Patel
Eugene Patron
David Peru
Jennifer Peru
Deborah Pratt
Ijaz Qayyum
Rajal Regan
Edith Reichert
Ralph Reichert
Myron Resnick
Lauren Rosenfeld
Jeanne Rowe
John Rowe
Ellen Rudnik
Ken Schept
John Schwartz
Corrine Slaughter
Don Slaughter
Gladys Smith
Kenneth Smith
David Soloff
Emily Soloff
Kelly Sprinkle
Enid Staten
Shane Staten
Masanori Takeuchi
Barbara Taylor
Robert Taylor
Susan Thistlethwaite
Woody Trautman
Laura Summer Truax
Catherine Wallace
Richard Weller
28
IFYC Staff
Executive Office
Eboo Patel, Executive Director
Charles Levesque, Chief Operating Officer
April Kunze, Vice President of Programs
Program Directors
Mariah Neuroth
Program Coordinators
Megan Hughes
Cassie Meyer
Zeenat Rahman
Noah Silverman
Program Associates
Samer Kaukab Ahmad
Sumayya Ahmed
Ean Bernard
Naomi Greenspan
Idris Goodwin
Heather Greenwell
Jenan Mohajir
Lauren Parnell
Erin Williams
Program Assistants
Amber Jean Hacker
Julie Maxwell
Firas Jaser
Administrative Staff
Kara Carrell
Interns
Afroze Ali
Whittney Barth
Usra Ghazi
Karina Harty-Morrison
Laura Hertenstein
Rozina Kanchwa
Samantha Kirby
Nathan Render
Adina Teibloom
Shereen Yousuf
Board of Directors
Chair
Sunil Garg
Exelon Corporation
Treasurer
Tarek Elmasry
McKinsey & Company
Secretary
Reverend Laura Truax
LaSalle Street Church
Past Chair
Anne Hallett
Grow Your Own Illinois
Youth Representative
Usra Ghazi
DePaul University
Stephen Bell
Goldberg, Kohn, Bell, Black, Rosenbloom & Moritz
Kayla Cohen
Kraft Corporation
Dr. Tasneema Ghazi
IQRA Foundation
Reverend James Halstead
DePaul University
Kareem Irfan
Schneider Electric
Ronald Kinnamon
YMCA of the USA (Retired)
Rabbi Andrea London
Beth Emet Synagogue
Eileen Momblanco
Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin and
Tominberg, Ltd.
Harold Richman
Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of
Chicago
Reverend Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite
Chicago Theological Seminary
29
30
Statement of Activities
Year Ended July 31st, 2007
Revenues, Gains and other Support
Temporarily
Restricted
Unrestricted
Grants and Contributions1
Individual
$
3,317,820
Religious/civic/NGO
$
0
$
Total
Expenses
3,317,820
Program Services
Search Institute (Chicago)
Search Institute (National)
4,495
0
4,495
20,195
901,184
10,825
757,000
31,020
1,658,184
NGO contract revenue
14,603
67,427
0
0
14,603
67,427
Program Service fees
68,381
0
68,381
Intrest and Dividends
Donated services and facilities2
91,909
0
91,909
48,250
0
48,250
4,534,264
767,825
5,302,089
38,163
(38,163)
0
4,572,427
729,662
5,302,089
Corporate/business grants
Foundation/trust grants
Board and other contributions
Total Revenues and Gains
Net assets released from restrictions
3
Total Revenues, Gains and Other Support
1. Approximately 66% of the total contribution revenue was contributed by one individual organization during
the year ending July 31st, 2007.
2. The value of contributed services and facilities included in the financial statements as contribution revenue
and allocated among program services, managment and general, and fundrasing expenses for the year
ended July 31st, 2007 is shown in chart A below.
In addition, a significant amount of donated services is contributed to IFYC to support its programs by
participating on the Board of Directors and numerous other committees. The value of these services has not
been included in the financial statments.
3. Net assets were released from donor restrictions during the year ended July 31st, 2007 by incurring expenses
satisfying the purpose specified by donors shown in chart B below.
A
Legal Fees
Consultants
Space rental
Other
Total Contributed
Space and Facilities
$
$
1,000
42,900
3,200
1,150
48,250
B
Public issue and documentary
Search Chicago Programs
Outreach Education and Training
Total Net Assets
Released from Restrictions
$
5,000
5,000
28,163
$
38,163
Temporarily
Restricted
Unrestricted
$
28,745
61,733
$
0
0
Total
$
28,745
61,733
Public Issue and Documentary
Outreach Education and Training
465,352
352,163
0
0
465,352
352,163
Leadership
145,488
0
145,488
1,053,481
0
1,053,481
249,642
79,866
0
0
249,642
79,866
329,508
0
329,508
1,382,989
0
1,382,989
Unrestricted
Temporarily
Restricted
Total Program Services
Supporting Services
Management and General
Fundraising
Total Supporting Services
Total Expenses
Change in Net Assets
Total
3,189,438
729,662
3,919,100
203,092
42,228
245,320
Net Assets
Beginning of Year
End of Year
$
3,392,530
$
771,890
$
4,164,420
www.ifyc.org