Khaki Foundation

The Khaki Foundation is a tightly held, family-led private foundation based in Kirkland, Washington, founded in 2004 by Mohamed Jawad Khaki (President/Treasurer) and his wife Kanize Fatima Khaki (VP/Secretary), with five additional family members serving as uncompensated directors. Despite its IRS classification under Arts & Culture (NTEE A12), the foundation's entire documented giving portfolio is concentrated in Islamic community infrastructure, education for underserved populations, humanitarian relief, and support for orphans, widows, and refugees — primarily within Shia Muslim communities globally. Grant seekers should not be misled by the NTEE category: arts and cultural programming plays no visible role in the foundation's 41 documented grants spanning more than two decades.

The foundation operates with an explicit philosophy of 'catalytic support' — targeted early-stage or expansion funding to organizations that can later be sustained by larger funders or community resources. The website is an archival record, not a grant portal, and explicitly states no unsolicited proposals are accepted, no donations are sought, and no programs are operated directly through the site. The DB indicates 'preselected only' status, confirming this is an invitation-only funder.

All funding decisions are made by the Khaki family board. The foundation favors locally rooted organizations with demonstrated operational capacity, particularly those serving geographically specific underserved communities within the Shia Muslim philanthropic ecosystem. The emphasis is on discretion, continuity, and long-term relationship over visibility or publicity.

Organizations with the strongest alignment will: serve orphans, deaf students, refugees, widows, or disaster victims; operate in WA, TX, CA, the UK, Pakistan, Tanzania, or other regions with significant Shia Muslim communities; hold an existing relationship with the Khaki family or their established grantees; and seek program-specific or capital funding rather than general operating support.

The typical relationship is multi-grant. The Ithna-Asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest has received $1.41M across at least three grant cycles; Family Educational Services Foundation has received $328K across three cycles; Pratham USA has received $370K across five cycles. First grants appear to be modest relationship-builders; sustained performance unlocks larger and recurring commitments. For most grant seekers, the most realistic path into this foundation is through warm introductions from existing grantees — not a formal application process.

The Khaki Foundation's annual giving has grown steadily over 12 years: from $393K (2011) to $702K (2019) to $1.07M (2023), a 173% increase since 2011. Total assets have grown in parallel, from $5.4M (2011) to $16.3M (2023) to $21.0M (FY2024) and an estimated $25.4M as of mid-2026. The primary funding engine is the investment endowment: net investment income was $2.12M in FY2023, $1.41M in FY2022, $1.50M in FY2021, and $705K in FY2019, underscoring a financially conservative endowment-driven model where annual giving represents roughly 40-60% of investment income.

Grant-level data from the DB shows 41 total grants to 15 distinct recipient relationships, totaling $4,005,017 — an average of $97,683 per relationship and 2.7 grants per relationship. The foundation's own 'typical grant size' data shows: median $50,756, average $58,342, range $9,523 to $100,000 for discrete annual grants. Single-year grants in 2024 confirm this range, with the $528,064 IMAN Center renovation grant representing a notable outlier.

Thematically, community infrastructure commands the largest individual grants and longest multi-year commitments: the Ithna-Asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest alone has received $1.41M cumulatively and $528K in 2024 alone. Education — particularly for deaf students in Pakistan (Family Educational Services Foundation: $328K), poverty alleviation (Pratham USA: $370K), and orphan sponsorships (Nyota Foundation, Wipahs, Development and Relief Foundation) — is the broadest portfolio area by grantee count. Humanitarian relief grants (Pakistan flood relief $200K, COVID-19 relief $170K, Gaza emergency) are reactive and situational.

Geographically, US grants concentrate in WA (5 relationships), TX (5), and CA (4). International focus is heaviest in Pakistan (multiple recipients) and Tanzania (Nyota Foundation), with the UK (Birmingham Shia communities, Al-Mahdi Institute) and Gaza representing additional recent priorities. Grants to Inside Philanthropy-documented countries include Tanzania, Afghanistan, UK, Ghana, India, Pakistan, and Iraq.

The Khaki Foundation is grouped with peers under NTEE A12 (Arts & Culture — Fund Raising) based on asset size (~$25M), but its actual giving is wholly distinct from this peer set. The comparison below illustrates that divergence:

The IRS NTEE classification as Arts & Culture reflects an administrative determination and does not reflect the foundation's operational reality. None of the Khaki Foundation's 41 documented grants fund arts or cultural programming; the foundation's entire giving history is in Islamic community development, humanitarian assistance, and education. Grant seekers searching arts funding directories will find this foundation misclassified. The foundation's true philanthropic peer set — Muslim community foundations, international development funders active in South Asia and East Africa, and Shia Islamic philanthropic networks — does not overlap with the NTEE Arts peer group. Organizations seeking arts funding should not target Khaki; organizations serving Muslim communities or global humanitarian needs should not assume disqualification due to the arts classification.

In 2024, the Khaki Foundation made at least seven documented grants spanning four countries. The anchor commitment was $528,064 to the Ithna-Asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest (Kirkland, WA) for the IMAN Center's multi-purpose activity hall and underground parking — continuing a multi-year capital campaign that first appeared in the grant record years earlier and is still active in 2025. Family Educational Services Foundation (Karachi/New York) received $148,789 for its Digital Learning Program for deaf students in Pakistan. Justice for All (Chicago, IL) received $100,000 for Muslim minority human rights research — the foundation's first documented advocacy grant.

In 2024, the foundation also funded Lady Fatemah Charitable Trust's emergency Gaza response (medical supplies), Al-Mahdi Institute's Birmingham professorship in Islamic Ethics, Iqra Fund's Baltistan leadership development, and Nyota Foundation's Tanzania orphan education program.

In 2025, five of these relationships continued: IMAN Center renovation (Kirkland), Family Educational Services Foundation digital learning, Iqra Fund Baltistan, Nyota Foundation Tanzania, and a new grant to the Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri Muslim Community of Birmingham for facility expansion.

Financially, total assets rose from $16.3M (FY2023) to $21.0M (FY2024), driven by $3.9M in net asset gains. No leadership changes have been announced; the seven-member Khaki family board remains unchanged from prior years. The foundation's website was updated through the 2025 project cycle as of June 2026.

The Khaki Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. Its website functions as an archival record — not a grant portal — and explicitly states that no donations are sought and no programs are operated directly through the site. The DB record confirms 'preselected only' status. Grant seekers should understand that the path to this funder runs entirely through relationships, not application cycles.

For organizations that may eventually enter the foundation's orbit, the following guidance reflects how Khaki has historically built its grantee relationships:

Enter through the Shia Muslim philanthropic network. The foundation's most-funded organizations are anchored in the KSIMC (Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Community) ecosystem and related Shia Muslim community organizations. The Ithna-Asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest (Kirkland, WA), Al-Kawthar Foundation, and Birmingham-area Shia communities are the most connected nodes. If your organization serves this community or has programming that intersects with it, cultivate relationships at the community level before seeking philanthropic support.

Use the foundation's own language. The foundation values work that is 'locally rooted,' respects 'the agency of those served,' and favors 'continuity over visibility' and 'discretion and restraint.' If ever invited to submit materials, frame your grant request around enabling early-stage progress or conditions for self-sufficiency — not long-term dependence on Khaki funding.

Request program-specific support, not general operations. Every documented grant corresponds to a named project: the IMAN Center renovation, the Digital Learning Program for deaf students, Baltistan village assessments, Gaza medical supply distribution. Vague capacity-building or general operating requests are not consistent with the foundation's documented patterns.

Demonstrate geographic and demographic alignment. US priorities: Washington, Texas, California. International priorities: Pakistan (especially Karachi and Baltistan), Tanzania, UK (Birmingham), and active humanitarian crisis zones. Organizations working outside these areas face a significant alignment gap.

Do not initiate cold outreach. The foundation's phone (425-442-6662) is on file, but speculative contact from unknown organizations will not open doors. The foundation does not publish RFPs, operate an open grant cycle, or maintain active social media for grant-seeking purposes. Build the relationship through community channels first.