Dilnaz Waraich

President, WF Fund | NCFP Fellow (2023–2024)

As a formally trained educator, her moral code and drive to affect change breathe life into her philanthropic, community organizing, and interfaith engagements. Dilnaz is an influencer and holds multiple board appointed and committee positions through the Chicagoland area with WBEZ Chicago Public Media, Northwestern University School of Education, Interfaith Youth Core, Chicago Theological Seminary, Catholic Theological Union, and Muslim Community Center.

Dilnaz has dedicated her family’s philanthropic efforts in engaging with diverse stakeholders, furthering pluralism and helping build bridges. Dilnaz holds a Master in Literacy degree from Northwestern University, and an MS and a BS from Loyola University. She is currently working on a Master in Spiritual Leadership.

Dilnaz was an NCFP Fellow from 2023–2024. Learn more about her project here.

Contributions

Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

Amplifying Muslim American Generosity Through Storytelling

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Tamela Spicer, Dilnaz Waraich

This article was originally published by Inside Philanthropy on January 16, 2025 and is re-posted here with permission.  Through her NCFP fellowship Dilnaz Waraich sought to explore Muslim American giving through storytelling. In the process of developing an exhibit—Inspired Generosity— to showcase those stories, Dilnaz and the WF Fund engaged a wide range of people. Here, Dilnaz and Tamela Spicer… Read More

Cultural and Faith-Based Funding Approaches in Family Philanthropy

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Vivian Long, Laura Herrick, Dilnaz Waraich

This session will explore the dynamic ways in which cultural and faith-based values can shape and inform the mission and impact of your family’s philanthropic endeavors. Faith has been imbedded in US philanthropy from its earliest days and many donors continue to lean on those values when driving change. Some donors openly talk about the link between their faith and… Read More
Voices from the Field

Kitchen Table Philanthropy: How My Immigrant Journey Informs My Philanthropy

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Dilnaz Waraich

My family, like many others is an immigrant family and we are celebrating 50 years since we immigrated to the United States. In my case, my sister and I came with “Mommy” and “Daddy” from Hyderabad, India. And recently, I’ve had time to reflect on my five-decade immigration and assimilation journey and how that journey impacts my family’s philanthropy. Throughout… Read More
Voices from the Field

Kitchen Table Philanthropy in the Time of Ramadan

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Dilnaz Waraich

This April, Muslims around the world are observing the holiday of Ramadan—a month-long period of fasting from dawn to sundown, and of thinking of others, and of giving back. Philanthropy is deeply rooted in the Muslim faith, as well as my own. When I was a child, the month before Ramadan, my immigrant parents would sit at the kitchen table… Read More

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