The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California (Shura Council) has been working on many important initiatives, one of which addresses how organizations can be more self-sufficient through endowments. A little over two years ago, Shura Council pursued the idea of buying a building. Our plan was a bit unique and creative. Rather than raise all of the funds ourselves in advance, which would take a longer period of time, we invited organizations and local community members to invest in the building and receive a portion of the profits in the form of rental revenue. Alhamdulillah, we have been able to give our investors an annual return of 6% on their investment which we pay to them monthly.
The cost of the property that Shura Council purchased was 3 Million Dollars. Shura Council’s office occupies a small portion of the building, and remainder is available to various tenants, enabling the building itself generates to funds through rental revenue. Our goal is for Shura to buy back more shares of the building from investors, and once we repay them and acquire their stake in the rental revenue, Shura Council’s monthly organizational costs will be covered by these funds rather than appeals for donations.