Our Team In 2019
This year, we hired five new staff members, growing our team to the biggest it has ever been… 17 staff! This makes CAIR-SFBA one of the top three largest CAIR offices in the country, thanks to Allah’s mercy and your support.
Our Legal Department
In 2019, we continued to address the legal challenges facing the American Muslim community and providing direct services to over 400 Muslims across the Bay Area. Over 300 of those intakes were staffed by our immigration team, counseling individuals on a variety of issues from asylum to naturalization.
We also continued to empower the community through Know Your Rights workshops in masjids and schools. This year we began partnering with local Muslim Student Associations in the Bay Area to provide Know Your Rights workshops to students on college campuses. We also published the 2019 School Bullying Report which provided an analysis and evaluation of the current public school climate for American Muslims in California.
Our Advocacy Department
This year, the advocacy department engaged with government bodies, influenced public policy, and aimed to preserve civil liberties locally and across the nation. Through a year of meetings, action alerts, and advocacy, we celebrated a number of bills from our 2019 Legislative Agenda becoming law.
We worked locally also. In partnership with a number of allies, we introduced and advocated for facial recognition bans in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland. And a record number of Bay Area cities and counties recognized the state designation of August as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month, with a total of 15 proclamations presented.
Our Programs Department
Nearly every week this year, CAIR-SFBA was hosting programs in the community and at our office, aimed at empowering our constituents. A few of these programs included our Bystander Intervention Trainings, which empowered hundreds of attendees with the know-how on safely intervening in case of a hate crime; the Muslim Gamechangers Network, which graduated more than two dozen young leaders with skills in community organizing; and our annual Muslim Day at the Capitol, through which a delegation of nearly 300 community members went to the State Capitol to advocate for legislation to protect all of us.
Thank you for your continued support this year! The need within our community is undeniable. And as the demand continues to grow, so does our need for support from generous donors such as yourself.
With your tax-deductible and zakat-eligible donation of $5,000, $1,000, $500, $250 (for our 25th anniversary!), $100, or any other amount, can you help us reach our goal of raising $50,000 before the year ends?