GROW MCF

MCF’s vision for the future includes a masjid catering to 1000+ community members and an Islamic school for children in grades KG through 12th. A bottom-up analysis was done of what is required to support the MCF community into the next decade and the Real Estate Committee found that at least 60,000 sqft of building space and 5-7 acres of land with ample parking was needed. The potential future site meets these requirements in Folsom.

The present facilities at 381 and 391 S. Lexington Drive have reached their limit on capacity. Due to a lack of space, Masjid events such as Jummah, family nights, and youth activities overflow into the emergency fire lane. The parking lot is woefully inadequate and were it not for the generosity of the community at Lakeside Church, MCF would not have enough parking for Jummah or any other larger events. Additionally, FEA’s space is completely maxed out, and the waiting list of students gets larger every year. Families are being told that the only Islamic school in the area simply does not have space for their child.

Yes. Over the past few years, both MCF and FEA’s administrations have worked diligently to not only efficiently use the available space, but to also explore possible options to maximize our usage of the current site. Due to zoning and parking constraints, we are unable to construct extra floors on top of the current buildings. Some examples of improvements include usage of the fire lane during Jumma and Tarawih prayers, utilizing Lakeside Church parking, and sharing of spaces between MCF and FEA. We split the men’s musallah for all the events; the lack of a big MPR room disrupts the men’s prayer area that serves as a seating area for family nights. Unfortunately, we have outgrown these improvements and a new space is urgently needed.

Unfortunately, it is not only FEA which is running out of space. Both FEA and MCF have reached the limits of possible growth at 381 and 391 S. Lexington Dr. and in order for both organizations to continue to serve the needs of the growing Folsom community, they must expand.

While it may seem that MCF and FEA are two completely independent organizations, the truth is that both rely heavily on the other to maximize the usage of resources, minimize expenses, and most importantly, serve the same community: all of the Muslims families of Folsom. Separating the masjid and the school may seem like a tempting short-term solution, however this would be fraught with its own challenges, and in the long-term create not only a fractured community but also huge financial inefficiencies and a doubled burden on donors.

Currently, MCF and FEA benefit from economies of scale in that they both share indoor facilities such as a kitchen, multi-purpose room, play areas, and more. Additionally, both share the same parking lot.

In the MCF 2.0 outline, the masjid and school would benefit from sharing even more areas such as classrooms, babysitting rooms, a cafeteria, an auditorium, administrative areas, and playgrounds and sports fields. By sharing the same facilities, both organizations would be able to reduce their overhead and be able to provide world-class services to the entire community.