Speaking

What you are actually booking.

Three distinct roles. Organizers usually need one of them badly and the other two not at all.

Asim Khan at a community organization dinner

Lead fundraiser and auctioneer

The part of the evening with a number attached, and the part most programs hand to whoever happens to be holding the microphone.

  • Who the big donors are, and how to call on them well
  • Matching challenges, pledges, and QR giving
  • Crowd work that keeps the room with you
  • Auctioning a few special items when it fits

Emcee and host

Doors to close. Someone has to own the clock, the transitions, and the moment the AV team is not ready.

  • Run of show built or reviewed in advance
  • Speaker introductions and handoffs
  • Program recovery when things slip
  • Tone setting, including humor where it fits

Speaker, panelist, moderator

Sessions built on having done the thing rather than having read about it.

  • Keynote, roughly 30 to 60 minutes
  • Workshop, roughly 60 to 120 minutes
  • Fireside chat or panel moderation
  • Board and leadership retreats

Topics

What I actually know something about.

Asim Khan speaking to a young professionals group Asim Khan speaking at an outdoor program Asim Khan being filmed for an interview Asim Khan at the Miva e-commerce conference

Faith, Finance and Giving

How donor advised funds, appreciated securities, and tax-aware planning turn reactive annual giving into something deliberate. Built for Muslim families and the institutions they support.

Give smarter: an introduction to donor advised funds

What a DAF is, how it works, what it costs, and why donating appreciated stock usually beats selling first and writing a check.

The financial playbook I wish I had at 25

Career risk, retirement accounts, index funds, compounding, and lifestyle inflation. Built for young professionals and student groups.

Twenty-five years an entrepreneur

Building one e-commerce company from a startup to eight figures across multiple eras of the internet, and what the last few years of it actually looked like.

Understanding the modern donor

For nonprofit boards and development staff. How financially sophisticated donors hold and move charitable capital, and why your appeal may be asking for the wrong thing.

What happens after enough

Identity, purpose, and time after an exit. Relevant to founder groups, executives, and anyone approaching a sale.

Sessions on giving, investing, and personal finance are educational and drawn from personal experience. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice, and nothing in them is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Attendees should talk to their own advisors.

On the mic

Tape, not adjectives.

Every emcee describes themselves the same way. Thirty seconds settles it faster than a page of copy.

Auctioneering at a Sabil USA banquet.
Seminar session, community program.
Asim Khan at the lectern at Islamic Center of Santa Ana
Islamic Center of Santa Ana.

Full session on donor advised funds and tax-aware giving.

Booking

Community work and commercial work are booked differently.

Community and nonprofit. Islamic Centers, schools, clinics, relief organizations, and community programs. This is the majority of what I do and the reason the rest exists.

Corporate and conference. Associations, company events, professional groups, and estate planning or financial literacy programming.

Request to Book

What I need from you

And when.

Run of showDraft is fine. I would rather see a messy one early than a clean one the day before.
2 weeks out
The numberYour goal for the evening, last year’s result, and what changed.
2 weeks out
Major giftsWho is in the room, what they have committed, and what they might commit if asked well.
1 week out
Committee callThirty minutes with whoever owns the program.
1 week out
AV contactName and number of the person actually running sound that night.
Day of