Donations to UNRWA USA have spiked since start of war in Gaza

Washington, Jan 31 (AP) Support has surged for the US nonprofit that raises money for UNRWA, the UN agency that serves Palestinian refugees, since the start of the war in Gaza. That is despite the US government cutting off funding for UNRWA and accusations from Israel that it supports Hamas.

Giving to nonprofits is one way Americans have reacted to the war that broke out on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities on the other side of the Gaza border wall, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.

With the recent ceasefire, the work of humanitarian organisations like UNRWA is kicking into high gear. However, a new Israeli law cutting ties with the organisation could greatly hinder its ability to operate in Gaza and the West Bank. It's unclear how it would be replaced if forced to close.

Supporters of Israel have also seen a surge in donations for what they say will be a lengthy rehabilitation and reconstruction process there as well.

Some 139,000 people have given to UNRWA USA since October 2023, said Mara Kronenfeld, its executive director, a huge jump from the 7,000 people it counted among its donor base before the current war. Those donors, and some institutional funders, gave USD 32 million in 2023 and she expects the total raised in 2024 to reach over USD 51 million.

Previously, the nonprofit raised around USD 4 million annually, she said. UNRWA USA is a separate but affiliated nonprofit that supports UNRWA's mission through advocacy and fundraising.

UNRWA has been the main agency providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, though Israel has accused it of employing hundreds of militants and allowing Hamas to operate out of its schools and other facilities. UNRWA denies those accusations. It fired several employees suspected of taking part in the October 7 attack.

It's hard to provide an overall view of US donors' response to the war. Typically, there is a lag of more than a year before researchers can access the grant information that nonprofit organisations report on their tax forms.

Polarised responses to the war among the public likely also deter some donors and organisations from publicising their support. That stands in contrast with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when researchers tracked philanthropic contributions.

Donors to UNRWA USA who spoke with The Associated Press expressed dismay with US policy, which has staunchly backed Israel with both weapons and diplomatic cover. Other donors have poured funds into nonprofits that support organisations in Israel, providing services for displaced people, mental health support and money to rebuild.

The US had been the UNRWA's largest funder, sending USD 422 million in 2023 and USD 343 million in 2022. The funds raised by UNRWA USA certainly do not replace the amount withheld by the US government, Kronenfeld said, but she sees the donations from individuals as evidence that people have not given up hope trying to save lives in Gaza.

“The American people really stepped up. They stepped up to provide essential, lifesaving, critical humanitarian support when our government stepped aside,” Kronenfeld said.

In the initial weeks after the October 7 attack, the Jewish Federations of North America tapped its network with a campaign to raise USD 500 million.

It surpassed that goal, raising USD 862 million by the end of 2024. The federations immediately started moving money to benefit survivors of the Hamas attack and Israelis displaced by the war and have allocated USD 707 million so far to organisations in Israel.

Eric Fingerhut, the CEO and president of the foundations, said his donors have also travelled to Israel to communicate support with their presence and cited an instance when the federation talked with farming communities that were attacked.

They needed millions to replace farming equipment that militants had burned and the federations were able to tell them, “Don't worry about the money, we'll take care of it,” Fingerhut said.

Donors more than doubled the amount they gave to P.E.F Israel Endowment Fund, which facilitates donations to Israeli charities. In the 12 months after the war broke out, the fund gave out USD 330 million, up from the USD 160 million it typically had granted out annually, said Geoffrey Stern, its president.

When asked about the surge in support for UNRWA USA, Stern said, “There is tragedy, there is hurt and pain, there is need on both sides of the conflict.” The vast majority of humanitarian funding comes from governments or multilateral organisations like the United Nations. But Patricia McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy, said the support individual donors give to humanitarian organisations is very important.

“I don't think you would find a humanitarian organisation that didn't wish that they had more flexible funding from private sources,” she said.

Philanthropic funds from small donors or foundations can plug budget gaps, allow for innovation and help organizations operating in dangerous environments to keep their workers safe, she said.

Last summer, Riley Brookshire, who lives near San Francisco, raised more than USD 2,100 through a crowdfunding campaign for UNRWA USA, mostly from his friends and other people he knew. It was his first time donating to the organisation.

Over about a month, he biked more than 40 miles a day after he got off work, logging almost 1,270 miles. He called the fundraiser, “No brakes for Palestine,” in reference to the fixed gear bike he rode, which has no gears and no brakes.

“Cycling is not apolitical,” Brookshire said.

He was moved to start the fundraiser in part by posts he saw online from the war, which has now killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health authorities.

Brookshire said that he wanted to do something more than going to protests and calling his representatives, but he had doubts along the way about whether the fundraiser was working.

“It was the early nights like that when some of the donations were kind of small at the beginning where I was like, What the hell am I doing? This might be futile. I know that I want to help. Maybe this isn't an effective way to do it,'” he said.

After posting screenshots of his daily ride to the fundraiser for about two weeks, donations started to pick up. He said he felt a lot of gratitude to his friends who helped him reach his goal of first USD 1,200 and then, USD 2,000. But he also said the money was a drop in the bucket.

“There's a weird contradiction there, right?" Brookshire said. "If you do something, it's not going to help very much. But if you don't do anything, then you're not helping at all.” McIlreavy said across the board, humanitarian responses to conflicts are underfunded even as the number of conflicts and displaced people have grown. Her advice for donors is not to expect that that their gift will solve a conflict or totally restore a community that's been hit by disaster.

“We need to get more comfortable with saying, I don't need to be there for everything, but doing something is better than nothing,'” she said. (AP) GSP

Source: PTI