It’s important to note that in the Arab region, there is a unique overlap of ODA and philanthropic support. In many cases – particularly in the Gulf – individual and institutional philanthropic fundraising and charity efforts are not permitted.

Instead, there are government-run funding mechanisms, through which citizens can channel their donations, which are then sent as part of the government support package on behalf of the people.  

This is an important distinction to make when we consider funding from institutional philanthropy in the Arab region because when it appears that the philanthropy sector has not been contributing, this may not necessarily reflect the reality.

Notwithstanding the complications of providing funding independently of government, there have been some notable examples of interventions by Arab foundations.

The UAE’s Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, for example, has launched its Education Relief Fund to support 900 Gazan and West Bank students whose education has been disrupted by the ongoing conflict.

This initiative targets Palestinian students studying abroad in medicine, health sciences, and STEM fields and provides grants to cover tuition, living expenses, and other essential cost to ensure they can complete their education despite the challenges brought about by the war.

The programme, implemented in collaboration with the Unite Lebanon Youth Project (ULYP), aims to strengthen the healthcare workforce in the region by supporting students in their final years of study, ensuring they can contribute to rebuilding efforts once they graduate.

Dubai Cares, meanwhile, has been actively involved in supporting the Gaza humanitarian crisis through various initiatives including their "Gaza In Our Hearts" campaign, launched during Ramadan 2024 to provide emergency relief aid to the people of Gaza.

This includes distributing hot meals, food baskets, and emergency shelter tents. As of
April 2024, Dubai Cares had raised over Dhs 10.75m, enabling the distribution of over 20 million meals, 384,252 food baskets, and 704 emergency shelter tents.  

Run in partnership with Anera (American Near East Refugee Aid), a nonprofit, which helps deliver these supplies through established aid corridors, it is part of the broader Tarahum for Gaza initiative, a UAE-wide response to the ongoing conflict, involving charitable organisations, volunteer centers, and the community.

In the weeks after the bombardment began, we at the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF) partnered with a group of our members - the Asfari Foundation, Taawon, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) – to launch a Donor Appeal on behalf of Gaza.

This has since expanded to include Life for Relief and Development (LIFE) and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ).  

Launching the appeal was an immediate decision, and we bypassed all conventional models of collaboration; there were no MOUs or partnership agreements, no lengthy discussions on roles and responsibilities, just a united acknowledgement that we were facing an unprecedented event and needed to address it immediately.  

A few days later, we launched the AFF Pooled Fund to channel funding from individuals hoping to support community-based organisations in Gaza that don’t have the same visibility as larger, more established entities.  

While we’ve seen donations coming in steadily, these efforts have raised only a few million dollars, nowhere near what is required to make a meaningful difference, especially as we consider the funding required to rebuild Gaza once the killing and destruction stops.  

The urgency of setting up these funds and appeals wasn’t just about the reality of what we were seeing, but also what we knew would unfold in the days to come. At that time, I don’t think anyone could have predicted what would still be happening one year later.  

It’s almost unfathomable to comprehend the level of destruction and devastation in Gaza. For us as Palestinians, this has been a pivotal moment in our collective history.  

While Gaza is not the only crisis – and not even the only genocide – of the moment, where it differs from the crises in Sudan, Syria, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo to name a few, it happens to bear the unfortunate burden of being the most livestreamed and highlighted on the global stage.  

This begs many questions about the things we pay attention to and the lives we care about, (but that’s another article altogether).  

In many ways, this crisis has served as a catalyst for a deeper reflection on the role of Arab philanthropy in addressing systemic issues such as poverty, inequality, and political instability.  

Back in 2015, I argued that one of the weaknesses of the Arab region is we seem to consistently fail to conduct a ‘forensic analysis’ of our region. The same is still true today.

The absence of strategic planning that extends beyond a few years, coupled with a lack of forensic accounting of crises and a thorough examination of the underlying issues that cause them, severely hampers our ability to make a lasting impact.  

This shortcoming leads to interventions that are often short-term and obstruct effective mitigation of ongoing challenges, while jeopardizing overall sustainability.  In the context of Gaza, this weakness has been laid bare once again.

Without a long-term, strategic approach to rebuilding a functioning society once a ceasefire is achieved, we risk failing to address the root causes of instability.  We should therefore leverage this moment of crisis to create sustainable, long-term solutions towards the building of a thriving society.

The crisis in Gaza has highlighted the importance of Arab philanthropists not only providing immediate relief but also addressing the root causes of suffering and fostering sustainable development.  This means investing in education, healthcare, and economic development, as well as advocating for political solutions that can bring about long-term peace and stability.  

One of the key interventions we’ve been urging our sector to address for several years now is data and the critical role it plays in helping us to identify gaps in the sector and how to design models of support to address them.  

This kind of data will help us in creating funding strategies that will contribute to rebuilding efforts for Palestinian society when this war is over. We hope that AFF’s Arab Philanthropy Survey, data from which is set to be shared later this year, will help to shed some light on these issues.

Furthermore, the crisis has underscored the importance of collaboration and partnership in philanthropy. No single foundation, organization, or individual can address the complex challenges facing Gaza alone.  

The collective response to date from foundations and philanthropists demonstrates the power of collaboration – both within the region and with international partners.

By working together, Arab philanthropists can pool resources, share expertise, and amplify their impact, ensuring that aid reaches those who need it most and contributes to lasting change.  Once again, the role of data cannot be overstated.

Understanding where there are needs that remain underfunded is key to creating meaningful interventions of support.  To that end, AFF has launched a Humanitarian Relief and Recovery Task Force (HRRTF) that has brought together several regional and international organisations to facilitate and coordinate these efforts so we can hopefully minimise the duplication of efforts.

The response of Arab philanthropy to the crisis in Gaza, while it reflects the immense generosity of the region, also highlights the growing recognition of the need for strategic, impact-driven philanthropy.  

By focusing on both immediate relief and long-term development, and by fostering collaboration and partnership, Arab philanthropy can not only respond to the crisis at hand but also lay the groundwork for a more just and equitable future.  

This is the power and potential of philanthropy in action, and it is a model that should be implemented to leverage the agility and strength of the sector to realise its immense potential. 

If we’re not putting our efforts into alleviating the suffering of our peers then, truly, what use is this sector that espouses to be built on the principle of a universal love for humankind? - PA