We want to support the crucial efforts of people who have been volunteering their time and working above and beyond their usual roles to make up for the gaps in healthcare and medical supplies, to set up community-based food and service deliveries to care for their neighbors and elders, and much more. 

That’s why we are doing what we can to support short and long-term mutual aid efforts and creative approaches to resilience. 

1- We’ve eased grant requirements so existing grantees can reallocate funds to respond to the crisis, delayed reporting requirements, and taken other measures to be as flexible and responsive as we can be. Since equitable, flexible, responsive philanthropy that shifts powers to communities is something we already advocate for locally and globally, we’ve been encouraged and inspired by the actions of our own funding partners as well many other funders and grantmakers around the world who took quick action to shift their practices and provide urgent support to frontline communities. We joined many of them by co-signing this COVID-19 philanthropy pledge.

2- We are working closely with our partners and donors to provide direct funding to grassroots groups as early as the summer to address urgent and emergent needs, and will follow up to support mid- and longer-term responses in the fall with our annual grants cycle. 

You can support these efforts by contributing to our Community Resilience Fund, which will aid our efforts to map and understand the community responses and needs in different areas across Palestine, provide direct funding to grassroots groups to amplify their efforts, and create virtual spaces for togetherness, learning, and organizing. 

Thank you for all you’ve been doing to get us all through this together, and for keeping up hope.

With gratitude,
The Rawa Family