Hometown Funds - How Diaspora Palestinians Can Enable Community- Led Development

Thousands of Palestinians around the world regularly send money home. These remittances provide major support for families, and sometimes for local community institutions as well. And we know that many more of the 10 million Palestinians in the world want to help. However, it is not easy to find acceptable conduits for charitable giving to support their community back home.

Are you of Palestinian origin? Have you thought about giving but not yet done so?

Dalia Association intends to address all these obstacles, making it easy and rewarding for YOU to get directly involved in community-led development in your homeland. Here's how:

First, you may not know where to direct a contribution. This is especially true of those born outside of Palestine, who have never been here, and who are no longer connected to family members living here.

Second, you may feel that you can't give enough to make a difference. You may wish to give $25 or $100 a year or even $100 a month, but knowing the huge need, you may feel it just isn't enough.

Third, it may be logistically difficult to give. Some countries don't use credit cards. International mail may be unreliable. Going to the bank and making an expensive wire transfer, especially for a small amount, may be discouraging.

Fourth, you may not trust that your contribution will be used well. Everyone knows that charitable contributions may be misused, and Palestine is no exception. You may lack trust that your money will be used well and according to local priorities.

1. Open a fund at Dalia Association for your Palestinian village, refugee camp or city anywhere in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the 1948 areas. If your village was destroyed or taken over, you can open a fund in honor of your village for a project to be implemented elsewhere.

2. Contribute any amount of money and/or offer in-kind goods or expertise.

3. Encourage others from your hometown, living anywhere in the world, to contribute to your hometown fund. The amount of each contribution doesn't matter, because all the contributions will accumulate until there is enough to run a community grantmaking project.

4. Dalia Association will implement a community grantmaking project in YOUR hometown.

To see exactly how this works, please watch our short documentary about our community grantmaking in Saffa Village in the West Bank.

Contact info [at] Dalia.ps to discuss how to open a fund for your Palestinian hometown.