There is simply no way that private philanthropy can make up for the loss of USAID funds around the world. But there are targeted efforts that philanthropy can drive to make a difference in key parts of the world. One of those places is in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The loss of USAID funding there, combined with Trump’s foreign policy decisions and loss of other U.S. foreign aid, has created a ripple effect so that more governmental support from other countries is also drying up. For instance, the U.K. government, which continues to support peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians and a two-state solution, has cut its foreign aid budget to support an increase in its defense budget in response to Trump’s actions regarding NATO and Ukraine.
It’s easy to argue and fight on our American streets and campuses about Israel-Palestine while losing sight of the actual people on the ground over there. But wearing a keffiyeh on the streets of New York to show support for the Palestinian people won’t put food on the table of Palestinians living under occupation. It won’t nurture their artistic or educational endeavors, nor will it aid them in necessary job training, job creation or advocating for peace and civil and human rights, often in opposition to their own leaders, not just to the Israeli government. And for sure, it won’t stop the killing in Gaza or feed those who are desperate for humanitarian aid.
It’s critical to get direct support to Palestinians who are on the front line.
Recently, I received a lovely necklace and scarf from one of my clients when I met with them near Bethlehem on the West Bank. The necklace was made by a resident of a Palestinian refugee camp. This organization, the only Palestinian NGO run solely by and employing only women, conducts marketing and training workshops for women, all of whom live in West Bank refugee camps, so that they can learn to market their handiwork. They aim to foster independence among Palestinian refugee-camp women, and to instill in them the confidence and skills so they can be the new leaders so desperately needed in that part of the world. But after the loss of USAID funds, rather than what it could have been doing — considering how to expand marketing and job training efforts — the NGO is preparing to lay off staff.
Campus and town square protests (and I want to be clear — I completely support the right to free speech and to protest) won’t do a thing to fill these immediate and urgent needs. Targeted and strategic philanthropy by individuals will, however, make an extraordinary difference. That’s because this is a part of the world that, while looming large in the American political debate and bleeding into every aspect of our domestic political and public spheres, is actually a very small plot of earth with needs that individual philanthropists could address in an impactful and profound way. The very talented NGO sector is a willing and waiting partner for enthusiastic donors.
Without new sources of funding, however, the loss of U.S. government support will cause NGOs simply to shut down. There have already been plenty of layoffs among organizations that were never staff heavy. In some cases, USAID funding was the main support for organizations performing tech training, Israeli and Palestinian youth cultural work, women’s empowerment work inside the refugee camps, and more.
Palestinians in East Jerusalem are also suffering. This population — numbering more than 360,000 Palestinians — live in neighborhoods and villages inside what Israel considers to be a united city. Israel annexed East Jerusalem and some of the surrounding villages after capturing the land in 1967.
There are numerous NGOs operating in East Jerusalem — some, until recently, with the support of UNRWA and with USAID funding (UNRWA has been shuttered in East Jerusalem by the Netanyahu government, including where they operated schools in that part of the city). There are Israeli NGOs that promote equality and shared society between Israeli Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel that have lost millions in funding. Also losing out are those Israeli NGOs that expend significant effort to halt the growing Jewish settler presence in Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Some of the leading Palestinian musicians, composers, actors, directors, artists and intellectuals live in East Jerusalem, several of whom have been maintaining NGOs which are critical to the flourishing of Palestinian culture and the nourishment and expansion of educational opportunities and training for young people and other residents of East Jerusalem. These NGOs exist on a frugal budget at best. And while it has become more difficult since October 7 and the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas to extend these NGO efforts into Gaza, there are still efforts — and one hopes will be again in a more robust fashion — to support the people in Gaza in a range of ways, both legal and humanitarian.
Of course, there are generous and engaged individual donors as well as other countries and donors elsewhere who have supported these efforts and, one hopes, will continue to do so. But the reality is, as readers of Inside Philanthropy know, there is no comparable tax incentive in many countries like there is in the U.S. for philanthropists to be as proactive and generous as U.S. donors. Given that, and the country’s overall wealth and size, U.S. philanthropy remains key.
I have worked as an advisor to NGOS, both Israeli and Palestinian, for nearly 20 years and been traveling to the region for 40-plus years. I am also a journalist and writer who is in the region frequently, including just two months ago. The situation has never been so desperate, both due to the policies of the right-wing Israeli government, the ineffectiveness and corruption of the Palestinian Authority, and the horrors of Hamas and the war in Gaza, and now due to the decisions made by the Trump administration.
While millions in funds were lost abruptly after a White House announcement, quite honestly, many of these NGOs don’t need millions in U.S. government funds to keep operating effectively. They need impassioned donors who want to make a difference. Even small amounts (though, please, not too small!) can make an impact. It’s an extraordinary opportunity for family foundations, especially, to engage, across generations, in funding change. And for those who care about social justice, it’s a concrete way to carry on a family tradition with their philanthropy.
Indeed, increasing direct-aid philanthropy to this region is a form of resistance in the era of Trump. But it is also a chance to be hands-on and to experience immediate rewards from the truly extraordinary people working to make and sustain change in the region.
Jo-Ann Mort, an advisor to NGOs, philanthropies and trade unions, is also a journalist and poet. Her consultancy is ChangeCommunications.
