Online fundraisers boost those hit by war
Local appeals succeed with personal stories
By: Hannanb Adely
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Moamen Abusharia drives his truck morning and night, delivering goods across New Jersey and New York to support his family in Woodbridge and his relatives in Gaza.
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The money he earns working 80 to 90 hours a week is not enough, as his family in Gaza faces homelessness and hunger amid a yearlong war and humanitarian crisis. Earlier this month, [10/2024] Abusharia turned to GoFundMe, an Online fundraising site, to ask donors to help save his family.
..... "We are in desperate need of help, not just to mourn and remember those we've slot, but to provide a chance for the survivors to rebuild," Abusharia wrote on the fundraising page.
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His is one of thousands of Online campaigns by the Israel-Hamas war, including many launched by relatives and friends in the United States who are turning to their communities for support.
..... Online fundraisers have long been a popular tool to raise money for special causes and for individuals in need. GoFundMe campaigns have generated $30 billion since 2010, the company announced in February. [2024]
..... Popular campaigns have helped veterans, provided medical support for the sick, saved animals, helped victims of natural disasters and boosted youth sports and education programs. They have also increasingly been used to respond to conflicts abroad.
..... Organizers have raised more than $275 million for Ukraine relief efforts since 2022, when Russia invaded the country, according to a company spokesperson. in the past year, [2024] donors have also contributed more than $250 million in nearly 6 million donations to GoFundme campaigns related to the Israel-Hamas war, the spokesperson said. More than 80,000 of these fundraisers were dedicated to humanitarian relief, such as medical care, and evacuations.
..... these Online fundraisers appeal to donors by telling personal stories, making it convenient to give, and sharing message through mutual social networks.
..... In many cases, the people who donate know the intended recipient, or they knew the organizer of the fundraiser. About four in 10 people have donated to a family member or close friend in GoFundMe campaigns, according to a 2020 survey by the Indiana University Lily Family School of philanthropy. About 22% gave to a GoFundMe effort for a charitable organization. Another 11% donated to a friend of a friend or acquaintance, while about 5% gave to a stranger.
..... Giving to a person or cause on an Online fund erasing page can feel more personal than giving to a larger or established organization.
..... On these pages, donors may get live updates and messages about how money is spent and how people are being helped.
..... Tosha Anderson, founder & CEO of The charity CFO, an accounting company that support nonprofits, said people are "incredibly generous" and "just need an invitation to give."
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"Most are willing to help, but they've more likely to donate when asked directly," Anderson said. "Platforms like GoFundMe provide that ask in a way that feels approachable, allowing people to support a cause they trust. What sets GoFundMe apart is the personal connection - it's often shard through a network, giving donors confidence that their contribution will make a real, direct impact. It's really no surprise that crowd-fundraising has, and will continue to be, so successful."
A personal appeal
..... Abusharia posted his fundraiser in September, [2024] setting a goal of $500,000, or about $5,000 apiece for his surviving relatives, including a widowed aunt, orphaned cousins and others. In tributes to family members killed in Israeli airstrikes, including three uncles and an aunt, he explained that their absence "has left us in an ocean of grief and despair.
..... "the rest of our family who survived have been left without homes," Abusharia wrote. "Every place that once offered shelter and safety is now dust and debris. They move form place to place, living in tents, with no medicine, no clean water, and no escape form the relentless presence of insects and disease. The simple necessities of life are now daily struggles, and the promise of security is nothing more than an distant dream."
..... Other stories abound form New Jersey.
..... They include a Flemington woman seeking donations for medical care for her brother, who was injured in a bombing, suffering a fractured skull, broken bones and shrapnel in the eyes. In another Online appeal, a Jersey City woman wants to help two brothers supporting their family, including a younger sibling with a bone density disease that is worsening due to malnutrition.
..... Basma Bsharat, education director at the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, said the Online fundraiser are a way to take action amid grief. Then need is dire, as 90% of Palestinians in Gaza are displaced from their homes and basic supplies like food and medicine are scarce and costly.
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"Everybody obvious;y wants to help in the best way they can," Bsharat said. "They take the initiative, especially when it is someone they know. It points back to community power and the need to turn to the community. "We've been in this way too long, [more than] a year now, and everyone trying to help as much as they can."
Is it legitimate?
.... For every fundraising campaign, GoFundMe asks for information about who the money is for, how it will be spent and how funds will be delivered. Cases of fraud on GoFundMe are rare, making up less than one-tenth of 1% of all campaigns, the company states on its website. The company also offers a "donor protection guarantee" that promises a donor's money will be refunded for up to a year if fraud is reported.
..... Campaigns for Gaza have faced extra scrutiny, prompting some complaints about "heavy-handed moderation" that has slowed delivery of aid, according to a report in The Verge. GoFundMe addressed the issue in guidance released in March, [2024[ saying it was "balancing speed with safety to ensure fundraisers are in compliance with relevant international law, global regulations, and requirements dictated by our payment processors."
..... "As part of this process, it may take some time while we work with you to complete required reviews,' the guidance states. "Once this is done funds will be transfered as quickly as possible."
..... Abusharia's fundraiser was approved the same day he submitted it for verification. he hopes to get donations to his family quickly so they can buy new tents and tarps to protect themselves as the rainy and cold weather sets in. He just got
the first donation of $100 from an anonymous donor.
..... "All of this shouldn't be happening," he said. "Why do they have to go thorough this? They have noting to do with anything. They are just people trying to live."