The October 7 Hamas massacre has harmed the citizens of the State of Israel in a multitude of ways, whether it be the displacement of more than 250,000 people, the impact on small businesses that rely on tourism, or in the call-up of more than 350,000 reservists who had to leave their lives and families to serve the country.
For the philanthropic community, funding opportunities grew, and priorities shifted immediately on October 8, explained Inbar Shashua Bar-Nir, the Shashua Family Foundation chairwoman.
“First, we had to think about the immediate help,” Shashua Bar-Nir explained during Tuesday’s The Jerusalem Post Israel Summit. “But then we had to think about the medium- and long-term support that we need to set aside, not just in terms of resources, but in terms of research and thinking about the day after – rebuilding and rehabilitation.“You need to do this smartly, thinking ahead,” she continued, “and not just rushing in. It is talking to people who know the work and creating new and smart partnerships.”The Shashua Family Foundation is an Israeli philanthropic foundation that focuses on three main areas: populations-at-risk, specifically children, youth and young adults; education, with a focus on scientific and technological education in the periphery; and small businesses, through its entrepreneurial arm called the House of Social Solidarity.“When October 7 hit, none of us were prepared for this magnitude of an event,” Shashua Bar-Nir admitted. “We decided to stick with the familiar but also think of new areas and topics.”What this meant for Shashua Bar-Nir’s foundation was providing immediate support in health, gender equality, and employment for at-risk populations – getting help out there to the organizations already on the ground.
Supporting small businesses
Next, they looked at the network of 13,000 small businesses they were already in contact with and created emergency grants to keep them afloat.“A lot of small businesses and people were displaced from their homes, and now we need to think of creative ways to restart their business from far away, especially the ones from the South and the North – in the affected areas,” Shashua Bar-Nir explained. “So, it’s either tapping into new audiences, helping with marketing or buying equipment.”The foundation also launched a project whereby it buys from a small business to help it stay afloat and then donates what it purchases to nonprofits that need those products. It could be buying computers and technological items from a business in the North and then donating them to a school for displaced kids, for example.Finally, the foundation is working on a new project in the field of early childhood trauma that it hopes to kick off soon.Shashua Bar-Nir said working together is one of the keys to effective philanthropy during this challenging time. She takes part in roundtables with other nonprofits and foundations, specifically in the field of small businesses, so that they can coordinate their responses.“I’m happy to see that a lot of the foundations are conversing with each other, talking to organizations on the ground, doing things fast, but in a smart way,” Shashua Bar-Nir said.