Community Voices: Lessons on Fundraising, Money & Solidarity

A personal reflection by A’ida Shibli, community member of Tamera

A few years ago, a dear friend caught me out — she discovered I had been giving talks, interviews, and teachings for free for years. As a person with a quite unique biography, living under many layers of intersectionality and systems of oppression, I found myself speaking up because I had to.

For years I was interviewed on subjects of community, personal liberation, and collective liberation — and mainly about my homeland. Over time I noticed that many of the people who interviewed me had some kind of financial or material gain from those platforms — while I did not.

Encouraged by my friend, I started charging for my time whenever there is a budget to do so.

“It is known that women of colour are unfortunately often the least compensated for their time and life energy. I encourage every woman — and especially women of colour — to stand for being acknowledged also by monetary parameters, when possible.”

When the personal meets the political

With the ongoing tragedy unfolding for our people, I could not hold this teaching only for myself. I organised many events for fundraising, participated in many panels, and — together with others — was able to raise a lot of money to help. For that, I am deeply grateful.

One key lesson I learned: rather than collecting cash myself, I now ask people to make a direct contribution to aid organisations. By doing this they will also learn about the banks’ roles and restrictions on transferring money to Gaza.

Unless I am going to visit my homeland and hand cash directly to people, I do not take cash from people. Doing so leaves me with the burden of moving money from my private account — at great cost in time, energy, and frustration. More painfully, it gave me a false image of having money, leading to heartbreaking requests for help from people, while the naked truth is that as an immigrant living in a financially modest intentional community, I hardly have cash money to support myself and my daughter.

I share this personal and vulnerable experience so that at least I can help others like me not to make the same mistakes.

A good ending — and a bigger beginning

I was asked to give an interview for the Pioneers of Change Summit. I shared with the interviewer Martin Kirchner my wish for this year: to raise €10,000 to be sent as humanitarian aid to Gaza, and I asked to use their platform for that purpose.

That request raised €20,000.

I am deeply impressed and thankful. I was also able to raise €3,500 through an online course I was teaching in February — making it a big success and an increase in power and potency.

I want to encourage all of us to take care of ourselves and our needs so that we can build the capacity to do the work that needs to be done.

May all the flow that we need for a relevant life be possible.

Pioneers of Change Summit: https://pioneersofchange-summit.org/

Organisations A’ida trusts

Please donate directly to immediate aid relief for the victims in Gaza. A’ida especially recommends:

•  Seeds of Hope — Educational Tent for Children: https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-set-up-an-educational-tent-for-children

•  Clean Shelter: https://www.cleanshelter.org/

•  The Sameer Project: https://opencollective.com/the-sameer-project

About the author

This is a witnessing from A’ida Shibli, a community member of Tamera — a Peace and Research Centre in Portugal and a member of the Global Ecovillage Network Europe. Born in Palestine, A’ida works at the intersection of community building, personal liberation, and collective solidarity. Her story is a powerful example of how we can support one another while honouring our own needs and boundaries.