In a first, UPA's latest humanitarian assistance grants -- more than $130,000 -- were funded entirely by individual donors, most of them Americans giving as little as $25 a month.

"Our donors' response, especially to the crisis in Gaza, has been overwhelming," says UPA Director of Programs Melinda Borne. "This is individual giving at its best, but it's also an extraordinary expression of solidarity."

Individual giving trends for Gaza are especially significant as aid from institutional donors, including foundations and aid agencies, has come to a virtual halt.

"Our mission is to help where help is needed most," says UPA Executive Director Samer Badawi. "And although we continue to work with dozens of partners on vital programs in the West Bank and Lebanon, we've also refused to abandon Gaza in its time of need."

This week, for example, UPA sent cash assistance from individual sponsors to more than 100 children in Gaza. The sponsorship grants, which average $120 per child, provide desperately needed money to families that have seen their incomes plummet -- in some cases to less than half of what they were a year ago.

Money from individual contributors is also funding 100 percent of UPA's current quarter grants to three mobile clinics operating throughout the West Bank and Gaza. These clinics are providing life-saving medical services to tens of thousands of Palestinians cut off from medical care.

The checks and online contributions continue to roll in, including through social networking sites like Facebook. One Facebook "Cause" associated with UPA has recruited more than 100,000 members. All told, Facebook members have raised nearly $10,000 to support UPA programs.

"This kind of united grassroots energy is precisely what UPA is all about," adds Borne.

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