The “Fida’n li-Hamah” campaign just crossed USD 204 million…one of the largest community fundraisers this year.
In Syria in Figures – Issue 13, we tracked hundreds of millions raised across six major campaigns, which tell an important story: these drives can fill critical gaps in education, health, and basic services when public finances and international aid fall short.
But there’s a dark side. A portion of the pledged money is old, previously budgeted or already spent. Several NGOs re-labeled ongoing projects as “new donations,” raising questions about transparency, oversight, and the actual impact on reconstruction. Some donations came from pre-approved state allocations. The worst of all, is some Assad cronies jumping on the bandwagon to launder their reputations.
Community solidarity is remarkable, and the mobilization is real. Ensuring that these campaigns translate into measurable outcomes and generate public trust for future initiatives needs more transparency, stronger governance, and better alignment with community preferences.
Sharing below some of the charts from Issue 13 that break down the top donations across all major campaigns this year.