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Non-profit

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)

Website:

www.pcrf.net/
Location:

Burbank, CA
Tax ID:

93-1057665
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2023):

Revenue: $92,196,846
Expenses: $27,162,011
Assets: $93,521,529
Type:

Humanitarian Relief Organization
Formation:

1991
President and Global CEO:

Aladeen Shawa
Regional CEO:

Lubna Musa
Board Chair:

Vivian Rasem Khalaf

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The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) is a charitable organization based in Burbank, California that claims to provide free medical care to Palestinian children who cannot afford it. PCRF has chapters in Italy and Switzerland, as well as a small network of college student chapters across the United States. 1  2

In January 2024, a Jewish News Syndicate column criticized Americans who donated money to organizations like PCRF for being “gullible” and for funding “Hamas, not starving children.” 3

Activities

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund provides medical care for Palestinian children. PCRF claims to have sent 2,000 children abroad for free medical care and procured thousands of international doctors and nurses to provide tens of thousands of children free medical care in Palestinian hospitals. It has also founded two pediatric cancer departments in the Palestinian territories and a new PICU and pediatric cardiology department in Ramallah, West Bank. 1 PCRF operates chapters in Italy and Switzerland, in addition to a small network of college student chapters. 2

PCRF also organizes fundraisers to support its mission. In October 2023, National Public Radio (NPR) mentioned PCRF as an organization people should donate to help “victims of the Israel-Hamas war.” 4

In November 2023, then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, helped advertise an $8,000,000 Gaza fundraising campaign of which PCRF was a recipient. Several Republican politicians were critical of Emhoff’s endorsement of the fundraiser, including U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) who called the move “abhorrent.” 5 Emhoff also received criticism from a Jewish News Syndicate article that accused “gullible Americans” of funding Hamas, “not starving children.” 3

In September 2025, PCRF was one of several Palestinian relief fund organizations to receive funds from a celebrity fundraiser organized with Choose Love, a London-based charity. 6

Partner Organizations

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) has 72 partner institutions, including prominent medical organizations and Palestinian advocacy groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), the Zakat Foundation of America, Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the Palestinian Ministry of Health. 7

Leadership

As of July 2025, Aladeen Shawa was the global CEO of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. 8 He had previously worked as the principal of global practice specialist for local governance at DAI, a senior advisor at Cowater International, and a senior governance advisor at Deloitte Consulting. 9 He received his bachelor’s degree in architecture and his master’s degree in City Planning and Urban Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. 10

Steve Sosebee was the founder and president of PCRF until January 2024 when he left to found HEAL Palestine, another Palestinian humanitarian relief organization. 11

As of 2025, Lubna Musa was the regional CEO of PCRF. 8 Previously, she worked as senior project development director at Premier Specialty Hospital in Ramallah, West Bank and as CEO of Palestine Red Crescent Society and Hospital. Musa received her bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management from East Carolina University and an executive MBA from the DeVos Graduate School at Northwood University. 12

As of 2025, Vivian Rasem Khalaf was chair of the board of directors at PCRF. She had worked in immigration law for over 30 years. Khalaf is graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago-Kent College of Law, and held several board positions, including at the Arab-American Bar Association (AABAR), the Arab-American Voters Alliance (AMVOTE), and the Arab-American Business and Professional Association (AABPA). 13

As of 2025, Imad Tamimi was the interim president of the Medical Advisory Board at PCRF. He earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). Tamimi is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, is a former clinical assistant professor at New York Medical College, and ran his own private practice. 14

Financials

In 2023, following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) reported $92,196,846 in total revenue, $27,162,011 in total expenses, and $93,521,529 in total assets. 15 This represented a nine-fold increase in revenue from the previous year. In 2022, PCRF reported $10,710,532 in total revenue, $17,538,444 in total expenses, and $29,573,942 in total assets. 16

References

  1. “About Us.” PCRF. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.pcrf.net/about-us
  2. “PCRF’s Chapters and Student Clubs.” PCRF. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.pcrf.net/get-involved
  3. Tobin, Jonathan S. “Gullible Americans are funding Hamas, not starving children.” Jewish News Syndicate. January 25, 2024. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.jns.org/gullible-americans-are-funding-hamas-not-starving-children/
  4. Treisman, Rachel. “How to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza.” NPR. October 13, 2023. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1205235922/help-israel-gaza-humanitarian-organizations
  5. Levine, Jon. “Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff is promoting an $8M Gaza fundraising campaign.” New York Post. November 4, 2023. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://nypost.com/2023/11/04/news/kamala-harris-stepdaughter-ella-emhoff-raising-money-for-gaza/
  6. “Hollywood stars raise $2 million at ‘Together for Palestine’ benefit concert in London.” September 18, 2025. The Express Tribune. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2567562/hollywood-stars-raise-2-million-at-together-for-palestine-benefit-concet-in-london
  7. “Our Partners.” PCRF. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.pcrf.net/our-partners
  8. “PCRF Appoints Aladeen Shawa as Global CEO.” PCRF. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.pcrf.net/pcrf-in-the-news/pcrf-appoints-aladeen-shawa-as-global-ceo-2025.html
  9. “Experience – Aladeen Shawa Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aladeen-shawa-727a2231/details/experience/
  10. “Education – Aladeen Shawa Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aladeen-shawa-727a2231/details/education/
  11. “About Us.” HEAL Palestine. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.healpalestine.org/about-us/
  12. “Lubna Musa Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lubna-musa-731a8310/
  13. “Vivian Rasem Khalaf.” PCRF. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.pcrf.net/team/vivian-khalaf.html
  14. “Dr. Imad Tamimi.” PCRF. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.pcrf.net/team/item-1711044015.html
  15. “Palestine Childrens Relief Fund – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/931057665/202433249349301163/full
  16. “Palestine Childrens Relief Fund – 2022 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/931057665/202323189349318832/full
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: May 1, 1992

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2023 Dec Form 990 $92,196,846 $27,162,011 $93,521,529 $990,919 N $90,655,454 $0 $385,711 $178,650
    2022 Dec Form 990 $10,710,532 $17,538,444 $29,573,942 $2,783,723 N $10,589,948 $0 $0 $356,603 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $21,671,085 $13,703,677 $38,017,792 $2,971,544 N $20,975,454 $0 $273,798 $300,000 PDF
    2020 Dec Form 990 $12,648,616 $6,582,566 $28,484,042 $1,408,367 N $12,029,274 $94,694 $148,501 $187,500
    2019 Dec Form 990 $8,214,293 $6,546,721 $22,193,722 $1,033,859 N $7,252,360 $10,642 $140,725 $160,922 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $7,551,185 $6,088,742 $20,511,550 $1,221,095 N $7,334,105 $33,243 $168,414 $160,657 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $6,716,329 $6,842,765 $19,298,845 $1,006,285 N $6,567,229 $5,145 $161,455 $130,000
    2016 Dec Form 990 $7,867,043 $6,205,322 $18,148,470 $336,503 N $7,710,070 $0 $166,882 $130,000 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $7,933,613 $6,141,199 $16,999,253 $1,060,127 N $7,658,895 $0 $164,238 $130,417 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $7,814,856 $4,856,941 $14,696,270 $80,667 N $7,623,361 $0 $164,734 $115,833 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $4,804,036 $3,647,439 $11,706,261 $79,284 N $4,795,129 $0 $90,589 $111,000 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $4,087,431 $2,424,360 $10,217,548 $107,469 N $3,631,062 $0 $72,450 $120,000 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $2,657,136 $2,096,211 $6,283,976 $35,542 N $2,600,811 $0 $40,341 $120,000 PDF
    2010 Dec Form 990 $1,887,994 $1,259,429 $5,935,684 $23,415 N $1,507,355 $0 $74,635 $120,000 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)

    2600 W OLIVE AVE STE 543544
    Burbank, CA 91505-4549