Illumi-Nation Global’s Story
Call to Action
The August 4, 2020 blast at Lebanon’s port of Beirut was a turning point for Lebanon and her diaspora. Among the disconsolate in the U.S. were descendants of emigrants from Ain Arab, in the Rashaya district of the Bekaa Valley.
Sustainable, Affordable Electricity through Strategic Partnership
Several descendants of Attiyeh families contacted Ain Arab Mayor Ghassan Hadi and heard that the village’s most dire need was for solar power. They connected Mayor Hadi and the Swiss-based Phoenix TSM Foundation, creator of The Phoenix Initiative, a comprehensive solar energy production and investment program. With the mayor’s agreement to partner, the Attiyeh descendants established Illumi-Nation Global, Inc., a U.S. Internal Revenue Service-authorized tax-exempt charity.
Illumi-Nation Global–Phoenix Foundation Partnership Growth
Recently, the village of Maamariyeh, on Lebanon’s southern coast, joined the partnership. Establishing solar electricity systems in these two villages will provide proof of concept for The Phoenix Initiative. With the success of the two pilot projects and sufficient charitable contributions, Illumi-Nation Global plans to support additional villages with similar solar installations.
Critical Response for a Brighter Future
The Phoenix Initiative will lead to reliable and reasonably priced electricity benefiting households, farmers and village businesses in Ain Arab, Maamariyeh and other Lebanese locales, and not a moment too soon.
Our first project, in partnership with the Phoenix Foundation, is to deliver affordable, zero-polluting solar-powered electricity in Lebanon.
Fundraising Targets
Illumi-Nation Global is raising tax-deductible donations from the Lebanese diaspora and friends of Lebanon. The funding target is $600,000 to finance two pilot projects that deploy solar-power in Ain Arab and Maamariyeh, in partnership with the Swiss-registered, not-for-profit Phoenix TSM Foundation. This amount is easily raised if only 300 members of the diaspora from each of these two villages made a one-time donation of $1,000 to transform the lives of their families and friends back home.
Project Goals
The twin goals of this innovative program are to raise awareness and direct resources toward decentralized, affordable, and environmentally sustainable electricity production, addressing Lebanon’s most pressing need.
Pathway to Future Investment
These two initial village projects will serve as proof of concept for the system proposed by the Phoenix TSM Foundation to deploy 100,000 solar photovoltaic systems throughout Lebanon, to be financed by green bonds, as explained in a post about our partnership project.
An End to Remittances for Dirty Diesel Fuel
Instead of sending funds to their families back home, which are lost each month to purchase dirty and expensive electric power from private generator operators, members of the diaspora can instead donate only once in order for their families to benefit from clean power 24/7.
Purpose
Illumi-Nation Global, Inc. has been established for the charitable and educational purposes of promoting ethical, humanitarian, equitable, and environmentally sustainable well-being across the globe. Illumi-Nation Global operates as a responsible steward of natural resources through mutual support, transparency, and accountability.
Mission
Our mission includes providing relief to populations suffering severe economic disruption as well as supporting long-term economic development through public-private-nonprofit partnerships and investment in sustainable projects that create employment in emerging and industrialized countries.
Activities
Our activities include educating the general public as to the environmental and economic benefits of solar power and how to deliver it to underserved populations and those in crisis.
Your Donation At Work
Tax-deductible donations to Illumi-Nation Global will pay for the bulk purchase and installation of solar energy production systems.
Life-Changing Impact
Village by village, bulk-purchased photovoltaic systems will make electricity blackouts a thing of the past for Lebanese households and businesses and halve their power costs.
Accountability to Our Donors
Real-time progress and expenditure reports will be posted regularly on a dedicated page of this site.
