The inspiration for the Hope Fund came from an article in the Washington Post by the journalist Geraldine Brooks. The article, "Peace in His Time--A Young Man's Desperate Dreaming in the Holy Land" chronicled her ten year relationship with Raed, a "child of the stones" whom she met while covering the violence of the first intifada, and ended up supporting through his college education.

Soon after the article appeared in the Post magazine on February 14, 1999, Dr. Fahim Qubain started exploring the possibility of establishing some mechanism to help educate other children like Raed, living in the poorest and most desperate corners of the region's refugee camps.

Dr. Qubain and his wife Nancy established The Hope Fund Corporation, which was recognized on June 20, 2000 by the IRS as a charitable public organization with a tax-exempt status under Section (501) ( C ) (3 ) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations by individuals and corporate bodies to the Hope Fund are tax deductible.

Amideast (American Mideast Educational and Training Services), an American educational organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with some 30 field offices in various parts of the Middle East, acts as our agent for the selection of Hope Fund prospective students. This service is provided free of charge.

In 2001 the Hope Fund welcomed its first two two students, Khaled El-Nemr and Hanan Dahche. In what would become the model for the Fund, Roanoke College generously supplied full scholarships for the students, while the Hope Fund covered travel, insurance, incidentals such as books and laptops and initial social support. These two students graduated Cum Laude in May 2005, Khaled in Physics and Math, Hanan in Bio-Chemistry. They left behind them a brilliant scholastic record that would encourage more colleges to partner the Hope Fund in its mission. 

Since its beginning in 2001, the Hope Fund has helped 13 students to graduate college, all with excellent records. Their outstanding work has helped bring more students in and expand the work of the Hope Fund. Currently, the Hope Fund is hosting more than 30 students, with a partnership with over 15 colleges in the United States.