Advancing Locally Led Development: An Overview of U.S. Foundations’ Direct Global Giving
![The State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations: 2022 Edition Advancing Locally Led Development: An Overview of U.S. Foundations’ Direct Global Giving](/sites/default/files/styles/publication_node/public/2022-09/2022-global-giving-1200x675.jpg?h=c74750f6&itok=yYrcBAih)
Since 1997, the Council on Foundations and Candid have analyzed trends in global grantmaking by U.S. foundations. In our State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations: 2022 Edition report, which analyzed grants made between 2016 and 2019, we found that 39% of global grants made by U.S. foundations flowed to non-U.S. recipients. Of the total grant amount intended for international causes, only about 13% flowed to organizations implementing a grant in the country where they are locally registered. The remaining 26% flowed through intermediaries based outside the United States.
This report is an attempt to dig deeper into the data included in the State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations: 2022 Edition and better understand direct global grantmaking by U.S. foundations: What is included in this 13% of global funding flows? Who is making the most direct grants, and who are they funding? What issues do grants address?
Key Findings
- Only 29% of globally focused U.S. foundations made at least one direct grant, with a median of five direct grants, during the 2016-2019 period.
- The top 25 global funders account for more than 75% of direct giving between 2016 and 2019.
- Almost half of foundations providing direct giving in the period 2016-2019 exclusively supported organizations in the so-called "Global North": Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and European countries.
- The share of direct grant dollars going to "Global South" organizations declined each year from 2016 to 2019, peaking in 2016 at 64% and falling to 40% in 2019.
- And more.
Past International Grantmaking Reports
This report is a companion piece to the State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations: 2022 Edition, also a collaboration between Candid and the Council to regularly analyze trends in international grantmaking by U.S. foundations. You can see the full collection of reports we’ve co-published about international grantmaking by US foundations since 1997 on IssueLab.