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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Sources and amounts of private aid
>> Foreign Aid in the National Interest >> Chapter 6 >> Sources and amounts of private aid Jump to Chapter 6 Sections:
>> Objectives, Outcomes and amounts of foreign aid >> Sources and amounts of private investment and lending >> Sources and amounts of private aid >> Taking the full measure of U.S. International assistance >> Notes >> Background paper >> References
Sources and amounts of private aid
Despite their reservations about government aid, Americans have a long tradition of domestic and international generosity. U.S. private giving for international assistance predates government aid programs, and over the past 25 years such giving has grown significantly.
Churches and other religious congregations initially played the largest role in U.S. international giving, through relief and humanitarian assistance as well as overseas missions. Then colleges, universities, and foundations began responding to international development needs with scholarships and support for foreign universities and research centers. The number and budgets of PVOs and private charities have grown as Americans have increasingly offered their money and time to international causes. With globalization and changing immigration patterns, U.S. corporations have also increased their philanthropy to developing countries. And U.S. immigrants, increasingly from developing countries, have been sending more and more money back to their homelands.
In 2000 nearly 9 of 10 U.S. households gave to domestic or foreign charities. Americans also give generously of their time: in 1999 a record 56 percent of U.S. adults over 18 volunteered at home or abroad. In 2000 that share dropped to 44 percent because the revised survey considered only adults over 26. Still, volunteers provided work equal to more than 9 million full-time employees, with a value of $239 billion. In 2000 U.S. universities and colleges gave more to developing countries in foreign scholarships than Australia, Belgium, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland each gave in ODA. Remittances from U.S. immigrants to their homelands exceeded ODA from Japan-the largest provider (in dollar amounts) of government aid to developing countries.
Political and economic forces driving the increase in U.S. private giving include the end of the Cold War, fall of communism, growth in market economies, and explosion in information and communications technology.22 New democracies have given rise to indigenous PVOs and private entrepreneurs with sources of wealth outside of central governments. International issues are the focus of new "mega donors"-such as the UN Foundation (with funding from Ted Turner), David and Lucille Packard Foundation, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-and increasingly of other U.S. grant-makers. In the 1990s low inflation, growth in personal fortunes, and a strong stock market nearly doubled the assets held by foundations. In addition, new community foundations in the United States and abroad have created new sources of funding with closer ties to people and communities in developing countries.
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Last Updated on: October 07, 2009 |
