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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
Although private giving far exceeds official government aid, data on such giving are weak, and the development community knows little about its nature, its flows, and the full amounts involved. Donors understand that private international assistance no longer means only relief efforts or missionaries working in isolated villages. Today this assistance means dollars transferred directly to Salvadoran families from their relatives in the United States so they can afford good health care and education. It means dollars spent to create indigenous foundations in Kenya that involve community members in creating grants. And it means going online in Hartford, Connecticut, and sending mooncakes to a sister in Hanoi for the mid-autumn festival in Vietnam. The size and impact of private international giving create new opportunities for development agencies. By learning about and working with the many providers of private assistance, foreign assistance can enhance its effectiveness and define its comparative advantage and its role in the 21st century (box 6.2).
Building democratic and market institutions (Box 6.2)
The Eurasia Foundation has awarded over 6,500 grants, totaling more than $130 million, to foster democracy and free markets and to popularize community foundations. Awarding its first grants in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in 1993, the foundation funds programs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The foundation receives $20-30 million a year from USAID, but it has also raised more than $40 million from non-U.S. government sources. The Russian government now gives it funds as well.
Multinational firms operating in the region want to be good corporate citizens, but as Citigroup said to the foundation, "We need to be bankers first." To help bridge that gap, the foundation, operating at the grassroots, finds both business partners and worthy philanthropy projects for foreign firms.
To sustain its work, the Eurasia Foundation is financing a trust fund of $100 million-half from private sources and half from public-that will establish indigenous, professional, and privately managed philanthropic institutions.
Source: Rutledge 2002.
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Last Updated on: October 07, 2009 |
