Today, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, Administrator Samantha Power and leaders of philanthropic organizations announced the endorsement of the Donor Statement on Supporting Locally Led Development by 15 foundations, representing a major milestone in building a global coalition of funders who are committed to advancing locally led development.
The philanthropic organizations endorsing the Donor Statement include: Fundación Avina, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Ford Foundation, GHR Foundation, Humanity United, Imaginable Futures, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, McKnight Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Segal Family Foundation, Skoll Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The Council on Foundations also supports the statement, and has played an important role in advancing locally-led development in the philanthropic community.
The donor statement, which outlines actions to foster locally sustained change that is tied to each country’s unique context, was first announced on December 13, 2022, at the Effective Development Cooperation Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. At that time, 15 donor countries, including USAID, endorsed the statement. Since then, three additional countries – Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden – have endorsed the statement, bringing the total number to 18.
The endorsements of philanthropic organizations to the donor statement demonstrates the resonance of the commitments in the statement: to shift and share power, to work to channel high quality funding as directly as possible, and to publicly advocate for locally led development.
To learn more about USAID’s efforts to ensure our work puts local actors in the lead, strengthens local systems, and is responsive to local communities, visit usaid.gov/localization.
USAID at UNGA 2023
