Newsletters

Global Philanthropy Update - July 2017

Monday, July 24, 2017 - 3:00 pm

Natalie Ross

For the last three years, I’ve noticed a growing trend in community foundations asking for support to make international grants, often from donor or corporate advised funds. We’ve never had data on how many community foundations are making global grants, which is why I’m delighted to share that last week, the Council, in collaboration with the Foundation Center, released a new global philanthropy report—Local Communities with Global Reach: International Giving by U.S. Community Foundations —that is the first-ever analysis of international giving by large U.S. community foundations (CFs).

Beyond presenting statistics on global grantmaking trends, the report also includes interviews with five community foundations who each approach international engagement in diverse ways.

The data highlights that international grantmaking by large U.S. community foundations is becoming increasingly common, with 85 percent of sampled community foundations making at least one international grant in 2014. From 2011 to 2014, grant dollars awarded by large U.S. community foundations for international programs more than doubled, from $103 million to $223 million. The average grant size also increased by 78 percent during the same time period.

Download your copy of the report and an accompanying discussion guide for free and find out more, including which CFs make the most international grants, an analysis of subject areas and geographies funded, and key takeaways for the field.

Recent and Upcoming Global Events

The Council welcomed partners from various state and multilateral organizations for the second meeting of the Global Liaisons Program on Thursday, June 15. The meeting featured presentations on upcoming reports about international grantmaking by U.S. foundations, as well as talks about how each organization is currently supporting the implementation of the SDGs both in the U.S. and overseas. The group’s next meeting is scheduled to take place in September 2017. Please reach out if you are interested in hearing more about this program.

The Council also attended the Human Rights Funders Network New York Conference this month, and I spoke during a session about grantmaking into China.

Please join our next event about the SDGs and U.S. philanthropy in Albuquerque on August 4! Philanthropy's Impact in the Southwest, in partnership with Philanthropy Southwest and the Albuquerque Community Foundation, will explore how philanthropy’s work across the Southwest supports achieving the universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Albuquerque will be the sixth location in a series of national dialogues with local philanthropy on the SDGs, following convenings in Little Rock, San Francisco, New York City, Jacksonville, and Minneapolis.

Learn more & Register

Save the Date!

Are you in New York City the week of September 17 for United Nations General Assembly events? We are planning several events in partnership with Concordia and the SDG Philanthropy Platform, all linked to the SDGs. We’d love to know if you’ll be in town and hosting your own side-events, so please be in touch!

The North American Community Foundation Summit, co-sponsored by the Council, Comunalia (Mexico), and Community Foundations of Canada, will be held in Mexico City on February 5-7, 2018. If you are interested in sponsoring the Summit or helping to shape content, please contact me at natalie.ross@cof.org—we are starting to finalize design elements now!

Cross-Border Philanthropy News

Hungary: The European Union has taken legal action against Hungary’s new set of laws that prevent NGOs from receiving funds from certain international civic groups and foundations. Citing transparency for NGOs, Hungary’s parliament continues to back its decision and is willing to face the infringement charges brought by the European Commission. The Council, along with 80+ foundations, continues to advocate for the free movement of capital and the protection of civil society.
China: Under a new law that went into effect on January 1, 2017, Give2Asia became the latest of overseas NGOs to successfully register in China. Give2Asia will be able to provide important resources in China alongside their professional supervisory unit, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The Council continues to monitor this new law in order to understand its effects on our members. For more information on the law, please see the regularly updated China NGO Project.
Global Famine Concerns: More than 20 million people are facing starvation over the next few months in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, and other nearby countries, according to the United Nations. Eight international organizations based in the U.S. are collaborating on a two-week campaign to raise funds to address the threat of famine. The Council is also working the Charity & Security Network, and partners like the Treasury Department, to help ensure funders and NGOs responding to the famine situation are able to do so. Please contact the Council if you have questions about compliance related challenges for famine response.

Grantmaker Salary and Benefits (GSB) Report

The Council’s 2016 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits (GSB) Full Report is now available online and continues to be the largest and most comprehensive analysis of the philanthropic sector in the United States. This year’s report offers insight on positions, salary, benefits, and demographics of 1,010 grantmakers, analyzing nearly 10,000 full-time paid profession and administrative staff members.

We are also now collecting data for our 2017 GSB Survey. In collaboration with our partners at Mission Investors Exchange, we have included an impact investing specific staff position to this year's survey to highlight philanthropy's staffing response to an area of rapidly growing interest. The deadline to complete the survey is August 4, 2017.

To get started, please email communications@cof.org with a request to participate.