Devex Pro Insider: Funding winners and losers, and USAID’s TV moment

Who will be the winners and losers of global development funding in 2025? Going down are traditional government aid departments — such as USAID, which is likely to see significant cuts under the incoming Trump administration, according to Devex President Raj Kumar, who offered his predictions to Devex Pro members at a briefing last week. It’s not just the U.S. though — we’ve already seen budget cuts among donors across Europe, including the U.K., France, and Germany. U.N. agencies are also likely to suffer, Kumar predicted. But the winners might be multilateral development banks and development finance institutions, in part because it’s easier to make a geopolitical case for them and to build bipartisan support for investment in the private sector, Kumar said. Catch up on the full briefing now. Also in today’s edition: A controversial aid leader receives a presidential medal, concerns are raised over the targeting of MacKenzie Scott, and USAID gets its moment in the spotlight. Bits and pieces Grand finale. Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden handed out 19 presidential medals of freedom last week, including several from the aid world — not all of which are uncontroversial. First up was Bono, who has made a significant contribution to anti-poverty causes as co-founder of the ONE Campaign; the White House release also credits him with helping to build cross-party support for the creation of PEPFAR. The U2 frontman’s name came up in media coverage over the holiday period amid the controversial revival of Band Aid. Bono’s original line in the song is often considered one of the most offensive — “Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you.” But Bob Geldof recently revealed that Bono had the good sense to question the line even at the time of the original recording in 1984, although it didn’t stop him singing it again in 2004. It was changed for the 2014 rerecording. Also awarded a medal last week was José Andrés, celebrity chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, which provides meals in crisis zones. A Devex Pro analysis last year identified WCK as the fastest-growing U.S.-based INGO, and it has deployed in hot spots including Ukraine and Gaza. But Andrés has faced accusations over his leadership style and alleged disregard for safety concerns. Finally, there was George Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations, who has donated more than $30 billion to philanthropic causes. Soros is widely respected in the sector — although the award might ruffle the feathers of conspiracy theorists. Philanthropic targets. The world of philanthropy is bracing itself for the Trump presidency — which begins in just a week — given hostile comments by some members of his team against foundations. But one philanthropist in particular seems to be coming in for flak — and it’s perhaps no surprise that it’s one of America’s highest-profile women donors. MacKenzie Scott is known for giving away her money quickly and unconventionally and has been praised within the sector for her no-strings-attached style of giving. But toward the end of last year, ex-financier John LeFevre posted a screed on the social media platform X, accusing her of “sewing racial division and supporting illegal immigration.” “Her primary impact is feeding the NGO / non-profit complex - a jobs program for entitled liberals who think their overpriced degrees are worth framing,” LeFevre wrote. “And they embrace fanatical ideologies to assuage their guilt, make themselves feel superior & charitable, and mask their hypocrisy.” Elon Musk, now an official member of the incoming administration, shared LeFevre’s post with the comment: “Concerning.” It’s the second time that Musk has taken a swipe at Scott. Over on LinkedIn, Benjamin Soskis, senior research associate at the Urban Institute, predicted that this year, “we're going to see a more concerted effort to turn MacKenzie Scott into the next right-wing philanthropy bogey-person” — similar to what happened with Soros, but “with the anti-semitism swapped for misogyny,” he wrote. Shaping the narrative. A three-part PBS Newshour series on U.S. foreign aid aired this past week with a less than flattering take on the effectiveness of USAID’s “traditional” implementing partners. The series pointed American viewers to watchdog reports documenting unmet objectives, despite fully paid-out contracts. It also included commentary from big aid critics, including the advocacy coalition Unlock Aid. In a statement shared with Devex, the Professional Services Council — the lobbying group representing government contractors — declined to comment directly on the PBS story, but voiced support for anticipated reforms by the incoming Trump administration that would reduce regulations. “These reforms would also encourage more implementing partners to bid on this work — an outcome that will ultimately improve results by keeping costs low and continuing to reward innovative approaches,” PSC President and CEO David Berteau said. For those aid contractors worried about how the PBS series might land with the incoming administration, one Republican aid expert shared some words of consolation with my colleague Michael Igoe: “Trump world is not watching PBS,” they said. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. In memoriam Louis Schittly, a French doctor who co-founded Médecins Sans Frontières, died on Jan. 1 at the age of 86. His work in conflict zones began in the 1960s, when he treated patients in Biafra, alongside Bernard Kouchner, another MSF co-founder who went on to serve as French foreign minister. Schittly also provided medical care during the Vietnam War but later began to pull back from humanitarian work, describing the emotional toll it had taken on him. MSF won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. Prepare for 2025 My colleagues have been busy helping you prepare for the year ahead with a series of guides. Catch up below: • The big forces that will shape global development in 2025: We speak to Devex President Raj Kumar about his predictions for the year ahead. • The key moments to watch this year: From Davos to COP, mark your calendar with these dates. • The year of UNcertainty: Inside the U.N. as it prepares for deep funding cuts and a White House that will be hard to read. • 2025 in food systems: Nine key things to watch. Moving on Alice Ruhweza, currently a senior director at WWF, will start as president of AGRA in March. Nalini Tarakeshwar has been promoted to deputy CEO of the UBS Optimus Foundation. Wellcome has made several senior appointments: Rachel McKendry as executive director of discovery, Charlotte Watts as executive director of solutions, and Maggy Chan as chief operating officer. Sandra Milach is CGIAR’s new chief scientist. Massimo Diana is now director of the multicountry office at UNOPS. He joins from the U.N. Population Fund, where he served as Ukraine representative. Marc-Olivier Herman has left Oxfam EU, where he has worked on advocacy for 14 years, to focus on EUChanger, an organization he founded to support advocates working in Europe. Peter Kalotai has been promoted to director of EU affairs and strategic relationships in corporate strategy at EBRD. Over at the Gates Foundation, Trey Watkins is now infectious disease communications lead, while John Spangler is now senior officer, advocacy communications within the global health office. And aid consultancy Pope International has launched a sister company, Pope Universal Corporation, to be led by George Schutter, a former chief financial officer of the Peace Corps. Founder Chuck Pope says the company has a similar mission to Pope International but “takes collaborations a step further, by not only implementing contracts and grants but also bringing capital to the table, providing the leverage to catalyze and fuel partnerships.” Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com. Up next UN priorities. The president of the U.N. General Assembly, Philémon Yang, will be briefing the assembly on his priorities for the year. Jan. 14. Nomination hearings. Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, will have his nomination hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. You can watch it live here. There might also be a hearing for Elise Stefanik, the nominee for U.N. ambassador, but a date hadn’t been confirmed at the time of writing. Jan. 15. OECD figures. OECD will be presenting its final figures on official development assistance in 2023 this week, though they’ll be similar to the preliminary figures released in April. You can watch the event here. Jan. 16. Syria’s future. Chatham House is hosting an event on what the fall of Assad means for Syria and the region. If you’re a Middle East watcher, it’s worth tuning in. Jan. 13. Ukraine’s future. And another one from Chatham House, this time on Ukraine and what kind of support it needs to maintain its society and institutions in the face of Russia’s continuing assault. Jan. 16.