Devex Pro Insider: US nonprofits hatch escape plans in case foreign funders dump them

The political uncertainty facing U.S.-based nonprofits just got a major jolt. On Oct. 8, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, or CIFF — one of the world’s largest philanthropies, with $6.6 billion in assets — quietly announced it would end all funding relationships with U.S.-based nonprofits. And it didn’t make many headlines. Not because grantees underperformed. Not because of strategy shifts. CIFF’s board says it simply no longer “feels confident in [its] understanding of the U.S. policy environment for foreign funders of U.S. NGOs.” So, “as a precautionary measure,” the U.K.-based foundation will redirect its money overseas until the rules are clearer. That’s a big deal. Aid budgets get cut all the time; agencies come and go, but for a private foundation to decide the U.S. itself is too risky? That’s new — and as Craig Bowman of Common Ground Consulting puts it on his LinkedIn page, “that single sentence should alarm anyone working in global philanthropy or social impact.” It also lines up with what we’ve reported: Nonprofits are increasingly banding together to sign open letters and speak out against what many perceive as a purely partisan campaign to silence them. But speaking up is not all they’re doing. U.S. nonprofits are already hedging their bets by setting up affiliates abroad. Lawyers in Toronto say they’ve seen a tenfold spike in requests, while firms in London are logging five times the usual number of inquiries. Groups that once defaulted to incorporating in the U.S. are now shopping for lifeboats in Canada or the United Kingdom. Why? Look around. A U.S. conservative report just painted the giving of CIFF’s founder, British billionaire Chris Hohn, as a national security concern. The White House is reviewing NGO funding. Executive orders have gone after groups working on climate, reproductive health, and equity. For funders, that adds up to uncertainty. For CIFF, it seems it was enough to walk away. For U.S. nonprofits, the takeaway is simple: Don’t wait. Run stress tests, diversify structures, and start pushing for clearer rules from Congress. Because CIFF’s move isn’t just one funder stepping back — it’s a flashing red signal that the infrastructure of cross-border philanthropy is under real strain. Also in today’s edition: A bombshell from Bill Gates, a mea culpa from GoFundMe, and the astronomical costs to rebuild a war-torn country. Bits and pieces Not all doom and gloom. The “doomsday” view of climate change — that civilization is heading for collapse — may not be the full story. Yes, climate change is serious and will hit the lowest-income hardest, but it seems it won’t end humanity. At least, that’s the word from billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, who argues the real challenge is to fight warming and improve lives, especially in countries where poverty and disease remain bigger daily threats than heat waves or storms. Innovation is already changing the game: Projected global emissions have dropped 40% in the past decade thanks to cheaper renewables, electric vehicles, and storage. With the right investments, more breakthroughs — such as clean steel, zero-emission fertilizer, and resilient power grids — can scale in time to meet growing energy demand. For Gates, the COP30 climate conference in Brazil is a chance to reset priorities. “Every tenth of a degree of heating that we prevent is hugely beneficial,” he says, but so is funding vaccines, agriculture, and health systems. But critics pushed back. As Christiana Figueres, co-host of the podcast Outrage + Optimism, puts it: “Sorry Bill Gates, no amount of human welfare in Jamaica would have stopped, prevented, or reduced the impact of [the] category 5 [Hurricane] Melissa. She got to that intensity because of abnormally warm waters on her path.” Figueres, a chief negotiator for the Paris climate accords, argues that improving livelihoods isn’t enough if people are still left exposed to stronger storms and rising seas. The injustice is stark: The countries with the lowest emissions suffer the worst impacts, while the highest emitters enjoy the greatest resilience. So perhaps the real challenge isn’t choosing between welfare and decarbonization — it’s doing both, urgently and together. The question for COP30 is clear: How do we ensure development and decarbonization move forward hand in hand? Cringe or clever? Bill Gates made a surprise cameo on India’s legendary soap opera Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, trading lines with actress and former government minister Smriti Irani. Beaming after his “Namaste Tulsi-ji,” Gates used the moment to highlight maternal and child health, a longtime focus of his foundation. “We tell women how essential it is to look after their health, their nutrition, and diet,” Tulsi, the character played by Irani, said on screen. Gates will appear in three episodes of the show. The cameo went viral — the promo drew more than 6 million views on Instagram in a day, with fans torn between delight and disbelief. As one puts it: “It’s so cringe but I also love it so much.” GoFundMe apologizes. GoFundMe is backpedaling after an ABC 7 On Your Side story revealed it had created 1.4 million nonprofit pages — many without the organizations’ knowledge. The company admits it missed the mark. In a statement, GoFundMe said: “We are very sorry for this and take responsibility. … Trust is foundational to our work with nonprofits, and we are fully committed to rebuilding it through better communication, collaboration, and partnership.” Moving forward, nonprofit pages will be opt-in only, with unclaimed pages removed from search. But questions remain. Some nonprofits say it’s still difficult to remove unwanted pages, while others want clarity on how donations are handled. GoFundMe insists funds go directly to organizations through processors such as PayPal Giving Fund, though the company does take a 2.2% transaction fee plus $0.30 per donation. We are the ones. MacKenzie Scott’s latest reflection on her Yield Giving site weaves starlings (the birds), Hopi prophecy, and everyday acts of kindness into a powerful reminder: Change doesn’t come from a single leader but from all of us, together. The Hopi are a Native American people who have lived for centuries in what is now northeastern Arizona. “Generosity and kindness engage the same pleasure centers in the brain as sex, food, and receiving gifts,” she writes, noting the trillion-plus dollars in humanitarian action that Americans quietly contribute each year — through donations, remittances, volunteer work, and small acts of care we never see in the headlines. Her point is simple: Votes matter, but so do compassion, respect, empathy, and the ripple effects of one act of generosity. Or, as Scott puts it: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” The chance to thrive. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy, or CDP, just landed its biggest gift — a $60 million donation from MacKenzie Scott and Yield Giving. It’s the third time Scott has backed CDP, following $10 million in 2020 for its COVID-19 fund and $3 million in 2022 for Ukraine relief. “We are deeply honored and grateful … for this transformative investment,” says Patricia McIlreavy, CDP’s president and CEO. “Every community deserves the chance to thrive, even amid crises.” The grant will fuel CDP’s mission to strengthen disaster preparedness, tackle root vulnerabilities, and support long-term recovery led by local communities — at a time when climate change and shrinking aid budgets are making crises tougher to face. Putting an end to polio. On Dec. 8, 2025, the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity will bring world leaders, donors, and health partners to Abu Dhabi for a major pledging moment to help finish the fight against polio. Past gatherings pulled in $6.6 billion — and this year, the stakes are just as high. “The UAE is committed to ensuring people everywhere have the opportunity to lead healthy, productive lives,” said Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab. Backed by UNICEF, WHO, Rotary, Gavi, and the Gates Foundation, the message is clear: Now’s the time to step up, keep the momentum, and end polio once and for all. Syria’s rebuilding bill. After more than 13 years of conflict, the price tag for Syria’s reconstruction is staggering: $216 billion, according to a new World Bank report, with direct physical damage alone hitting $108 billion. “The challenges ahead are immense, but the World Bank stands ready to work alongside the Syrian people and the international community to support recovery and reconstruction,” says Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Middle East division director. Bezos and AI for the planet. The Bezos Earth Fund just announced $30 million for 15 global teams using artificial intelligence to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity. Each project gets up to $2 million to scale solutions — from decoding bird songs to monitoring coral reefs and predicting weather for African farmers. “These innovators, using AI, are showing us new possibilities by reimagining how we grow food, protect wildlife, and power our planet to make a true impact,” said Amen Ra Mashariki, the fund’s director of AI. From The Nature Conservancy to Yale, Cornell, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, these innovators are proving that with purpose, AI can help both people and nature thrive. AFSA pushes back. The American Foreign Service Association says the State Department’s claim that more people want to join the Foreign Service “than at any point in the last decade” just isn’t true. “This claim is not supported by official data,” AFSA notes, citing 6,514 applicants in 2021 — higher than this year’s 5,751. With recruiting efforts halted and staff cut in July, AFSA calls the claim “tremendously insensitive” to laid-off diplomats. The group says it will keep providing “data-driven context to defend the integrity of the Foreign Service.” NDB bandwagon. Pakistan wants in on the BRICS-backed New Development Bank — and it’s asking China to help make it happen. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told Beijing’s Liao Min he sought China’s support for Pakistan’s membership in the New Development Bank during the World Bank-IMF meetings in Washington, D.C. “Given that Pakistan is one of China’s closest allies, Beijing may want Islamabad to jump on the NDB bandwagon,” said Bradley Parks of AidData. Membership could give Pakistan quicker, less politically loaded access to infrastructure financing. But there’s a catch: Four of the five founding members must approve — and India, a longtime opponent, is expected to block the move. “The likelihood is that India will not agree,” said Jeremy Garlick of Prague University. Sick and tired. The U.N. is weighing cuts to its security officers’ work conditions, PassBlue reports. Proposals include slashing break time from two hours to one, scrapping a 30-minute compensation payment, and ending overtime pay. Officers, who spend hours at standing posts, say their two one-hour breaks are crucial for staying alert on the job. Workers held a coordinated sick-out at U.N. headquarters in New York City to protest the proposals. Moving on Chip Lyons, former president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, has joined the Equity Bank Group Foundation at Equity Bank Limited, based in Nairobi, as a nonexecutive board director. Equity Bank Group is led by James Mwangi and aims to boost African private sector development financing. Claire Melamed has begun a new chapter as vice president for AI and digital cooperation at the United Nations Foundation in New York. As she wrote on LinkedIn: “There’s much to be excited about and much to fear about the way that AI and new technologies are shaping politics, economics, and how we relate to each other. The UN’s role, and multilateralism in general, is critical to ensure that these technologies are governed, built, and used in ways that meet the needs and protect the rights of all people, and I’m thrilled to be a small part of this huge effort.” Ella Nwaokolo has stepped into a new role as senior director, head of impact partnerships, global health at GSK, following her return from maternity leave. She said on LinkedIn that she looks forward to “leading a talented team of global health experts and driving partner-led programmes that strengthen health systems with the ultimate aim to improve access to quality healthcare.” Africa Frontline First appointed Juliet Odogwu as co-executive director, joining Nan Chen in leading the partnership into its next chapter. Odogwu has been central to the organization’s progress as managing director of performance and operations, overseeing its 17-country Global Fund portfolio. She also previously served as executive director of eHealth Africa, where she led digital innovation programs for health systems across the continent. Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Pakistani prime minister's focal person on polio eradication and chairperson at the National Commission on the Rights of Child Pakistan, has accepted the nomination to serve as a gender champion for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. As she notes on LinkedIn, “this role isn't about me. It's about the real gender champions of Pakistan’s polio programme — the over 240,000 women who make up 60% of our 400,000-strong frontline workforce.” Diptesh Soni has started a new role as senior program officer, data and insights, with the Philanthropic Partnerships team at the Gates Foundation. He says on LinkedIn that he will be stepping in for Jasmine C. Marrow while she’s on leave, working with Andrew Dunckelman and a team “focused on strengthening the data and insight infrastructure that supports smarter, more effective giving.” Up next For the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025, which runs from Nov. 4-6, the aid community will descend on Qatar’s glitzy, gleaming capital to talk poverty eradication — and to renew focus on the Sustainable Development Goals five years before the deadline. On Tuesday, delegates are expected to endorse the Doha Political Declaration — which was already agreed upon in early September — and wade through a near-infinite number of side events, with everything from education to women’s empowerment to disability rights on tap. Follow our global development reporter, Elissa Miolene, as she tracks both the official and side conversations, and drop her a line at elissa.miolene@devex.com if you’ve got story tips or just want to connect. Inside an African-led philanthropy for long-term, unrestricted funding — Nov. 4, 9 a.m. ET: In this Devex Pro Funding briefing, you’ll hear from Ruth Mapara, director of Masana wa Afrika, and Blessing Chaipa, executive director of Zimbabwe-based Nzeve Deaf Centre, one of Masana’s grantee partners. They will explore what it takes to build strong, “investable” local organizations, how Masana approaches co-funding and strategic collaborations, and what lessons other funders and implementers can draw from their approach. Beyond the freeze: Emerging opportunities in the U.S. social impact space — Nov. 5, 9 a.m. ET: To help development professionals make sense of the current U.S. job market and potential paths worth considering, Devex is hosting a digital event featuring a panel of sector professionals and career experts who will offer their insights and perspectives on how to turn the aid crisis into career opportunities. Job of the week Your Devex Pro membership includes access to the world’s largest global development job board. Here’s the latest opportunity: • Country director for Rwanda, CARE Search for more opportunities now.