Even as the aid sector makes commitments to localization — driving more resources toward organizations working in closest proximity to development challenges — progress has been slow.
Most community-based organizations continue to be sidelined from funding, with less than 1% of official development assistance going directly to local organizations in the global south.
The philanthropy sector represents a relatively small amount of international development funding compared to official development assistance. But philanthropic funders — from high net-worth individuals to large charitable foundations — are in a unique position to accelerate this shift toward localization.