In the courts, the battle continues to get USAID suppliers paid for the work they have already done. But in the meantime, for those seeking other sources of funding, we take a look at new data on the world’s largest philanthropic development funders.
+ Are there topics you want to read more about in Money Matters? We want your feedback.
Job cuts
There are two big legal issues we’re watching this week, as well as a host of smaller suits. Aid workers lost one big battle, with a judge ruling that dismissals of USAID staff could go ahead.
The government responded almost immediately with plans to cut 1,600 staff members. And it appears that termination letters have already started going out.
Read: USAID staff start receiving termination letters
Funding activity
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of those viewed the most in the past 10 days.
The Asian Development Bank is supporting the digital transformation of the water sector in Uzbekistan through a loan of $125 million.
The Council of Europe is inviting consultancy firms for the provision of services for human rights protection and technical support for a National Preventive Mechanism, or NPM, in Cyprus and Ireland.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union announced a €67.1 million ($70.1 million) loan to support the power grid in Jordan.
The Green Climate Fund is providing $50.1 million to Senegal through a project that fosters climate-smart agriculture.
The World Bank has approved a $145 million project to address growth priorities and boost the productive capacity in Honduras.
+ Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.
Will USAID pay out?
The other big issue under litigation right now: Is the U.S. aid freeze legal at all? Does the government need to turn the taps back on? Or at least pay what it owes for work already done?
Last week’s newsletter reported that a court had issued a temporary restraining order, saying the aid freeze should be reversed. But since then, the response from the U.S. Department of State has largely been to stall, and USAID contracts and grants are still being terminated.
Since that point, a court has extended the order lifting the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze.
Devex Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar met last week with Robert Nichols, a partner in the law firm representing one of the plaintiffs in the various lawsuits. He broke down the possibilities for us.
Watch: Will USAID partners get paid? The verdict is still out (Pro)
+ If you aren’t a Devex Pro member yet, start your 15-day free trial now to access all our exclusive reporting, analyses, events, and more.
Low countries, lower spending
The bad news isn’t confined to the United States, either. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen cuts in Europe, too, with announcements from Belgium and the Netherlands.
We brought you news last year of planned Dutch cuts, and last week the foreign minister, Reinette Klever, unveiled a new policy giving more clarity about where the axe would fall — including an end to funding for gender equality programs and reduced support for climate and the United Nations. The new policy has been widely criticized by Dutch civil society, with NGO Cordaid calling the news “devastating” and “incomprehensible.”
Meanwhile, we’ve recently brought you news of cuts of up to 25% in Belgium, too.
Read: Belgium just cut its foreign aid by 25%. Does anybody care? (Pro)
Strong foundations?
This newsletter has largely taken a break from scheduled programming to bring you news about the turmoil at USAID. While the tumult continues, we’re turning our attention back to our regular stock in trade — news about sources of funding.
In the coming weeks, we’ll bring you a series of analyses and events looking at alternative sources of income as well as tactics to diversify your income. To kick us off, we’ve taken a look at what we can expect from the philanthropic sector.
Lauren Evans, writing for Devex, recently found that there hasn’t yet been a surge in response from foundations. And there’s some skepticism about whether there will be.
That’s not to say the sector’s not valuable. We’ll shortly be producing a report on the philanthropic sector, and my colleague Miguel Antonio Tamonan has provided a sneak preview exclusively for our Pro members.
He found that the largest foundations spend $11 billion annually on development. Most of that comes from the top 10, which spent $8.6 billion in 2022.
Read: How much did the largest foundations spend on development? (Pro)
Interested in more business and funding coverage? Explore our business overview page. If you’re a Pro member, you can set up news alerts for funding articles. We suggest selecting “Funding” as the topic, along with keywords (e.g., USAID). Not a Pro member yet? Try a 15-day Pro trial.
About the author
David Ainsworth@daveainsworth4
David Ainsworth is business editor at Devex, where he writes about finance and funding issues for development institutions. He was previously a senior writer and editor for magazines specializing in nonprofits in the U.K. and worked as a policy and communications specialist in the nonprofit sector for a number of years. His team specializes in understanding reports and data and what it teaches us about how development functions.
