The sudden collapse of USAID has left a void at the center of aid funding. But we’re beginning to see a shape emerging for what might come next. We’re also seeing lots left to play for in the United Kingdom, after an announcement of headline cuts to aid. And we’re looking at how to diversify your funding in this strange new world.
+ Are there topics you want to read more about in Money Matters? We want your feedback.
Diversity matters
In the last two months, aid funding has changed rapidly, and many organizations are seeking new sources of support. In order to help with that, we’re producing two new reports.
This is a preview of Devex Money Matters
Sign up to this weekly newsletter and get the latest in development funding in your inbox every Monday.
The first is an overview of possible sources of new funding, together with ideas for how to diversify, written by my colleague Raquel Alcega. The full report will be available in the coming days, but we produced a preview of it for our Pro members.
Raquel also hosted an exclusive session for Pro members with some of the experts in the field.
We’ve also produced a guide to the top 10 foundations funding development, containing lots of detail on what they fund, and how they make decisions. Eagle-eyed readers will remember that we already published a preview, but the full report is now available.
Read: 4 strategies for diversifying funding in a post-USAID world (Pro)
Further reading: Philanthropy, blended finance, and the evolving role of NGOs (Pro)
Download the report: The top 10 foundations funding development
+ This week, we’ve got two events for our Pro members to explore the future of aid. Tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET (3 p.m. CET), my colleague Elissa Miolene is hosting an event on the challenges facing emergency food aid, and on Wednesday, March 19, our Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar will catch up at 9 a.m. ET (2 p.m. CET) with Dean Karlan, former chief economist at USAID, to get his take on recent events.
Register for tomorrow’s event here and Wednesday’s event here.
Funding activity
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of the ones that have been viewed the most in the past 10 days.
The Asian Development Bank is looking for companies for the construction and completion of roads in Pohnpei State of Micronesia.
The European Union is providing $7.38 million to stop the spread of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Inter-American Development Bank is inviting consulting firms to bid for work supporting the development of the lower secondary education curriculum in Suriname.
The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has approved $2.5 million of support for enhanced access to renewable energy sources for health care facilities in Yemen.
French development finance institution Proparco has announced a risk-sharing guarantee of $20 million to support the Ukrainian private sector and the country’s exporters and importers.
+ Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial and explore funding opportunities from over 850 funders with the data analysis and industry intelligence you need to win them.
One and a bit cheers
It’s been a busy week once again in the world of U.S. aid funding. Despite the sudden and startling collapse of USAID, it seems as if there are more positive signs for development implementers than we might have expected a month ago.
That’s not to say the portents are good exactly — just slightly better.
For one, the U.S. Congress has passed a continuing resolution which promises to fund aid at existing levels — around $60 billion.
It’s not quite as good as it sounds; the U.S. government was inches from shutdown and passed some kind of bill just so it could continue functioning, and that money could still be clawed back later once lawmakers have more time. But it does put a marker down.
Second, there do now seem to be some plans afoot to build a functioning aid infrastructure inside the U.S. Department of State. They do seem pretty limited compared to what was there before, but they aren’t nothing.
And third, the courts have also had their say on what it means when Congress appropriates cash for aid, and they’ve been clear: If it’s been appropriated, it’s gotta be spent.
Finally, and most importantly for some, the courts have also been clear that the government has to pay up for work already done.
Read: US Congress passes budget bill, but questions remain on foreign aid
Exclusive: Inside the closed-door meeting on USAID’s future
+ Keep up with the latest news and insider reporting with our coverage of how the Trump administration is reshaping U.S. foreign aid.
Next steps for the UK
The United Kingdom is also cutting aid spending over the coming years, although — small mercies — at least it’s done so in a more sensible and orderly fashion.
Because the latest U.K. cuts won’t officially come into effect until 2027, that leaves a window for aid organizations to lobby the government — potentially to have the cuts reduced or reversed, but more realistically to have the reductions done in a way that makes sense to the sector.
I caught up with aid leaders in the sector last week to hear what they’re looking to see happen, which include:
• Carrying out a full impact assessment.
• Front-loading payments to multilateral agencies into this year and next year’s budgets.
• Cutting spending on in-donor refugee costs — or ideally, eliminating them from the aid budget altogether.
• Reducing the £900 million-a-year slated for British International Investment.
• Amping up efforts in development areas that don’t need official development assistance — particularly around debt and tax.
Meanwhile, Devex contributor Susannah Birkwood finds that U.K. development organizations, which have been facing a tough environment for a few years now, are likely to have even more challenges ahead as they negotiate this next round of cuts.
Read: UK aid cuts — 6 things left to fight for (Pro)
Plus: With FCDO slashing budgets, where will UK NGOs turn for funding? (Pro)
+ Interested in more funding coverage? Explore our funding insights page. 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.
Sign up to Money Matters for an inside look at the biggest stories in development funding.
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.
