Money Matters: US Congress passes $50B foreign affairs bill into law

The United States has passed a $50 billion foreign affairs bill into law, approving $9.4 billion for global health programs; $5.4 billion for humanitarian aid; and cash for education, nutrition, and agriculture. It provides a much-needed boost to the embattled foreign assistance sector — but what comes next may prove to be even more important.

Also in today’s edition: A look at which nations got the most foreign aid in 2024, and a new fund that revives USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures — this time, outside of government.

+ Are there topics you want to read more about in Money Matters? We want your feedback.

Crossing the finish line

The foreign affairs bill went into law last Tuesday, pushing forward $50 billion for the United States’ foreign affairs programming. That’s roughly 16% lower than spending levels in 2025 — and nearly a 40% reduction in humanitarian assistance funding, writes Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger.

Still, the bill is nearly $20 billion above President Donald Trump’s initial budget request, which would have amounted to an 85% drop in foreign affairs spending if the administration was granted all it had initially asked for. And with the legislation now law, attention is shifting from what Congress approved to how the administration will carry it out.

“Even as the bill’s passage marks a major milestone, it also raises new questions,” Adva writes. “Will the administration spend the funds Congress has appropriated? Will they be used as intended? Does the State Department have the capacity to implement the programs? And how will competing visions for foreign aid between Congress and the administration play out?”

Read: US Congress passes $50 billion foreign affairs bill
ICYMI: US lawmakers strike $50B foreign assistance deal, surpassing Trump’s plan

See also: Congress may pass a $50B foreign aid bill. Will Trump spend the money? (Pro)

+ Tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, we’ll have a Devex Pro Briefing with David Beasley and Roberto Patiño to explore the future of development in Venezuela and how MDBs might unlock capital, rebuild institutional capacity, and support Venezuelan communities while navigating political constraints and humanitarian demands. Register for it now. 

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 European Union has allocated €2 million ($2.4 million) to support food and nutrition assistance for Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency has committed €65 million ($77 million) to support green rebuilding and sustainable waste management activities in Ukraine.

The World Bank has approved $95 million in funding to expand access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises and promote job-led growth in Nepal.

The United Nations has launched a call for proposals to support awareness and behavior change on coordinated waste management in Algeria.

The Asian Development Bank has invited expressions of interest for a road asset management system project in India.

+ Interested in more funding coverage? Start a five-day free trial of Devex Pro Funding today and explore funding opportunities from over 850 funders with the data analysis and industry intelligence you need to win them.

Aid by numbers

But it’s not just about who gives the money — it’s also about where that money goes.

At the end of last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released final figures on where aid money was spent in 2024, revealing both the biggest donors and recipients that year. When it came to bilateral aid — excluding multilaterals — the United States dwarfed all other nations, contributing nearly $60 billion, compared to Germany, the world’s second-largest donor, which gave $24.5 billion.

“Most of that money — although not all — was spent in countries in the global south. But which ones?” writes our data analyst, Alecsondra Kieren Si.

While Africa received the most money as a region — $35.5 billion, followed by Asia at $31.4 billion — Ukraine took home the most cash at the country level, receiving $14.7 billion in 2024 alone. The eastern European country was followed by India, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Jordan.

Read: Which countries received the most ODA in 2024? (Pro) 

Philanthropy steps in, but not out

Of course, all of that cash went out before the Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development — and before countries across the world began tightening their budgetary belts even more. In the time since, philanthropies have been increasingly looked at to fill the gap.

But will they meet that need? Shelly Helgeson, the chief strategy officer of Connective Impact, recently referred to philanthropy as a sector “in paralysis.”

“There is sort of this disconnect,” said Helgeson, who spoke to Devex during a recent Pro Funding Briefing. “Funders … are telling us, ‘We’re giving out money, we’re giving out the same amount or more than we have in previous years.’ But it’s going to the same actors.”

Connective Impact positions itself as a relationship broker, gathering information from funders and implementing partners, and translating that intel to its network of 200 nonprofits, social enterprises, and grassroots groups.

Helgeson said that throughout the year, her team has heard a multitude of announcements from philanthropic groups saying they’re stepping up their funding — but in reality, that’s meant honing in on current grantees instead of opening up to a wider pool.

“Relationships are really the real currency in fundraising this year and moving forward,” she added. “Map your networks. Identify the levers you have. Be bold. Ask for favors. Collaborate.”

Read: The challenges facing philanthropy in 2026 (Pro)

+ For more exclusive conversations with nonprofit and philanthropy funders and policymakers, sign up for Devex Pro with a 15-day free trial today and get immediate access to all our exclusive briefings as well as deeper analysis of the development sector like you’ve never seen before.

Rev it up

Amid that paralysis, some former aid officials argue the answer isn’t just more money — it’s changing how money is deployed. It’s a bet now being tested by a new project modeled on USAID’s 15-year-old Development Innovation Ventures program, which was shuttered with the rest of the agency early last year.

“It was one of the few places that offered ‘risk-adjusted funding and support,’ meaning small, early grants for untested ideas and larger investments only after evidence of impact emerged, no matter the type of organization, sector, or geography,” writes Senior Editor Catherine Cheney.

Now, Catherine writes, those behind Development Innovation Ventures are bringing it back — this time, through an out-of-government DIV Fund, which launched with $48 million in commitments last Friday. Backed by Coefficient Giving and guided by Nobel laureate Michael Kremer, the DIV Fund aims to test whether venture-style, evidence-driven aid can still turn small pilots into large-scale impact.

“One of the things DIV has been really good at, and I expect we’ll continue to be really good at, is being a discovery engine for the field,” says Sasha Gallant, the former head of DIV at USAID and now the DIV Fund’s chief executive officer. “We’ve got a pretty good eye for needles in giant haystacks.”

Read: New fund revives USAID’s ‘discovery engine’ outside of government (Pro)

+ Sasha Gallant came in at No. 42 on the recently released Devex Power 50. To find out why and to know about the 49 other people influencing global development, make sure you check out the complete list.

Sign up to Money Matters for an inside look at the biggest stories in development funding.