Devex Pro Week has come to an end, and this week we have a bumper newsletter chock-full of high-level content from the past few days. In addition to two special reports that are all about the money, we’ve got roundups from exclusive events on the U.S. election, the future of AI in development, and a progress report on USAID’s localization efforts.
Devex is taking a company-wide break next week. We’ll be back with our next edition of Money Matters on Aug. 12.
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Top story
The largest international NGOs in the U.S. received more than $28.1 billion in annual funding, per their most recent tax filings, according to an exclusive new report by Devex.
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But which were the largest organizations? Which ones saw their income rise and fall? How did the list compare to the year before?
The report found that for the second year in a row, Direct Relief topped the table, while eight of the top 10 remained the same. The fastest riser was World Central Kitchen, the NGO set up by celebrity chef José Andrés, which saw its income rise from $138.1 million to $570.5 million, catapulting it 42 places up the list to make it the 15th largest INGO in the U.S.
Our report also looked at which organizations pay their top executives the most, and which ones have the most cash in the bank.
Download the report: The 50 largest US INGOs — and where they get their money (Pro)
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Funding activity
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of the ones which have been viewed the most in the past 10 days.
The Asian Development Bank has announced a $150 million project to enhance the climate resilience and livability of cities in Bangladesh.
NORAD has allocated 30 million Norwegian kroner ($2.75 million) in grants for enterprise development projects in Ukraine.
The United Nations has announced $3 million in funding to support communities affected by El Niño in Angola.
USAID has announced a $1 million grant opportunity to address development challenges in local communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The World Bank is seeking qualified firms to develop the technical requirements for a land information system in Georgia.
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The countries that get the most ODA
Our second exclusive report brings you information on the countries that received the most official development assistance, or ODA, last year — both in total, and relative to their population size and per capita income. We also look at which donors supported which countries, and map the changes in giving from year to year.
Our figures track the emergence of Ukraine as a dominant force in the world of aid, and identify how the response to the war there has hit donations around the world.
Read the report: Where does ODA go? (Pro)
ICYMI: Where do the top donors spend their official development assistance? (Pro)
The fall of Crown Agents
One of the oldest and most storied names in U.K. development is only days away from closure, Devex understands.
Crown Agents has operated since the 18th century, initially as a public body, but it was spun out of the U.K. government as a social enterprise in 1997. Unfortunately, it was saddled with significant pension liabilities at that point, which have hampered its ability to trade effectively ever since. Add in U.K. aid cuts, and increased competition from U.S. firms with deeper pockets, and business has become increasingly unsustainable.
Read the exclusive: Crown Agents faces collapse (Pro)
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The big issues
Last week was Pro Week 2024, during which we addressed some of the biggest issues in global development. This year, we looked at how the world’s elections will affect aid, the growth of artificial intelligence, the future of INGOs, the localization agenda, and the funding environment.
The week kicked off with an interview with Ben Rhodes, a former White House official, who spoke about the rapidly changing U.S. presidential election and what it might mean for development organizations. We also profiled David Lammy, the newly installed influential leader of the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
We looked at four practical applications of AI in global development and learned more about how the World Bank is using AI.
We spoke in depth with many NGO leaders about the future of the INGO, the meaning of localization, and what’s needed to bring local leadership.
Finally, we looked at two very different sources of funding. First, a profile of remittances, which are now a bigger source of cash for low- and middle-income countries than ODA and foreign direct investment combined.
And second, grants from donors to NGOs. We found that overwhelmingly, countries still fund their own nonprofits, and tried to understand why.
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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.
