US, EU aid officials preview policy changes on local philanthropy

Officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the European Commission say they are planning to propose policy changes that would lift obstacles for working with local philanthropies abroad, which they say could be critical to delivering aid more quickly and effectively to target communities globally. In recent years, donor countries have been pressured by civil society groups to take a more localized approach to humanitarian assistance and to work with a greater diversity of actors in-country. “This is the age of social movements, and every single person on the planet is a potential civic actor.” --— Lysa John, secretary-general, CIVICUS The European Union is “investing heavily” in aid localization and sees the expansion of the donor base — including local philanthropy — as imperative for relief actions and social welfare activities, according to Martin Seychell, deputy director-general of international partnerships at the European Commission. Speaking Thursday at an event hosted by WINGS, a network of philanthropic groups, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Seychell said discussing localization should occur in parallel to addressing the root causes of the need for relief work — particularly in regard to the “big issues of our time,” such as climate change and structural poverty. He also said the European Union was seeking to learn more about localized financing approaches and building local philanthropic ecosystems, among other objectives. Mobilizing private resources will require international collaboration and more data on how to build capacity and enable local voices, Seychell said. Further, the principles of effectiveness applied to other forms of development cooperation should apply to the activities of civil society actors, including philanthropic foundations, he added. The European Union stands ready to “help and to ensure that together we can all integrate these principles into all our activities — of course, adapting them to specific contexts,” he said. “We recognize that local organizations and local philanthropy bring a lot of on-the-ground knowledge and skills,” he continued. “They bring access. They bring presence, analysis. And they help us understand the local context, and they help us connect to people and communities.” Seychell said that without that local assistance, major donors may do things “that only exist on paper” and without real-world impacts. Some development groups also have argued that by involving more local leaders in humanitarian responses, donor countries would provide more opportunities for communities to weigh in on how aid might best address their needs. USAID has, for too long, ignored the local development sector — including nonprofits, universities, and other organizations — that should be part of development aid discussions but now sees the potential for them to be key partners, according to Michele Sumilas, the assistant to the administrator at USAID’s policy, planning, and learning bureau. She said the agency aims to make announcements about new processes and policies for working with local partners within the next 6-12 months. “I think that what we’re finding is that the development challenges that are facing us — from food security to the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change and the crises that are happening there — are just so widespread and complex and interrelated that without local solutions that are owned by local partners, we are not going to be able to find a way forward,” she said during the WINGS event. The agency has worked with communities and civil society groups to ensure that local philanthropy won’t be inhibited by certain domestic policies, according to Sumilas. For example, she said that USAID had found that food producers and merchants in Serbia were being forced to pay taxes when they donated surplus food to food banks and charities. Because of that, many chose to destroy the food instead of donating. “So, we are working with our local partners there to seek the ability to abolish that tax, which we estimate would be potentially $700 million more in local food donations,” Sumilas said. USAID also wants to support research and analysis of opportunities and obstacles for local philanthropy and also aims to hold conversations at the local level within some countries to “talk about how we can build a new ecosystem for locally resourced development,” she said. The agency is exploring partnerships with international foundations that already have launched efforts to work with local partners, Sumilas added. Lysa John, the secretary-general for CIVICUS, said donor countries should also put more money behind efforts to bolster organizations at the local level. “We need governments to have budget lines for civil society in all of their work,” she said on a separate panel at the same event. “We need international organizations to have budget plans for civil society engagement in all of their work.” Civil society actors should not have to spend 80% of their time fundraising when those resources are part of a public good aimed at broader civic participation, John argued. “This is the age of social movements, and every single person on the planet is a potential civic actor,” she said.