Who were USAID’s top grantees in 2021?

How much did USAID give in grants last year — and who got those grants? According to USAspending.gov, the U.S. Agency for International Development obligated $16.77 billion in the fiscal year 2021 through the assistance awards mechanism, which includes grants and cooperative agreements. This is up $2.78 billion from the previous fiscal year, mostly due to an increase in spending on COVID-19 vaccinations. An additional $3.4 billion was spent on COVAX, compared to last year. More than half the money went to multilateral organizations — mostly agencies of the United Nations — with the top 10 institutions receiving $9.28 billion, or 55.4% of the total amount. Much of the rest went to implementing organizations, such as large NGOs and private contractors. The top 10 largest implementers received $2.2 billion, or 13.1% of the total. Eight of the top international organizations are the same as the previous fiscal year. Palladium International and CARE USA replaced Anova Health Institute and the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening. Palladium is the only for-profit firm to make the list. Among multilaterals, nine entries are the same as last year. The World Health Organization replaced the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development among the top multilateral agencies. Top 10 international organization grantees 1. FHI 360 Founded: 1971 Headquarters: North Carolina, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $474.9 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 1 Up by $56.7 million from the previous fiscal year, FHI 360 maintained its spot as top USAID grantee. Among its awards, $163.3 million was obligated for 19 activities under the Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control project — USAID’s program for HIV epidemic control in Kenya. 2. Catholic Relief Services and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Founded: 1943 and 1966 Headquarters: Maryland, U.S. and Washington, D.C., U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $446.6 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 2 CRS and USCCB — which are jointly tagged by USAID — recorded an increase of $102.1 million. USAID obligated $95.6 million for the Joint Emergency Operation Program, which aims to address the food emergency crisis in Ethiopia. 3. Save the Children USA Founded: 1932 Headquarters: Connecticut, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $247.8 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 3 Save the Children USA’s obligated amount increased by $20.9 million compared to last year, with the USAID obligating $36.8 million to support nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene in Borno State, Nigeria. 4. Palladium International Founded: 1965 Headquarters: Washington, D.C., U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $229.5 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 12 Palladium had the biggest increase in obligated funding among the top 10 grantees — $139.8 million. This can be attributed to 11 activities worth $166.2 million under the Translating Data for Implementation Project, or DFI. DFI is a global initiative to improve HIV epidemiologic and program data. 5. Mercy Corps Founded: 1979 Headquarters: Oregon, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $194.4 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 4 USAID’s obligated funding to Mercy Corps increased by $12 million, with the biggest activity, worth $38.1 million, aimed at providing aid to Venezuelans refugees in Colombia. 6. Jhpiego Founded: 1973 Headquarters: Maryland, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $134.1 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 9 Jhpiego climbed three ranks, with $32 million more in obligated amount this year than F.Y. 2020. $62.7 million is allocated for 18 activities to support the local partner initiative on strengthening the health sector in Kenya. 7. World Vision Founded: 1950 Headquarters: Washington, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $133.2 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 7 World Vision received $2.4 million more in obligated funding than the previous fiscal year. Its biggest award, worth $30.8 million, will support the Resilience Food Security Activity program in Ethiopia, led by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. 8. Research Triangle Institute Founded: 1958 Headquarters: North Carolina, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $125.3 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 8 RTI International’s obligated amount slightly dipped by $3.1 million this fiscal year compared to last year. Three activities to support sustainable implementation of the ​​Neglected Tropical Diseases Element 2 Program in Bangladesh received the biggest federal obligation worth $31.2 million. 9. Johns Hopkins University Founded: 1876 Headquarters: Maryland, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $110.6 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 10 Johns Hopkins University’s obligated funding remains almost the same, with an increase of only $427,832. USAID obligated $79.5 million for 13 activities under Breakthrough ACTION — its flagship global social and behavior change project focusing on health. Of this amount, $13.2 million is allocated to Senegal and $66.3 million to Ghana. 10. CARE USA Founded: 1945 Headquarters: Georgia, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $100.6 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 11 With $10.7 million more obligated funding than the previous fiscal year, CARE USA is now among the top grantees. USAID obligated $20.8 million as part of the International Disaster Assistance Funds for Somalia. Top 10 multilateral organizations 1. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Founded: 2000 Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $4 billion Rank in F.Y. 2020: 3 Gavi saw the biggest increase for the F.Y. 2021 among all grantees — $3.4 billion. This is two times bigger than the combined obligated amount to the top 10 bilateral organizations. The entire $4 billion received by Gavi is allocated to COVAX. 2. World Food Programme USA Founded: 1961 Headquarters: Washington, D.C., U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $2.8 billion Rank in F.Y. 2020: 1 WFP USA’s allocation increased by $114.9 million. Two activities worth $200 million are obligated for the procurement of food commodities in South Sudan. 3. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Founded: 2002 Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $1.5 billion Rank in F.Y. 2020: 2 USAID’s obligated amount to GFATM decreased by $1.1 billion, with the entire $1.5 billion allocated as core contribution from USAID. 4. United Nations Children’s Fund Founded: 1946 Headquarters: New York, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $322.6 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 4 UNICEF maintained its ranking from the previous fiscal year, with an increase of $7.2 million. $71.9 million is allocated to four activities under Umbrella 2.0 in Nigeria — the World Bank’s trust fund reform program. 5. International Organization for Migration Founded: 1951 Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $211.5 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 5 Compared to F.Y. 2020, USAID’s obligated amount to IOM increased by $8 million. Among its activities, $18.5 million is obligated to reduce irregular migration in Central America, specifically migrants from El Salvador. 6. World Health Organization Founded: 1948 Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $137.3 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 11 USAID’s obligated funding to WHO increased by $127.4 million this fiscal year. Of this amount, $45 million is allocated to strengthen the agency’s humanitarian response capacity. 7. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Founded: 1945 Headquarters: Rome, Italy Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $96.7 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 6 FAO’s ranking fell a notch compared to the previous fiscal year, with $25.5 million less obligated amount. Its biggest activity is for humanitarian assistance in Somalia, worth $22.5 million. 8. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Founded: 1991 Headquarters: New York, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $69.8 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 10 From $11.8 million in F.Y. 2020, $58 million was added to UNOCHA total amount obligation. Among its activities, the biggest went to emergency response in Yemen and Sudan, worth $46.2 million. 9. United Nations Office for Project Services Founded: 1973 Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $59.4 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 8 UNOPS received $17.5 million less than the previous fiscal year. Its biggest activity worth $49.3 million is obligated for the STOP TB Partnership in Nigeria. 10. United Nations Development Programme Founded: 1965 Headquarters: New York, U.S. Obligated amount F.Y. 2021: $48.1 million Rank in F.Y. 2020: 9 UNDP’s funding obligation increased by $17.5 million, with $21.9 million obligated for stabilization programs supporting the return of internally displaced persons in Iraq. Since this article was written, USAID has released its annual progress report, which gives different totals to USAspending.gov. The report says that total spending in the fiscal year was $26.9 billion, and that 48% of this was grants, and $17.2% cooperative agreements, giving total assistance spending as $17.5 billion. This article refers to USAspending.gov data since it gives more information on individual grantees. Janadale Leene Coralde contributed to this article. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free 5-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.