Last year, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s mission in Kenya channeled over half its funding to local organizations.
There was the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association, which helps local communities protect their land and generate income; Act Change Transform, which is integrating youth and women inside Kenya’s democratic processes; and St. John’s Community Center, which connects vulnerable children to health and social services.
Seven other USAID missions did the same, sending at least 50% of their funds to local organizations in Brazil, Paraguay, Botswana, and beyond. That type of funding is critical to USAID, which has set itself a target of channeling 25% of its eligible dollars to a local level by 2025. But during the same year, USAID missions in 17 other nations funded no local groups at all.