The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and Fundacion AVINA have launched the Latin American Donor Index. Available on the internet, the Index will help donors and NGOs identify likely partners and supporters and currently offers free access to profiles of 547 donors active in Latin America and the Caribbean, including private donors, foundations, development agencies and corporate giving programmes in the region, the US and Europe. Launched last month during the 2009 Latin American Social Forum, the Index is available in English, and will shortly be available in Spanish and Portuguese.

Fundacion AVINA is changing its structure, aiming over the next four years to contribute to ‘ten systemic changes of relevance for sustainable development in Latin America’. This will mean a focus on the development of so-called ‘opportunities of continental relevance’ (OCR). As an example, AVINA is working with leaders and institutions in the development of an OCR to hold the line on deforestation in the Amazon. The new structure, coinciding with the exigencies of the financial crisis, also means that AVINA has decided to close several offices, while maintaining operations through a virtual platform. It will also involve what Sean McKaughan, AVINA CEO, terms ‘changes in AVINA’s priorities for resource allocation’. He adds, however, that AVINA will meet all its existing commitments with partners and their initiatives.