According to a new study, UK foundations gave an estimated £290 million to international development and related causes in 2009/10. The bulk of it went to CSOs in the UK and developing countries, roughly half the amount of bilateral aid given by the Department for International Development (DfID) to such organizations. Spending on international development causes accounted for 9 per cent of the grantmaking of all UK independent foundations (just over £3 billion per annum in total) in the designated period. Thirty-seven per cent of this figure went to Africa, 23 per cent to Asia and 13 per cent to the Americas.

Among the emerging trends identified in the report, Global grantmaking: A review of UK foundations’ funding for international development, was the growing tendency to work in partnership with other philanthropic and non-philanthropic funders such as governments, international agencies and the private sector. Other trends include investing in health, education and sustainable development, particularly in Africa; addressing inequalities in health and education in India; setting up new programmes in emerging areas of need such as climate change, neglected tropical diseases and palliative care; and tackling root causes of poverty through supporting sustainable agriculture and enterprise development.

The findings come from a study carried out by Cathy Pharoah of Cass Business School for the Nuffield Foundation, the Baring Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, all of whom are international funders.

To download the report
http://www.cgap.org.uk/news/101/59/New-study-of-UK-trust-and-foundation-funding-for-international-development.html