grantcraft: international grant making

Why fund internationally?

International grant makers: who are they?

Global grant making:the basics

Dealing with distanceand difference

Working with intermediaries

Funding domesticallywith a global lens

Key lessons from grantmakers

What grantees wishgrant makers knew

www.grantcra f t .o rg

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grantcraftP R A C T I C A L W I S D O M F O R G R A N T M A K E R S

INTERNATIONALGRANT MAKING

FUNDINGWITH AGLOBALVIEW

internationalgrant

makingfundingwith a

global view

P A G E 1 0Dealing withDistance andDifferenceBy definition, internationalgrantees are far away, sepa-rated from funders by manymiles and, often, several timezones. How do experiencedgrant makers maintain a senseof connection? How do theycoordinate their reporting andother systems to be clear andhelpful? How do they bridgecultural and communicationgaps that separate them fromgrantees located in othercountries?

P A G E 1 6Working withIntermediariesIntermediary organizationsoffer a mix of supports —including local knowledge offunding needs, language skills,cultural sensitivity, and legaland financial mechanisms —that can help funders workeffectively across national borders. This section describessome types of intermediaries,how they function, and theassistance they’ve providedsome grant makers.

P A G E 2Why FundInternationally?What goals, values, and expe-riences lead grant makers tothe international arena? Thissection explores some of thereasons why funders bringglobal issues and concernsinto their grant making.

P A G E 4InternationalGrant Makers:Who Are They?Why do different grant makers— from private, independentfoundations to individualdonors — decide to getinvolved in funding globally?

P A G E 6Global GrantMaking:TheBasicsFor American funders, makinggrants outside the UnitedStates can have complicatedlegal and financial implica-tions. How can a funder learnabout the options? Where canyou find the latest informationon relevant federal guidelinesand regulations?.

IN THIS GUIDE, grant

makers describe the benefits and

challenges of bringing a global

perspective to their work. The

guide explains the regulations that

govern cross-border grant making

and shares the experiences of

funders who have coped with

working across geographic and

cultural divides. It also weighs the

merits of working through interme-

diaries and funding directly outside

the United States.

P A G E 2 0FundingDomesticallywith a GlobalLensTaking a global perspectivedoesn’t necessarily meanfunding outside the UnitedStates. American grant makersare increasingly applyingtechniques and aspirationsfrom the global stage in theirlocal and national funding.

SPECIALFEATURES

P A G E 2 2Key Lessonsfrom GrantMakers

P A G E 2 4What GranteesWish GrantMakers Knew

P A G E 2 4Ways to Use ThisGuide

This guide was written by RebeccaNichols and Anne Mackinnon. It ispart of the GrantCraft series.

Underwriting for this guide was provided by the Ford Foundation.

Publications and videos in this seriesare not meant to give instructions orprescribe solutions; rather, they areintended to spark ideas, stimulatediscussion, and suggest possibilities.Comments about this guide or otherGrantCraft materials may be sent toJan Jaffe, project leader, [email protected].

To order copies or download .pdfversions of our publications, pleasevisit www.grantcraft.org.

You are welcome to excerpt, copy, orquote from GrantCraft materials,with attribution to GrantCraft andinclusion of the copyright.

© 2004 GrantCraft

contents

I NTE R NAT IONAL G RA NT MAK I NG 1

2 I NTE R NAT IONAL G RA NT MAK I NG

G rant makers fund internation-

ally for many reasons. Some

do so because the problems

that concern them most, as institutions or

individual donors, span national bound-

aries. Some feel an ethical obligation to

respond philanthropically to the complex

effects of globalization, or to respond to a

natural disaster or other emergency.

Some believe that experiences and

lessons from other countries will enrich

the quality of their domestic funding.

Corporate funders may be motivated to

give in parts of the world where they

have business interests. Individuals and

family foundations may want to help

improve conditions in their countries of

origin or deepen their engagement with

places, issues, or people in other parts of

the world.

Some grant makers may be interested infunding internationally but feel that theirresources are too small, their mission toolocal, or their staff too inexperienced. Theymay be concerned about the risk of violatingU.S. tax law, making grant choices that endup doing more harm than good, or gettinghung up on problems of cultural differenceand geographic distance.

Those risks are real, yet conversations withexperienced grant makers confirm that it’spossible to do as good a job overseas as athome. International funding is different fromdomestic grant making in some ways, yet alot of the usual concepts and tools apply. Thisguide can help prospective international fun-ders define their interests, weigh differentapproaches, avoid pitfalls, and make the mostof the growing array of international fundingopportunities.

TWO APPROACHES: GIVING INTERNATIONALLY, GIVING LOCALLY WITH AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Global giving by U.S. foundations has grown dramatically in recent years, increasing from roughly $508 million in 1990 to $2.5 billion

in 2000. According to an analysis by the Foundation Center of grants of $10,000 or more, international grant making is growing even

faster than grant making overall, increasing by 76 percent between 1998 and 2002, “far exceeding the 41 percent gain in overall giv-

ing” (2003 International Grantmaking Update, www.cof.org).

Several of our contributors noted a related trend toward internationalism within U.S. domestic grant making. Many U.S. funders have

decided in recent years to address global issues — environment, poverty, population migration, and others — through work close to

home. For example, one Midwestern foundation organized its entire local grant-making agenda to emphasize “the underlying princi-

ples and tenets of human rights.” In another case, an East Coast foundation reshaped an international fellowships program around

cross-national exchange on health systems innovation. For more on how global issues are informing grant making at home, see

“Funding Domestically with a Global Lens,” page 20.

Why Fund Internationally?


WHERE THE EXAMPLES COME FROMThis guide draws on interviews and conversations with more than fifty grant makers and donors, representatives of inter-mediary organizations, consultants, and advisors with experience in international grant making. It also compiles advicefrom organizations that aid international funders and tips on where to find the most up-to-date information on workingabroad.

A list of people who contributed ideas, information, and comments appears on page 25.

ESPECIALLY FOR U.S. DONORS

FEDERAL GUIDELINES FOR INTERNATIONAL FUNDING

Since September 2001, the U.S. government has established new regulations with pertinence for international grant making. To sum-

marize, there are three main instruments:

■ Executive Order 13224 freezes property and assets of people and organizations named as terrorists on lists maintained by several

federal government departments. Grant makers are required to confirm that grantees’ names do not appear on any of the lists.

■ USA Patriot Act increases existing criminal sanctions for people or entities that provide material or financial support for terrorism.

The Council on Foundations warns that the act raises the possibility of civil liability against grant makers whose support ends up

in the wrong hands.

■ Treasury Department Voluntary Guidelines recommend practices for international grant making that comply with Executive Order

13224 and the USA Patriot Act.

For more information, see Handbook on Counter-Terrorism Measures: What U.S. Nonprofits and Grantmakers Need to Know, published

jointly by Independent Sector, InterAction, the Council on Foundations, and the Day, Berry & Howard Foundation on March 15, 2004

(www.cof.org).

OTHER COUNTRIES’ GUIDELINES FOR U.S. DONORS

It’s important to review relevant local laws and regulations before making a grant to an entity outside the United States. Many coun-

tries require organizations to register with one or more government agencies before receiving international funding, and some have

established offices that serve as liaisons or registration centers for nonprofits and donors.

The Web site of the U.S. International Grantmaking Project (www.usig.org) offers information on the legal environment in approxi-

mately 30 countries. For each country, the site provides a brief overview, or “country note,” with links to longer reports, texts of

relevant laws and regulations, and contact information for knowledgeable advisers.


Here’s a quick look at different typesof international funders based in theUnited States — from large, indepen-dent foundations to individual donors —and some of the reasons they give forextending their grant making into theglobal arena.

Private, independent foundationsU.S. private, independent foundationsthat fund internationally or with aglobal perspective often do so in sub-stantive areas that are linked to theirdomestic agendas — such as education,human rights, or health care. By coor-dinating its domestic and internationalagendas, a foundation can capitalize onthe expertise of its own staff andbroaden its experience in the field.

Some, but not all, foundations monitortheir grant making by visiting interna-tional grantees regularly. A few verylarge foundations go further and estab-lish offices outside the United States tomanage their international work.

Corporate foundations and fundersCorporate foundations typically linktheir international giving with theirbusiness interests and markets. Inaddition to cash, corporate funders maymake significant contributions of prod-ucts and in-kind services to furtherphilanthropic goals.

Some international companies haveestablished programs to involve theiremployees as volunteers and donors.For example, a corporation with officesin India created a philanthropic fundsustained and managed by its localemployees.

Community foundationsLed by demand from their donors, agrowing number of community founda-

tions have entered the internationalrealm, whether working through intermediaries or supporting overseasgrantees directly. As in their domesticwork, community foundations oftengive a great deal of support to individ-ual contributors in framing and realiz-ing their international funding goals.

Some American community foundationshave found it helpful to collaboratewith community foundations in otherparts of the world. For example, whena community foundation in Ohio hosteda delegation from Poland, the visitattracted the interest of new donorsfrom the local Polish-American commu-nity. The interest of those new donorsin supporting projects in Poland led theOhio foundation to amend its articles ofincorporation to include internationalgrant making.

Family foundationsFamily foundations often gravitatetoward international funding as a natural extension of their commitmentto local or domestic causes. As oneBoston-based family grant makerexplained, “Our international strategy is shaped by interests in our own community. Each side informs theother, internationally and in our ownbackyard.”

Some families are motivated by adesire to do good, or “give back,” totheir country of origin, while others aremoved by the experience of living ortraveling abroad. Many family founda-tions are actively involved in fundercollaboratives, especially when familymembers are interested in exploringglobal issues and priorities together.

International Grant Makers:Who Are They?

Individual donors Individual donors have considerablefreedom to contribute internationallyon the strength of their own interestsand concerns. Many become deeply,personally engaged in the projects andorganizations they choose to fund. Also,because they are able to make rapiddecisions, individual funders are in agood position to respond quickly tointernational events.

Individual donors manage their globalgrant making in different ways. Somedonate through U.S. organizationsworking abroad, intermediary organi-zations, community foundations, or acombination of those, while othersmanage their own grant making, oftenwith help from consultants or philan-thropic advisers.


International funder networks, partnerships, donor funds,

intermediary organizations, and philanthropic advisers are

important sources of information on international funding for

foundations and other donors. Most offer funders at least some

of the following advantages:

■ expertise in a particular issue area or geographic region

■ ability to identify capable grantees, then follow up with due

diligence, ongoing monitoring, and regular reporting

■ capacity to direct small grants to grassroots organizations

strategically and cost effectively

■ legal status to accept tax deductible donations

■ opportunities to collaborate with other funders and donors

with similar interests

Funder networks such as Grantmakers Without Borders

(www.internationaldonors.org) aid international funders by orga-

nizing workshops and study trips, sharing information, and fos-

tering collaboration among donors. Some Council on

Foundations–sponsored affinity groups also give special atten-

tion to international funders; examples include the Africa

Grantmakers Affinity Group (www.africagrantmakers.org),

Funders Concerned about AIDS (www.fcaaids.org), and Hispanics

in Philanthropy (www.hiponline.org).

Donor funds coordinate giving among like-minded funders. The

Synergos Institute (www.synergos.org) facilitates donor collabo-

rations to support poverty reduction programs around the world.

Some donor funds are created especially to facilitate giving

by a specific constituency of funders. The Dragon Fund,

for example, a project of the Women’s Foundation of California

(www.womensfoundca.org) and the 1990 Institute (www.199

0institute.org), was established to support economic develop-

ment and education projects for women and girls in rural China.

Many of the fund’s donors are Chinese American women.

International intermediaries typically receive funds from U.S.

donors, then “regrant” the resources to nonprofits around the

world. Although U.S. tax law usually requires that donors do not

exercise ultimate control over the disposition of funds, interme-

diary organizations use a range of mechanisms to ensure that

donors’ priorities are reflected. Some intermediaries, such as the

Global Fund for Women (www.globalfundforwomen.org) or the

Global Greengrants Fund (www.greengrants.org), work in specific

issue areas. Others, such as Give2Asia (www.Give2Asia.org)

specialize in a particular region. For in-depth discussion of inter-

mediaries, how they function, and how to choose one that fits

your needs and interests, see page 16.

In-country consultants assist some donors by conducting

research, developing and advising on programming, and manag-

ing the day-to-day aspects of cross-border grant making. Funders

typically locate knowledgeable consultants by asking for referrals

from more experienced funders and nonprofit contacts.

Philanthropic advisers, such as Rockefeller Philanthropy

Advisors (www.rockpa.org) or The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc.

(www.tpi.org), assist wealthy individuals and families interested

in funding internationally. A few commercial financial advisers

also offer assistance with international grant making.

WHO ADVISES INTERNATIONAL FUNDERS?


Effective grant making abroad beginswith insight and planning. It’s impor-tant to do background research on theissues that concern you, the placewhere you’re interested in working,partners who might be helpful, andstrategies that are likely to produce theresults you have in mind.

In addition, U.S. donors need to beaware of laws and regulations govern-ing international giving, especially ifthey seek to realize tax benefits orapply the gift toward a required mini-mum payout. Legal requirements asso-ciated with international giving havebecome more complex and stringentsince September 2001, yet there aremany ways to fulfill them withoutundue burden.

Where can you turn for reliableinformation on international grantmaking?

Prospective international funders maywant to familiarize themselves withsome of the major organizations offering information and advice.

■ The Council on Foundations(www.cof.org) and the Council’s U.S.International Grantmaking Project(www.usig.org) offer information onguidelines governing internationalgrant making and links to the mostrecent U.S. government regulations.

■ The Global Philanthropy Forum(www.philanthropyforum.org), pro-vides extensive, annotated lists ofglobal intermediary organizations,networks, and educational resources,organized by region of the world andby issue.

■ The Worldwide Initiative forGrantmaker Support (WINGS), aglobal network based since 2003 atthe European Foundation Centre inBelgium (www.wingsweb.org), sup-plies information on a wide range ofglobal funders and its own interna-tional projects with community foun-dations and corporate funders.

■ Grantmakers Without Borders(www.internationaldonors.org), afunders’ network, offers workshops,travel seminars, peer support,research, and advice to fundersinterested in social change philanthropy.

■ The Global PhilanthropyPartnership (www.global-philan-thropy.org), produces brief guides onissues of global importance — includ-ing such diverse topics as climateprotection, forests, land mines,refugees, malaria, and local develop-ment — and what philanthropistscan do to help.

How can funders ensure that theirinternational grants comply with U.S.federal laws and regulations?

Some donors choose to work throughintermediaries specifically becauseintermediaries know a lot about how tocomply with federal guidelines andmaximize tax benefits. (For an in-depthdiscussion, see “Working withIntermediaries,” page 16.)

Contributors to this guide encouragedprospective international funders toseek legal advice before making inter-national grants directly, given the com-plexity of current law. In general, thefollowing standards apply:

Global Grant Making:The Basics

■ Private foundations may makegrants to groups outside the UnitedStates and count them toward theirminimum payout requirements if cer-tain requirements are met. There aretwo ways to do this: by establishingthat the recipient organization is“equivalent to” a U.S. public charityor by taking steps to ensure that thegrant is spent exclusively for charita-ble purposes. For a discussion of theissues, including the relative advan-tages of “equivalency determination”and “expenditure responsibility,” seethe International Grantmaking Primer,developed by the International Centerfor Nonprofit Law (www.usig.org).

■ Individual donors are allowed bylaw to claim income tax deductionsonly on gifts made to charities basedin the United States. There arenumerous avenues, however, formaking deductible contributions tosupport work outside the country.Grantmakers Without Borders offers a useful article, “Tax Planning Issuesfor Cross-Border Philanthropy by U.S. Donors,” by Jane Peebles, J.D.(www.internationaldonors.org).

■ All US-based contributors andnonprofits are now also subject tolaws and regulations intended toprevent funds from reaching organi-zations or individuals suspected ofinvolvement with terrorism. TheCouncil on Foundations’s U.S.International Grantmaking Project isa good source of information on themost current guidelines. See, forexample, “Grantmaking in an Age ofTerrorism: Some Thoughts aboutCompliance Strategies,” by Janne G.Gallagher. (www.usig.org).

What can a grant maker do to learnmore about funding needs andopportunities abroad?

Whether you’re just beginning to consider a venture into internationalfunding or investigating a topic or geo-graphic area that you’ve already identi-fied, there are plenty of ways to learnmore about the possibilities for makinggrants that make a real difference.

■ Review the work of other founda-tions and funders. Many founda-tions publish reports on theirinitiatives and the international context in which they work. TheFord Foundation (www.fordfound.org), for example, offers a detailed,historical profile of the work of eachof the foundation’s regional offices,including an overview of the social,political, and economic priorities of the region and a selection ofrelated readings.

■ Consult official sources. Severalcontributors recommended thatprospective funders check what’savailable on the Web sites of multi-lateral organizations such as theWorld Bank (www.worldbank.org)and the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (www.undp.org). TheWorld Bank, for example, publishescountry briefs that include back-ground information on history, economy, government, major devel-opment projects, and, if relevant,mechanisms for donor coordination.

■ Join an affinity group or funders’network. Participating in a funders’affinity group or network can be anespecially effective way to learnabout a country or field. By attend-


TRAVEL: A CATALYST FOR PHILANTHROPY

Tourism is one of the most important

economic development strategies for

poor countries. In addition to spend-

ing money, some travelers seek to

deepen their connection with places

they visit by volunteering or con-

tributing funds to projects that pre-

serve the environment or improve the

lives of local people. That impulse

has led to the creation of numerous

philanthropies and nonprofit organi-

zations, based in the United States

and abroad.

One American couple, for example,

decided after visiting Fiji in 1989 that

they wanted to do something about

the high local incidence of untreated

cataracts, the result of exposure to

strong sunshine and glare. Working

with a resort operator, they created a

project to provide free surgery. The

couple — a doctor and a nurse —

continue to volunteer annually.

Encouraging and coordinating the

growing field of “travel philan-

thropy” is part of the mission of

Business Enterprises for Sustainable

Travel (www.sustainabletravel.org),

a program of the International

Tourism Partnership of the Prince

of Wales International Business

Leaders Forum.


ing meetings and communicatingwith other members, new interna-tional grant makers can identify theplayers in a country or field andlearn what each is doing, get ideasabout people to consult on explor-atory trips, learn about new devel-opments in an issue or country,recognize gaps in current funding,and find opportunities to collaborateand coordinate with others. A 2003report, Affinity Groups and Interna-tional Grantmaking: A Council onFoundations Survey (www.cof.org),lists grant makers’ affinity groupswhose members are involved ininternational work.

■ Read publications and Web siteswith a global view. Some fundernetworks make their publicationsavailable to interested members ofthe public; see, for example, GlobalGiving Matters (www.synergos.org),produced jointly by Synergos and the World Economic Forum(www.weforum.org), or

The Venturesome Donor series, pub-lished by The Philanthropic Initiative(www.tpi.org). International allianceslike Allavida (www.allavida.org) andOneWorld (www.oneworld.net) offera wealth of information on civil soci-ety and development organizations.Allavida’s publications include itsquarterly Alliance Magazine and aseries of guides to working with thenonprofit sector in specific countries.Yes! Magazine (www.yesmagazine.org), published by the PositiveFutures Network, is another goodsource.

■ Travel. Some grant makers joinstudy tours planned by intermedi-aries or affinity groups in order tolearn about an issue, explore thedynamics of a place, and meetpotential grantees, policymakers, andother funders. Synergos, for example,has organized trips in the past fewyears to southern Africa, Brazil,South Africa, and Mexico.

In an interview with GrantCraft, Connie Higginson of the American

Express Foundation explained the thinking behind the International

Community Service Fund, which involves the company’s non-U.S.

employees in international giving within their own countries. The foun-

dation is a multinational philanthropy, whose funding derives mainly

from the earnings of the American Express Company.

Q: How did the International Community Service Fund get started?

The American Express Foundation was established in 1954 and began to

give internationally in the 1970s. Our giving outside the United States

focused on a couple of themes that had a logical connection to our busi-

ness: grants to cultural institutions and historic preservation of sites and

monuments, which made sense because we’re a travel company as well

as a card company, and economic independence, which funded projects

that helped people move toward personal financial stability.

Toward the end of the 1990s, we began to realize that, although the pro-

grams really worked for the company and for our managers, and

although they were accomplishing a lot, they didn’t have an enormous

resonance for employees working in countries where the disparity

between their own relative middle-class comfort and security and the

conditions they saw around them was very great. So we decided to start

the International Community Service Fund in selected countries where

we had large employee concentrations.

In each case, we work through an intermediary organization or with a

nonprofit consultant to determine the needs in the country and develop

a slate of causes or populations for employee vote. Once they’ve decided

what area interests them most, an employee committee, drawn from all

levels of the company, works with the intermediary organization or con-

sultant to find nonprofits and charitable organizations working in that

area to receive a grant from the foundation.

Q: Does the work vary a lot by country?

Yes, absolutely. The slates are different, for one thing, and the employ-

ees make different choices. In some countries, we fund only a single

organization, and in others we choose three or four, depending on the

size of the country. We also want to be sure there are volunteer oppor-

tunities for our employees in conjunction with the grants, so that means

spreading the grants over different organizations that correspond to our

employee concentrations.

Q: What are the challenges, from your point of view?

We rely on our local people to do the liaison and due diligence work.

They are our eyes and ears, and they do a pretty good job of it. Still, the

program involves a fair amount of management from us, especially when

it comes time to define the projects. That’s the most difficult part.

Sometimes an issue comes up that’s very meaningful for our employees

but isn’t an area of focus for us. We say, “We know it’s very important to

you, and we respect that, but it’s just not within our giving guidelines.”

Also, we started by giving $100,000 grants. We’ve cut back somewhat,

partly because we’re a little more constrained, partly because we’re giv-

ing in more countries, and partly because the money came too fast for

some organizations and the projects weren’t thoughtfully designed. For

those reasons we have also decided to make the grants in two pay-

ments, over two years.

Q: What lessons have you learned from the experience?

One thing we’ve learned is that our penchant in the United States for tak-

ing the world’s misery and carving it into causes or themes doesn’t work

everywhere. In the United States, we tend to deal with hunger apart from

homelessness, and homelessness apart from AIDS, and AIDS apart from

the condition of women and children. In many places, people’s charita-

ble instincts are much more geographically focused. It’s a much, much

more traditional idea of charity — people going back to their villages

and emptying their pockets. When we came in and asked employees

what their causes were going to be, they sort of looked at us blankly.

What we ended up with in both Brazil and India was a slate of popula-

tions, groups of people — families in Brazil, children in India — who

were going to be the beneficiaries of the grants.

Q: What’s the value of the International Community Service Fund

to the foundation and the company?

American Express has about 90,000 employees around the world.

Employees ask the foundation to help organizations they’re personally

involved with, and, frankly, we need a way to say no to a lot of those

requests. In the United States, we have employee gift matching, but

that’s a difficult thing to replicate in most countries. We also have a

global program of very small grants to organizations where employees

volunteer. The process we use with the fund allows us to involve our

employees in some of our larger grants. It’s another way to channel their

philanthropic energies and demonstrate that the company is a good cor-

porate citizen.

Another thing: The “teams” that manage the funds are very valuable

training for our employees. It brings them in direct contact with the

needs of their communities. The people who serve on the teams defi-

nitely become better managers; it also makes them much better able to

represent the company.

Channeling the philanthropic energies of international employees


“Any philanthropic

organization acting

internationally will have to

deal with the image of its

home country abroad.

You will be perceived as a

representative of your

culture. In the case of the

United States, the image is

not always positive.

It’s controversial. You need

to be mindful of this.”


International funders cope constantlywith the reality that their grantees arefar away. Distance affects how grantmakers follow the progress of a project,support grantees in solving problems,and handle such mundane issues ascurrency exchange. Yet even more than distance, our contributors argued,cultural difference is a challenge thatrequires constant attention whenworking overseas. As one grant makerwith a Midwest-based foundationexplained,

“You have to realize that you’re a guest in a foreign country, even as agrant maker. Every country has its own values, traditions, and needs. Poor performances tend to happenwhen Americans don’t look for thosedifferences.”

Careful due diligence, an open mind,and a respectful attitude are all crucialto effective international grant making.This section describes how some grantmakers have negotiated difference anddistance in building relationships withtheir grantees, monitoring their work,and maintaining a sense of connection.

UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGINGCULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Many contributors to this guide empha-sized the importance of getting toknow the country or region where youplan to work. Learning about historyand current events, relations amongsocial groups, and the role of religionand other belief systems can help ori-ent you and your grant making.

A legal adviser to a foundationdescribed a problem that arose whenan NGO partner was selected before

the foundation knew enough about thelocal political context:

“There was a presidential election withsome concern regarding a contestedvote, and it was very politicallycharged. We didn’t realize that peoplehad chosen sides at all levels of soci-ety. Our timing was all off, and wedidn’t wait for things to settle down.With the two finalist organizations,there were allegations regarding rela-tions with the ruling party.”

Sometimes the challenge is under-standing subtle cultural associations.For example, a grant maker workingwith civil society organizations inEastern Europe found that she had to adjust her approach to advancinggender equality in a post-communistsociety:

“I am dealing with a part of the worldwhich considers that gender equalityeither has been attained or is a com-munist value. For people in EasternEurope, [feminism and gender equal-ity] are linked to Soviet occupationand to women on tractors. What itmeans to many people is that womenwere forced to do heavy labor and todrop their children at horrible daycare centers for the entire day.”

Cultural differences can also mean thata model that works well in one settingdoesn’t work in another. The director ofan NGO in South Asia described aneffort by international funders to repli-cate a microfinance program in aremote area of his country:

”Microfinancing generates income forpeople, and it has been enormouslypopular around the world and suc-

Dealing with Difference and Distance

cessful in other parts of my country.The effort to introduce it in that regioncollapsed for many reasons, but animportant one was that the local cul-tural values and traditions were notattuned to the concept. The failurethere shows that there’s no one for-mula for every development problem.”

Another common theme was the needto understand how you will probablybe viewed abroad. As a European grantmaker working globally pointed out,

“Any philanthropic organization actinginternationally will have to deal withthe image of its home country abroad.You will be perceived as a representa-tive of your culture. In the case of theUnited States, the image is not alwayspositive. It’s controversial. You need tobe mindful of this.”

Grant makers warned against culturalstereotyping in unfamiliar settings.Questions to ask include, Have I madethis person represent a group justbecause he is a member of the group?

COMMUNICATION AND REPORTING

There’s nothing more basic to thegrant-making relationship than regularcommunication with grantees. Com-municating reliably across time zones,languages, and cultures may requireplanning, sensitivity, and persistencefrom both grant maker and grantee.

Progress reports. If not organized withsufficient care, this humble but essen-tial facet of grant making can lead tomuch grantee and grantor anguish. Inthe international realm, potential mis-understandings and practical consider-ations such as unreliable postal servicemake it extremely important that

reporting standards be clearly spelledout and understood by all parties.

You may want to consider:

■ What information should reportscontain?

■ When must they be delivered?

■ Must they be printed and mailed, oris e-mail acceptable?

■ What reporting formats are acceptable?


STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH DIFFERENCE

Do background work and consult widely. Preliminary research, thought, and listen-

ing can help you avoid acting on assumptions and stereotypes.

■ Find out what other funders are supporting, including funders based in the coun-

try or region you’re interested in.

■ Hear from a range of voices, including practitioners, academics, business-

people, and public-sector officials.

■ Involve potential stakeholders early on to help clarify varying points of view.

■ Avoid relying exclusively on grantee “stars.” A seasoned grant maker from a

small family foundation approaches an unfamiliar setting by asking everyone he

talks with, “Who else should I talk to?” And, “Refer me to someone with a differ-

ent point of view or opinion.”

■ Take some time to digest the guidance you get.

Establish lines of communication. Once you have done your background work and

are ready to enter into grant relationships, establish clear and respectful lines of com-

munication with grantees. This is particularly important in negotiating grant terms in

places where people may have different ideas about what needs to be done, or who

may have trouble articulating them in ways that U.S. grant makers are used to.

■ Clarify your own expectations for contact and reporting. Do you want to hear from

grantees every month? Twice a year? Annually? Would you prefer to talk on the

phone? Communicate by e-mail?

■ Familiarize yourself with the communications culture in which you are working.

■ Draw on guidance from local colleagues or consultants.

■ Decide how to handle language differences. In what language will you communi-

cate with grantees, potential grantees, and the wider public? Will you hire trans-

lators, or can translation be handled by your staff?

Together with grantees, establish clear benchmarks of success. Try to be clear from

the start about how a grant will be evaluated for success.

Take advantage of diversity at home. In the United States, culturally diverse and

multilingual staff can bring skills and global knowledge to your grant making.

COMMUNICATION ANDCULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Some grant makers have found that

many of their international grantees

seem excessively concerned about

disappointing funders — perhaps

even more so than is typically the

case in the United States. On the

other hand, they observe that there

can sometimes be real sensitivity, or

even resistance, to a funder’s commu-

nication style. For example, the direc-

tor of a small family foundation was

surprised at how negatively grantees

and applicants reacted to her written

communications:

“In an oral culture like Haiti — about

80 percent are illiterate — the written

word has a weight that I’d never

encountered. What is written is

treated as a legal document for all

intents and purposes. I'd been

working with Haitians for a long

time, and it was only when we

started this regular exchange of

[written] memos that I [realized] I

can’t think out loud on paper. I

really have to do a lot of that on the

phone, and certain things I just had

better not write at all. Because

when I start writing, the bells go off,

the windows slam down."


In establishing reporting systems, it isimportant to consider what’s conve-nient and logistically possible forgrantees. A grants manager with aninternational foundation remarked,

“Some grantees work in very difficult sit-uations. In certain countries, we acceptreports via e-mail because granteescan’t get them out any other way.”

In some cases, however, e-mail mightnot work well, or might screen outexactly those organizations a grantmaker is most interested in reaching.As one international funder noted,

“Your application and reporting forms andmethod of outreach will determine thetypes of organizations that can apply. E-mail and Web-based applications, forexample, may be useful only in the capi-tal city. You’ll reach the elite, nationalNGOs but miss the smaller organizationswith links to the community.”

Our contributors also observed thatdonor oversight can require a lot oftime and support:

“For some of our smaller partners, it'sthe first time they’ve received a sizablegrant or one with our kinds of report-ing requirements, so we’ve requestedquarterly reports just to help them. Wetry to monitor their work a little bitmore closely and then look at theiraudited financials at the end of theyear, or on a site visit do a spot-checkof all their receipts and account books.”

The objective, grant makers explain, is to build relationships in whichgrantees feel able to alert you to prob-lems early enough to do somethingabout them. According to a funder whoexercises expenditure responsibility tomonitor the work of overseas grantees,

“It takes more paper and more chasingafter paper than with our domesticgrantees. For [domestic] grantees, werequire a report once a year. In Africa,we ask for a report every 6 months.This allows our consultants to do twothings: First, to spot problems early,for technical assistance or to figureout what is going on; second, it alsoenables the consultants to keep aneye on trends.”

Language and translation. Whenfunding in a country where English isnot the primary language, grant makersin the United States may find theyneed to choose a single language —frequently English — in which grant-related business will be conducted.

In establishing policies regarding lan-guage, you may want to consider:

■ Can you afford to supply translationservices for your grantees? Can youhandle translation in-house, by rely-ing on your own staff?

■ What forms and documents mightneed to be translated?

■ How will you handle requests forinformation and informal communi-cations?

■ Are good translators readily avail-able? If not, what can you and yourgrantees do to locate people withthe right skills?

■ If you communicate in English only,will you fail to reach certain keygroups?

A donor adviser with an intermediaryexplained that, although her organiza-tion has a policy of accepting proposalsin English only, she and her colleaguestry to be flexible when working with

local organizations. They have alsotaken the trouble, she notes, of trans-lating documents for routine transac-tions into their grantees’ primarylanguages.

Some grant makers accept proposals inmultiple languages, then have theirown in-house staff do the translations.One e-philanthropy funder, for exam-ple, accepts submissions in English,French, and Spanish.

A grant maker participating in a fun-ders’ collaborative in Eastern Europedescribed working with grantees tocoordinate translation services:

“We contracted with a coordinatorbased in Belarus, who then coordi-nated translations for our LOIs, RFPs,grant agreements, and other docu-ments into the necessary languages.We also made arrangements to trans-late proposals, reports, and generalinquiries into English.”

Staying in touch. Several grant makersstressed the wisdom of communicatingopenly and often with internationalgrantees. Fortunately, staying in touchis easier than it once was, thanks tothe increasing availability of e-mailand the Internet, even in very remotecommunities.

Once the doors to communication areopen, funders often discover thatgrantees are hungry for contact. Adonor representative described hercontacts with a small African organiza-tion that provides support and educa-tion for AIDS-infected girls:

“Especially people who are receivingtheir first-time grants, for organiza-tions that are still very young, they

love to communicate a lot. [The direc-tor] will call or e-mail me every weekand just tell me about the girls. So it’snot any kind of formal report, but itmeans a lot to her knowing that she’sreceived the support and that some-one’s listening to and doing thingsthat she would like — educating theoutside world — with what she says.”

The cofounder of a small New York–based family foundation emphasizedthat frequent, personal contact helpsensure that grantees handle grantfunds well:

“We don’t fund anything we don’tknow. I make five trips to Asia eachyear, and part of what I do to makesure money goes where it should isexplain that we have the same ruleson us. If the money is not properlyused, we could be fined and not beable to make grants. Since 1987 noone has let us down. Being there andbeing in touch makes the difference.”

CURRENCY AND EXCHANGE

On managing currency, you may wantto begin by asking:

■ Through which bank should pay-ments be made?

■ How will the money be transferred?

■ Will the grant be awarded in a lumpsum or in installments?

■ Will payments be made in U.S. dol-lars or foreign currency?

Our contributors recommend using wiretransfers, not checks, when transferringgrant dollars, and to use a bank with astrong global network, or at least astrong presence in the country orregion where the grant is being made.



As a financial officer at one foundationexplained,

“Use wire transfers to ensure safetyand timeliness. And make sure thegrantee gives you complete informa-tion: the right name for the bank, theaccount number, and the internationalcode number. When the bank doesthe transfer, it’s required to check therecipient against the [U.S. Departmentof] Treasury list, so you benefit fromthat extra due diligence.”

Currency devaluation can be perilousfor grant makers and grantees alike.Consult with financial and legal expertsabout the stability of the currency ofthe country where you plan to work,and make adjustments as necessary.For example, one foundation grantsadministrator observed,

“If you know a country has a long his-tory of currency devaluation, youknow you’re not going to pay a lumpsum up front. Knowing that, we cansometimes be strategic about holdingback a portion of the grant.”

Another grant maker offered the fol-lowing suggestions:

“It’s a good idea to transfer funds inU.S. dollars so the grantee can convertto local currency as funds are needed,especially in inflationary environ-ments. That also enables the granteeto negotiate about the exchange rate and date on which to convert the funds.”

CONSULTANTS AND LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES

Many grant makers bridge the distancebetween themselves and their granteesby employing trusted representatives toserve as their eyes and ears in coun-

tries outside the United States. In-country consultants can help funders(or groups of funders) find opportuni-ties, develop proposals, and, later,monitor projects and evaluate theireffects. Some grant makers get similarbenefits by establishing proxy relation-ships with other donors or agencies.

Seeking to strengthen its program inAfrica, for example, a family foundationworked carefully to develop relation-ships with skilled consultants:

“We were getting inquiries that allsounded the same. An applicationdidn’t tell us enough to make our ownjudgments about whether the work ofthe organization was a fit with ourinterests. We realized we needed tohave people who were there regularlyto work over a period of time withcommunity-based organizations andgenerate more appropriate fundingrequests. We hired consultants incre-mentally over time to build trust. Westarted with them reviewing grantrequests. Now we contract for a cer-tain amount of time per year, and acertain number of trips. They’vebecome advisers to our applicantsand to us. And they understand thepurpose, intent, and values behindour grant making.”

When the foundation's board wantedto explore a new program to helpAfrican children orphaned by AIDS,they turned to their consultants:

“We knew the range of responsescould be very broad — from medicalresearch, to making medicines avail-able, to paying children’s school fees.After one of our consultants did areconnaissance trip, we were able tocarve out a funding niche.”

HOW CAN YOU FIND A LOCALCONSULTANT?

The search for the right consultant

often begins by asking for referrals

from other funders. As one interna-

tional grant maker explained:

“In most countries, you'd want to talk

with peer funders, experienced grant

makers who are already on the

ground, and ask them, Who do you

know who's good? Who do you sug-

gest we talk to?”

Yet other contributors urged making

the effort to identify a wider range of

potential advisers and contacts. One

contributor suggested checking with

organizations that support local

grant makers in the region where you

intend to work. WINGS (www.wings

web.org) maintains a list, organized

by region and country, of grant-maker

membership associations and sup-

port organizations around the world.

One technical assistance providerurged, however, that prospective fun-ders make an effort to “break out of thecharmed circle of capital city–basedlocal and foreign consultants, whichtend to get funds to a small circle ofNGOs.” Looking beyond the well-known names can be important, heargued, if the objective is to reach ruralcommunities or organizations that havenot received prior grants from interna-tional donors.

Experienced grant makers also cautionthat both consultants and funders needto be clear about consultants’ role andauthority and communicate the limits to grantees. Are consultants providingthe external funder and grantee withadvice, or are they acting as represen-tatives of the donor? This distinction isespecially important when a consultanthelps develop proposals or providesongoing technical assistance.

The head of a Bangladeshi foundationdescribed the confusion that can resultwhen funders don’t insist on clarityabout the role and authority of theirconsultants:

“What has happened in Bangladesh,and I think in lots of parts of SouthAsia, is that a culture of consultancyhas developed. In various places, con-sultants have a kind of designatedzone of influence. Small grant seekersare in some sense forced to dependon them. There is an impression thatif you go to [a particular] consultantyou have a chance of getting fundsfrom [a particular] donor.”

GRANT MAKING IN DIFFICULT CONTEXTS

Some international funders support projects in difficult political environments.

How do they manage to steer a steady course and advance their objectives? Our

contributors suggested a few basic principles:

■ Choose capable, reliable allies

■ Pay close attention to laws and regulations governing local organizations

and international grant making

■ Support work aligned with your own most fundamental programmatic

interests

■ Set realistic goals

■ Exercise patience

A grant maker working in Israel explained the value of finding the right priority

or topic, then identifying qualified guides:

“People have a lot of very reasonable concerns about working in the Middle

East, but there’s also a kind of mythology that gets perpetuated that it’s more

complicated there than other parts of the world. But it’s also important to

remember that Israel’s no different from any other country in that you could

fund from A to Z, not just on peace or human rights issues. Whatever your

interest is, you could find it in this country: animal protection, environment,

whatever it is, all you have to do is identify it, and then find guides in Israel to

help open that world up for you.”

Sometimes an idea has to wait for the right moment. Part of a grant maker’s job

is to figure out the appropriate timing for a grant and to resist the sense of pres-

sure created by an on-the-ground crisis, your organization's grant cycle, or other

reasons for urgency. For example, a grant maker experienced in South Africa

observed,

“There was a group formed by black women activists in 1990 and they were

trying to talk about gender at a time that was highly charged racially. The

biggest worry was that it would be considered divisive, that the time wasn’t

right. At the African National Congress conference a year later a woman tried

to put a similar motion on the floor. [Even though it was unsuccessful], it did

get people thinking and talking about mobilizing around gender — at which

point it was possible for us to make the grant.”


Some grant makers choose to channelinternational support through interme-diary organizations. Giving through anintermediary is often the simplest wayto fund internationally, especially forfunders who want to realize tax bene-fits. Yet intermediaries may also pro-vide other important advantages:

■ staff expertise to help explore issues,identify beneficiaries, and screenprojects

■ help in bridging linguistic and cul-tural differences

■ familiarity with social, political, andcultural contexts, including local risksand conflicts

■ access to relevant networks andorganizations

■ savings in staff time or administra-tive expenses

■ local accounting and reportinginfrastructure

■ knowledge of local laws and regulations

Effective intermediaries tend to be sen-sitive to the interests of funders andentrepreneurial about developingstrategies that allow them to achievetheir goals. For example, a family foun-dation grant maker in the Midwestwho had supported the development ofa new agricultural technology teamedup with an intermediary organizationto bring the technology to local farmersin the Philippines:

“The technology is used to preservecrops like tomatoes longer, or to storeflowers so they can be transported tomarket without being broken or dam-aged. With our grant, an intermediarypiloted and tested a method in 10–15

communities with 200 farmers. Once itwas really working, they went to anational farmers association andreached farmers nationwide. Farmers’income tended to increase by over 50percent, without any additional inputslike fertilizer. It’s now used by over80,000 farmers.”

In some cases, intermediaries becomelong-term, trusted collaborators. Whena Boston-based family foundationwanted to give emergency aid toschools for women and girls inAfghanistan, its director sought helpfrom an experienced intermediary:

“I didn’t know anything aboutAfghanistan. We found out that aninternational intermediary, one of ourregular partners, was doing an emer-gency drive there, so we contactedthem and sent a check. We knewthey’d be responsible with the moneyand creative about what it went for.”

Here’s a list — by no means exhaustive —of major intermediary types and a feworganizations that exemplify their style.

“Regranting” IntermediariesIntermediary organizations that“regrant” support offer a simple andflexible way to put resources to work inother countries. Defined as charitiesunder the U.S. Internal RevenueService regulations, intermediariesbased in the United States are able toreceive tax-deductible donations fromU.S. funders. Regranting intermediaryorganizations are also increasinglycommon overseas.

For funders new to international grantmaking, regranting intermediaries offera good way to get their feet wet in anew country or issue area. The directorof a U.S. foundation that also acts as an


“They provide us an instant

connection from their

office to the surrounding

community. . . . They also

bring expertise in working

with local nonprofits and

nonprofit laws.”

Working with Intermediaries

intermediary in Nicaragua describedthe help her organization gave to anindividual donor who wanted toaddress women’s issues:

“We did the program work in-countryand then gave her examples of groupsso she could narrow things down tothe ones she most wanted to fund.Then, we asked those groups for pro-posals. She selected one in an areawhere she had some experience, andwhere she could get support from us.”

The Global Philanthropy Forum offers asearchable database of regrantingintermediary organizations based in theUnited States. The database may befound in the International PhilanthropyResources section of its Web site(www.philanthropyforum.org).

Local, or “indigenous,” philanthropies Donors based in the United Statessometimes partner with philanthropieslocated elsewhere. A local funder mayserve as an on-the-ground source ofinformation, a funding partner, a pass-through intermediary, a grantee, orsome combination of those. The AfricanWomen’s Development Fund, forexample, solicits funding from founda-tions and other donors worldwide,coordinates their participation in arange of high-priority projects, andworks closely with African NGOs todevelop programs and build institu-tional capacity.

Collaborations with local grant makerstake many forms. A program officerwith a Texas community foundationdescribed how a relationship with acommunity foundation on the otherside of the border facilitated his own

organization’s border-related grantmaking:

“They provide us an instant connectionfrom their office to the surroundingcommunity. It’s almost like a fieldoffice. We’re able to work jointly onprojects, but with different fundersand different nonprofits. They help uson environment projects throughoutChihuahua: They go to more remoteplaces than our staff can do easily,and they know individuals better thanour staff would. They also bringexpertise in working with local non-profits and nonprofit laws.”

Several of our contributors noted thatbuilding the capacity of indigenousphilanthropic organizations — and ofthe larger, local grant-making sector —is a valuable goal in its own right.Through its Global Philanthropy andFoundation Building Program, theSynergos Institute (www.synergos.org)is helping to establish and strengthenlocal foundations in Latin America,Southern Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Diaspora fundsDiaspora funds promote and facilitategiving by members of a particular emi-grant community for causes and pro-jects in their home country. As theybecome more established, diasporafunds may also begin to raise fundsfrom a wider range of donors.

The founder of one fund, the BrazilFoundation (www.brazilfoundation.org),recalled testing the idea with agroup of Brazilians in the United States:

“I went to a wedding in New York withabout 40 young Brazilians, all verysuccessfully employed. I went around

“REGRANTERS” OR LOCALPHILANTHROPIES?

From “Why We Need Local Grant

makers,” an article by Bisi Adeleye-

Fayemi, executive director of the

African Women’s Development Fund,

in the June 2003 issue of Alliance

Magazine.

“I want my organization to be referred

to as a local grant maker, not a

‘regranter.’ . . . Local grant makers

play a key role in promoting links and

good will between governments, the

private sector, NGOs and community-

based initiatives. These connections

can add value to grant making. By

providing opportunities to address

the very structures and systems which

breed inequality, poor governance,

uneven distribution of resources, and

abuses of fundamental human rights,

there can be maximum return on the

grant-making investment.”

The African Women’s Development

Fund (www.awdf.org), based in Accra,

Ghana, supports work on women’s

human rights, political participation,

and other issues by organizations

throughout Africa.

The article appears in a special sec-

tion on intermediary organizations.

To order copies of the magazine or

to read the online publication

Alliance Extra, see the Allavida Web

site (www.allavida.org).



the room asking, ‘If you had thechance to give to a project that wouldhave a direct impact on people inBrazil, would you be willing to give?And did you know that you could alsodeduct it from your income tax here[in the United States]?’ First, theresponse was overwhelmingly posi-tive. And, second, they didn't knowthat they might be able to deduct it.Lots of them said they were alreadygiving here or there. In other words,they were already in the habit of giv-ing, but they didn't know how to givein Brazil.”

Venture philanthropy fundsVenture philanthropy funds attempt toapply the assumptions and language ofventure capital investing to philan-

thropy — both in their own operationsand in their expectations for grantees.Typically, for example, they offer fun-ders several “portfolios,” each contain-ing a mix of grants and investmentsaddressing a particular social issue.

The founder of the Acumen Fund(www.acumenfund.org), established inthe spring of 2001, explained how“founding partners” invested in thedevelopment of a low-cost hearing aid,now being distributed in South Africa,India, and other countries:

“Our goal — and we actually met it —in our first eight months was to startwith 20 founding partners who wouldeach contribute $100,000. We had $2million in our first portfolio, which wasin health technologies. People literallyat the beginning would say, ‘I don'treally care about hearing aids, but Ilike the model.’ There's enormousexcitement about how this approachlets us think about how the healthmarket is structured and how weactually might innovate to make itmore effective and bring change tothe fore.”

E-philanthropyE-philanthropy is a relatively new phe-nomenon that uses Internet technologyto match the support of funders withbeneficiaries overseas. For example,through its World Schoolhouse pro-gram, NetAid (www.netaid.org)involves corporate and individual vol-unteers and donors in educational pro-jects in India, Zimbabwe, Pakistan,China, Haiti, and other countries. Theorganization’s responsiveness to donor

CHOOSING AN INTERMEDIARY PARTNER: ISSUES TO CONSIDER

■ Are you comfortable with the intermediary’s track record for selecting and han-

dling projects?

■ Are you satisfied with the level of input you’ll have about funding decisions?

Typically, funders help set grant making criteria but leave decisions about individ-

ual grants to the intermediary.

■ What local controls does the intermediary have in place to ensure that funds are

spent wisely? How does the intermediary control and report on administrative

costs?

■ What is the intermediary’s reputation internationally and in the places where it

supports projects?

■ How does the intermediary report to donors?

■ Does the intermediary have 501(c)3 status in the United States? If not, are you

comfortable with knowing that you won’t receive tax benefits as a result of your

contribution?

interest is reflected in a story, told by aNetAid staff member, about her effortsto add projects in South Africa:

“When we launched WorldSchoolhouse, we had no projects inSouth Africa on the inventory. I madea special trip to South Africa, where Imet a lot of different NGO leaders andmade a lot of site visits. We were thenable to present those to corporationsthat had expressed interest in SouthAfrica. So sometimes we customize our approach.”

Donor-advised funds Individual donors are increasingly turn-ing to donor-advised funds, often coor-dinated through an established publiccharity, a commercial financial servicescompany, or even a local communityfoundation, as mechanisms for workoverseas. To open a fund, a donormakes an irrevocable contribution ofcash or securities to the public charity,which is then legally responsible for

managing the investment, usually for anominal administrative fee. Most allowfunders to recommend grants at anytime, although they usually requiredonors to maintain a minimum balancein their funds. The Tides Foundation(www.tidesfoundation.org) andCharities Aid Foundation-America(www.cafonline.org/cafamerica) aretwo of the organizations through whichU.S. funders can establish donor-advised funds for international giving.

“Friends of” fundsThese funds, established in the UnitedStates, channel support to specificoverseas institutions, such as a schoolor university, foundation, arts organiza-tion, or museum. To locate a “friendsof” fund affiliated with a particularinstitution or working in a country orregion, consult GuideStar(www.guidestar.org), a nationaldatabase of more than 850,000 IRS-recognized charitable organizations inthe United States.

TO READ MORE ABOUTINTERMEDIARIES

For more about intermediary organi-

zations and the kind of work they do,

you may want to consult Global

Giving: Making a World of Difference,

written by Paula Johnson and

published by The Philanthropic

Initiative (www.tpi.org). Johnson, a

research fellow with the Global

Equity Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy

School of Government, provides short

case studies of several intermedi-

aries, along with other information

and advice.


Global grant making, as described byEmmett Carson in Grantmaking for theGlobal Village (Council on Foundations,1997), is a style of funding that implic-itly recognizes the interplay betweeninternational and local events and pro-cesses. It does not necessarily requirefunding outside the United States, oreven outside one’s own community.

As the director of a women’s fund inMinnesota noted,

“It’s not just Minnesota reaching out tothe world — the world has come toMinnesota, too. People are here fromEthiopia to Somalia to Laos; the listgoes on and on. Why are they here?Globalization, wars we’ve beeninvolved in, changing economies.‘International’ is not just people faraway; it’s recent arrivals from all partsof the world.”

An international perspective may behelpful not just in understandinglocal problems but in working towardtheir solution. The director of a com-munity foundation described a smallstep that helped resolve a painfullocal misunderstanding:

“A few years ago, there was a hugeincrease in the Hispanic population inone of the counties we serve. Onecounty commissioner wrote to the INSto say, ‘Please get rid of these foreign-ers.’ This had a polarizing effect onthe community. A local group wassponsoring a study trip for public offi-cials to Mexico to help them under-stand immigration issues. We went toour donor advisers to ask if theywould put up funds to allow him andsome others to be part of the trip. Weonly needed $6,000, so this wasn’t

huge. The commissioner returned achanged man. He announced publiclythat he would work to make hiscounty welcoming for all residents.”

Indeed, the possibilities for applying aglobal lens to domestic work are practi-cally limitless. Here’s a small sample ofideas, mentioned by our contributors.

Strengthening cross-nationalalliancesSome funders have made grants toAmerican organizations for projectsdesigned to broaden their internationalagendas. For example, a corporate fun-der in Southern California helped alocal natural history museum collabo-rate with a Mexican organization toproduce an educational film — a projectthat emphasized their common inter-ests and laid the groundwork for fur-ther cooperation:

“We helped sponsor the filming of anIMAX movie on Baja and the Sea ofCortez for our local natural historymuseum and Mexico’s oldest conser-vation organization. The movie showsthe bio-diversity of the peninsula andmakes you want to protect it. It’s beenkey to raising funds for U.S. andMexican conservation organizations.”

Opening avenues of communicationMany funders have sponsored projectsto encourage international communica-tion among peers — from elementaryschool students to nonprofit serviceproviders to senior government officials.

The founder of a family philanthropyexplained the genesis of an organiza-tion that develops and coordinates project-based learning among studentsand teachers around the world, usingthe Internet and other new technology:


Funding Domestically with a Global Lens

“We started up in 1988 with twelveschools in Moscow and twelve schools in the United States. It was a pretty rough time, but the project wasvery successful. Fifteen years later, thatparticular project, which we spun off,involves over a million children in15,000 schools in 100 countries withproject-based learning, across nationalboundaries, and therefore across cultural and religious boundaries.”

Hoping to inspire a more globalapproach to national policies, onelarge East Coast foundation organizesan annual symposium for health min-isters from major developed countries.The officials review comparative inter-national research and discuss strate-gies for improving the performance oftheir national health care systems.The foundation also supportsexchange programs that allow healthprofessionals to study innovations inother countries.

American funders are increasingly borrowing strategies and perspectivesdeveloped in the global arena for theirdomestic work. For example, themicroenterprise lending movement,which originated in Bangladeshthrough the pioneering work of the

Grameen Bank, has found its way into foundation-supported antipovertywork in communities around the United States.

A foundation in a Midwestern cityemphasizes human rights as defined bythe United Nations’ UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and asksall applicants to “describe how theirwork enhances the dignity of people,recognizes minimum rights and stan-dards, or affects systemic change inlocal communities.”

Tackling global issuesSome funders are interested inadvancing international problem solv-ing in areas such as environmentalprotection, economic development, orwomen’s rights. Strategies includemonitoring government compliancewith international agreements,advancing civil society, organizingglobal networks, and convening con-ferences on pressing topics.

For reflections and practical advicefrom grant makers on funding in con-nection with international summits andconferences, see the GrantCraft guideWorld Summits and Conferences: GrantMaking on a Global Stage(www.GrantCraft.org).



■ Inform yourself about relevantlegal and tax issues. If you decideto fund directly, undertake due dili-gence on the relevant legal and taxissues in the United States and targetcountry, and set up the processesand timetable to govern your work.Enlist staff and long-term consultantsas allies in making sure that thingsrun smoothly administratively, aswell as programmatically. As onegrants administrator from a privatefoundation observed,

“Generally grants administrators areanother set of ears for grantees toanswer questions, helping them tounderstand how to think aboutreporting, or whatever.”

■ Give yourself time for research andreflection. Our contributors stronglyrecommended spending plenty oftime to educate yourself, your col-leagues, and your board membersabout the target issues and countriesyou are interested in funding. Theformer head of a major Europeandonor center and library told how anew environmental funder gotstarted in Eastern Europe:

“What they really wanted to know initially was, what is everybody elsedoing so that we can find gaps andopportunities to make a mark? Theygot a grad student to come into thelibrary and sort of camp out for aweek or two, then write a full report.”

■ Clarify the values that guide yourgrant making. A grant maker at afamily foundation explained how theorganization’s values informed itsgrant making:

“We have topical areas — communitydevelopment, health, economic

development — but within thesethere are hundreds of possible pro-grams. The challenge was to createa screen. We articulated a set of values: local involvement in decisionmaking, informed by local peopleand bottom-up. That ruled out a lotof things. We realized that wewould not be funding outside peoplewho wanted to go into a new com-munity and start new work. Wewould work with people who hadrelationships on the ground andwere building capacity of local peo-ple to solve their own problems. Anumber of our grants go to NGOsbased in the United States, but wefund them only if they are workingclosely with a community organiza-tion abroad.”

■ Identify institutional and personalconstraints. What financialresources, staff time, and personaltime will you dedicate to interna-tional work? How hands-on do youwish to be? Can your organizationmanage the program decisions andthe legal and tax issues involved indirect grant making? Or would itmake more sense to work throughan intermediary, at least initially?

■ Develop ways to help you commu-nicate effectively with granteesand applicants. What is the commu-nications culture in the country orregion in which you plan to work,and how might that condition yourdealings with grantees? For example,are people most comfortable commu-nicating in face-to-face settings ormay some of the work be conductedby phone or e-mail? Might they hes-itate to communicate news, espe-cially bad news, in a timely manner?

Key Lessons from Grant Makers

Contributors emphasized the impor-tance of working with grantees toensure mutual comfort and clarity ofexpectations regarding how andwhen you should be in touch

■ Consider a site visit or study tourto a new setting to meet withpotential grantees and others. Thiscan provide the kind of crucial infor-mation that grant makers need toback up their funding recommenda-tions. For example, the director of asmall family foundation recalled asite visit to a rural community devel-opment project in Mexico:

“The director was one of thosecharismatic, spark-plug people, andI could tell that he personally wasgoing to make this work. That dayin the office, it was clear that itwasn’t a bureaucracy: This was agroup of impassioned people.”

■ Listen carefully to the interests andconcerns of local communities. Theassistance of experienced consul-tants can be particularly helpful in

coordinating local conversations.Organize meetings to scope the fieldand for others to get to know you.When exploring a field with poten-tial grantees, remember that youreducation may cost them time andresources. You may want to reim-burse their travel expenses, providehonoraria, offer training, or under-write groups working on similarissues to network and learn fromeach other.

■ Consider small grants as a way toexplore the field. This approachoffers opportunities to learn about afield or country, while also givingyou a chance to offer timely assis-tance to promising projects thatmight not fit within a larger grant.

■ Take advantage of the knowledgeand connections of local philan-thropies. Grant makers suggestmaking contact with local donorsand donor networks when gatheringinitial information, and considering apartnership further down the road.



■ People in other countries may not understand howU.S. philanthropy works or your role as a grantmaker. Remember, cautioned one grantee, that thepeople you talk with may not understand whetheryou’re collecting ideas or actually making decisions.

■ A model that works well in one place won’t neces-sarily work in another. Local culture — including atti-tudes toward entrepreneurship, patterns of graft andcorruption, and views toward outsiders — can doom aproject to failure, even if the approach has worked elsewhere.

■ Try to clarify the meaning of technical terms. Termsthat mean one thing in the United States may have dif-ferent meanings or connotations in other countries. Tryto spend time discussing what all parties really hopewill be accomplished and how the work will get done.

■ Be clear about your projected exit from a grant. Ourcontributors stressed the importance of structuring yourwork from the beginning with an eye toward youreventual withdrawal. Plan your transition strategy fromthe first moment you begin to engage in another coun-try and shape your role to support that strategy.

■ Be strategic about translation. Make sure key docu-ments and conversations are translated betweenEnglish and the main language (or languages) of thecountries where you are working. An American granteewho works globally translates all presentation slides inadvance of international meetings, as an aid to bilingual participants and to enhance the quality ofsimultaneous translations.

What Grantees Wish Grant Makers Knew

This guide is intended primarily to help grant makers,trustees, and donors think through the decision to add aglobal dimension to their grant making. It may be espe-cially helpful with:

■ Learning about what’s out there in terms of existingresources, partners, and information

■ Getting a picture of the legal and logistical demands offunding globally

■ Weighing the advantages of working through an inter-mediary organization versus funding directly

■ Walking trustees or an individual donor through an initial decision to work internationally

■ Bringing global perspective to a domestic fundingagenda

Ways to Use This Guide


Natasha Amott Ellen Arrick Aaron Back Daniel Bartholomay Douglas BauerCarol BerdeLouise BowditchRob Buchanan Junko ChanoMichelle CoffeyPeter CopenCraig Cramer Paul Di Donato Anne Dowling Cristina Eguizabal Nancy Feller Leona FormanBrian FrederickBarry GabermanNicholas GabrielElan GaronzikPeter GeithnerMichael GibbonsIrena Grudzinska GrossChristopher Harris John Harvey Roman HerringtonCornelia W. HigginsonPaula Johnson Natalia KanemGisela Keller Kate Kroeger Geraldine KunstadterCathy LavinSteven LawryLauren Maher

Idelisse MalaveNiamani Mutima Jacqueline Novogratz Jane RansomKyle ReisYolonda RichardsonRobert Rosenbloom Shannon St. JohnErika ShatzMichael Seltzer Yumi Sera Dan SiegelBradford SmithChet TchozewskiAron Thompson Isidore Tsamblakos Jenny YanceyIftekhar Zaman

Acumen Fund Africa Grantmakers Affinity

Group Albert Kunstadter Foundation American Express FoundationBangladesh Freedom FoundationBanyan Tree Foundation Blossom Fund Brazil FoundationBusiness Enterprises for

Sustainable TravelCentre for Development and

Population Activities Charles Stewart Mott FoundationCommunity Foundation of Greater

Lorain County

Copen Family Fund Council on Foundations International

CommitteeDowling and Associates, Inc.El Paso Community Foundation EMPower Ford FoundationFunders Concerned About AIDS Global Equity Initiative, Harvard

UniversityGlobal Greengrants Fund Goldman Sachs FoundationGrantmakers Without Borders Hauser Center for Nonprofit

Organizations, Harvard University J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation McKnight FoundationNetAidNew Visions Philanthropic Research

and DevelopmentRockefeller Foundation Rockefeller Philanthropy AdvisorsSasakawa Peace FoundationSempra Energy Global Enterprises Social Venture Partners SeattleSynergos InstituteTides FoundationTriangle Community Foundation Women’s Foundation of MinnesotaWorld Bank

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe wish to thank the grant makers and grant users who generously shared their experiences and insights, and all those whose time, talent, and perspective have made this guide possible, including the following individuals and organizations:

Underwriting for this guide was provided by the Ford Foundation. For additional guides and other materials in the GrantCraft series, see www.grantcraft.org.

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