2020 Global Philanthropy Tracker

The Global Philanthropy Tracker measures giving across borders from countries at all stages of economic development, while also highlighting the collaborative partnerships and infrastructure that support cross-border efforts across the globe. In doing so, the Global Philanthropy Tracker is the first of its kind to offer a holistic view of the scale and scope of cross-border giving worldwide.

The report examines the sources and magnitude of cross-border giving—including official development assistance (ODA), philanthropic giving, and other private investments—from 47 economies around the world.

The Global Philanthropy Tracker was previously published by the renowned Hudson Institute since 2006, under the title The Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances.

• In 2018, the 47 economies included in the report contributed USD 68 billion in philanthropic outflows and a combined USD 834 billion through all of the four cross-border flows, including philanthropic outflows, ODA, remittances, and private capital investment.
• Private sources contributed USD 658 billion across national borders in 2018, nearly four times the amount of ODA.
• Cross-border philanthropy will have an increasingly significant role in the international arena than ever before due to three major trends:
  • A global increase of middle-income and high net worth individuals and diaspora communities will likely lead to more engagement in cross-border philanthropy.
  • The rapid advancement and application of new information and communication technologies will make cross-border charitable donations easier, faster, and safer.
  • The new and ongoing challenges that societies face across the world require more effective collaboration across sectors and countries.
• Worldwide, only 18 countries had relatively high-quality data on aggregate amounts of philanthropic outflows.
• Only 18 economies had available data on the charitable causes supported by cross-border giving, and only Denmark had specific information explicitly aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
• Only 16 economies published information on the recipient regions of philanthropic outflows, and only 4 of these countries—Nigeria, South Korea, Tanzania, and the United Arab Emirates—had data by recipient country.
• The GPT calls for better data availability and access on cross-border philanthropy in order to improve understanding of global philanthropy and increase its effectiveness globally.
• The 47 economies that had available data on philanthropic outflows encompass countries with different levels of development. In general, high-income economies tend to have more comprehensive data on cross-border giving.
• The landscape of cross-border philanthropy has changed drastically over the past few decades. Low- and middle-income countries have also become contributors to global development, enabling more collaborations and innovative approaches to increasing global challenges.

This research reframes the discussion about the roles of official development assistance and private philanthropy by showing that the full scale of a country’s generosity is measured not just by government aid, but also private giving.

The Global Philanthropy Tracker serves as a comprehensive yardstick for global giving that helps illustrate the indispensable role that philanthropy plays in building communities globally. With this data, we can identify and highlight important charitable trends that help all stakeholders improve upon our philanthropic system and, most importantly, act as a catalyst for increasing cross-border giving.