Trends & Themes

The 2020 Global Philanthropy Tracker (GPT) provides an updated estimate of the amount of cross-border philanthropy that occurred in 2018 or the most recent year for which data are available. 

It further compares cross-border philanthropy to three other cross-border resource flows: official development assistance (ODA), remittances, and private capital investment. 

In 2018, the 47 economies included in the report contributed USD 68 billion inphilanthropic outflows.

With $68 billion in cross-border giving alone, GPT finds that the impact of private philanthropy—foundations, corporations, and individuals—is roughly equivalent to the 74th largest economy in the world by 2018 GDP. In total, private sources including cross-border giving, private capital investment, and remittances, contributed a total of $658 billion in 2018, nearly four times the amount of ODA.

Private sources contributed USD 658 billion across national borders in 2018, nearly four times the amount of ODA. (ODA estimates are available in 37 of the 47 economies. Private capital flows are available in 22 of the 47 economies. See full report for details.)

While governments continued to play an important role in international development, a complex set of private actors from countries at varying levels of development played an increasing contribution to improving infrastructure, preserving the environment, and promoting human well-being. 

Remittances to all countries from the 47 economies included in the report reached USD 481 billion (58 percent) in 2018, more than ODA, private capital investment, and philanthropic flows combined. 

Private capital flows from the 22 economies for which data are available totaled USD 109 billion in 2018. Typically the largest financial flow to the developing world, private capital investment represented the third largest flow in 2018.

Cross-border philanthropy will have an increasingly significant role in the international arena than ever before due to three major trends.

• An expanding global middle class and an increase in high net worth individuals will continue to drive enhanced engagement in cross-border philanthropy. The past decade has marked the fastest ever growth in the global middle class, and spending by the global middle class is expected to double by 2030.
  
• Global migration patterns suggest that diaspora philanthropy and remittances will shape the future of cross-border philanthropy as more people are likely to—temporarily or permanently—be part of diaspora communities. Diaspora philanthropy is giving by migrants for communities in the country of origin beyond family members. Three-quarters of remittances captured by the 2020 GPT went to low- and middle-income countries, with 96% of those resources originating from migrant communities in high-income countries.
  
• The continued rapid advancement of technology will make cross-border giving easier, faster and safer. In many high-income economies, online platforms and crowdfunding have continued to expand, while the adoption of similar technology in upper- and lower-middle income economies is helping to improve donor participation in nations where philanthropy is less institutionalized. New digital methods, such as online giving, social media, and crowdfunding platforms, are specifically identified as one of the key future trends for cross-border philanthropy in more than one-third (18) of the 47 economies included in the 2020 GPT.