Interaction Viewpoint - Ngo Finance

InterAction Viewpoint U.S. International Development and Humanitarian Organizations Should Have Stronger Role in Policymaking March 17, 2009 U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become significant, independent actors in international development and humanitarian relief, raising the majority of their revenue from private, versus governmental, sources of funding. Given their ability to contribute additional resources to development and relief efforts and often decades of experience working closely with the poor, NGOs should have a stronger role in policymaking and be considered vital partners in the global fight against poverty. InterAction members alone raised more than $8.8 billion for their international programs in 2006. About two-thirds of this funding ($5.9 billion) came from private sources – including foundations, corporations, and more than 13 million individual donors – compared to $2.7 billion from the U.S. government. Counting revenue from these private sources only, InterAction members collectively are larger than many bilateral donors.