Thread: Americans Gave $123 Billion in Foreign Aid

24 May 2007

United States Is Largest Donor of Foreign Aid, Report SaysAmericans favor private giving, people-to-people contacts

Washington — The United States is the single largest donor of foreign economic aid, but, unlike many other developed nations, Americans prefer to donate their money through the private sector, according to a new report published by a Washington research organization.

Of the $122.8 billion of foreign aid provided by Americans in 2005 (the most current data available), $95.5 billion, or 79 percent, came from private foundations, corporations, voluntary organizations, universities, religious organizations and individuals, says the annual Index of Global Philanthropy.

The index was issued May 24 by the Center for Global Prosperity at the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based nonpartisan research organization.

For example, U.S. foundations gave more -- in money, time, goods and expertise -- than 11 of the 22 developed-country governments each gave in 2005, and U.S. private voluntary organizations totaled more than the governments of Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and France each.

More than half of all U.S. assistance to developing countries, $61.7 billion, came in the form of private remittances by individuals living in the United States to their families abroad, the report says. According to the report, those remittances not only reduce poverty, but, in some cases, increase creditworthiness of countries and underwrite their trade imbalances.

PRIVATE GENEROSITY

The scope of U.S. private giving often is overlooked in statistics that compare the relative generosity of various countries, the authors of the report say. Most of the other developed countries deliver their international aid primarily through official development aid programs run and financed by government agencies.

U.S. official development assistance (ODA) in 2005 was $28 billion, the largest of all official donations by an individual country.

.“This shouldn’t be a numbers game, but since it always is, since people always are comparing numbers, let them look at what is going on in developing countries. Just looking at government aid flows is not going to help us understand … what are the best practices, what are the success stories,â€

NOT ENOUGH says Barack HUSSEIN Obama

Amazing how they decide to fix all the worlds problems but the world wont help us with ours.

THIS MONEY SHOULD BE GOING TO PROGRAMS FOR AMERICANS. LET THE REST OF THE WORLD SUPPORT THEMSELVES.

That's about 122 billion too much in my opinion. Why is it that our leaders love to spend OUR money on everyone except US!

Originally Posted by NoBueno

That's about 122 billion too much in my opinion. Why is it that our leaders love to spend OUR money on everyone except US!

Y'know, I'm really not sure how accurate this article is. They are including: US foreign assistance, private philanthropy, and remittances. I don't think loans and investments were included. Last year MSNBC had an article which stated that total US philanthropic giving was $300 Billion, but most of that was domestic. Elsewhere I have read that US donations to foreign missions are about $60 Billion/yr.

I know that there are thousands of programs helping out in Latin AMerica that are US based. Estimated annual volunteering worldwide--1-3 miilion persons. I would like to get some statistics on just how much we do give to Latin America; current statistics are not always so easy to get.