Our new report shows a troubling lack of transparency among philanthropic foundations that pledged to increase direct funding to local organisations. Despite commitments made in 2022 through the Donor Statement on Supporting Locally Led Development, the vast majority have failed to report targets or progress.

The report, Promises versus Progress, highlights that, two years after 26 foundations publicly endorsed the statement, there is little public evidence of meaningful action. Key findings include:

• Only one foundation (Conrad N. Hilton Foundation) has published post-commitment data on local funding levels—but without a clear methodology.
• Just eight foundations report to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Creditor Reporting System, and only three publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard.
• Only eight maintain publicly accessible, up-to-date grant databases.
• Just two (Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation) have set a target for the proportion of funding they intend to channel directly to local organisations.

“We applaud those making public commitments to locally led development and to shifting resources to local organisations,” said Gary Forster, CEO of Publish What You Fund. “But the lack of details on progress is deeply concerning. Without transparency, it’s impossible to know if these commitments are translating into real impact.”

Forster called for clear and actionable steps forward: “For meaningful accountability, foundations must publish grant-level data, report on the proportion of funding going directly to local organisations, and set clear goals for increasing local funding.”

“Local organisations are already being hit hard by the turmoil in US development funding. We need a greater sense of urgency, more progress, from these foundations. Many others have already wrestled with how to define local, how to report grants publicly, and how to use open data standards. We, among others, stand ready to help.”

As a wide range of stakeholders push for greater transparency in development funding, this report raises urgent questions about the philanthropic sector’s commitment to locally led development. Transparency is key to building trust and ensuring commitments lead to real change.