Private Donations for International Development

Charitable donations by private individuals and firms can help fund the Millennium Development Goals. What are the prospects for increasing donations for international development, whether from small-scale donors, the super-rich (as in the recent gifts by Bill Gates and Ted Turner), or the corporate sector? The Paper starts by reviewing how large are the sums currently given in OECD countries (including gifts of time) and the problems for development in competing with domestic causes. It then looks at possibilities for the future, including tax-deductions, the new ‘global funds’, corporate social responsibility and ‘cause-related marketing’, the use of the Internet, and long-term donor education.