For Norma Galafassi
Welcome to the second part of our journey through the world of GIVING globally. If you haven’t read the first part yet, click here. At in2action we collected and cross-checked data from different reports around the world, as well as the evolution of giving in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, Australia, among others. Now I’ll tell you a little more about the global data and especially what giving was like in Latin America and its relationship with the world in 2023.
The Latin America and the Caribbean performance:
- According to “the Charities Aid Foundation’s World Giving Index 2023 Report” the top countries/territories in percentage of people donating money in 2023 are: Chile, Honduras, Uruguay, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica (ranging from 30% to 34%).
- Larger economies in LATAM have not been able to place high on the ranking of Percentage of people donating money: Brazil (26%), Argentina and Mexico (22%) and Colombia (16%).
- Interestingly France, Italy and Spain share a Global index of 37 as well as Ecuador and Brazil while Argentina Global Index is 36. Comparing the percentage of people donating money in those countries, the European trio (France, Italy and Spain) averages between 37% and 42% while the LATAM trio (Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina) varies from 21% to 26%.
- According to the 2023 Non-Profit Sector Study by CEMEFI Mexican organisations raised more than US $3.3 b in donations. Of the total amount collected, 63% came from legal entities (foundations and companies), 30% from individuals and 7% from the public sector.

- Giving according recipients TOP subsector donations (Top 5): Direct Assistance organisations 52.5%, Support to other organisations 22.3%, Education 9.4%, Ecology 4.1%, Culture 3.2%.
- In the case of Brazil, according to data from the quantitative research “A Pesquisa Doação Brasil 2022”, 36% of people over 18 years of age and with income above the minimum wage, have donated an average of US $63 (R$300) to an organisation that year, an increase of 50% in two years. The study estimates that the total donated by people in 2022 to organisations is US $2.6b, equivalent to 0.13% of the GDP of that year.
- In Argentina, according to the report Cultura de Dar by Voices, Qendar and the University of San Andrés, there is a slight increase in the percentage of people donating money to NGOs in 2022, which reached 22% (in 2020 it was 19%). It also indicates that 13% of people made monthly donations to CSOs. (2% more than the previous year). Despite these increases, the report reveals a growing concern: declining trust in organisations. In 2015/16, 58% of people surveyed said they trusted these institutions, while in 2022, this percentage dropped to 39%.
Additionally and getting back to the global picture, new data available according to the CAF global report shows the factors that influence global generosity:
- People who have a strong religious belief have a higher overall giving index score, except for Europe where it makes no difference.
- People who rated their life in positive terms were more likely to have made a gift to charity, with some of the happiest countries in the world ranking in the top 10 for donating money (Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, and Iceland).
- Inmigrants are more likely to give than nationals, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Diaspora giving or giving back home has grown to an estimated US 626 billion, as people maintain close ties with their native communities.
We have wondered if there would be some kind of parameter that relates the giving of countries with long-standing philanthropic traditions such as the United States or Great Britain and newer ones such as Mexico or Brazil. Based on the reports shared, at in2action, we linked total amounts given by country and per person with the total GDP and GDP/cap. It shows that actually, there is no conclusion that marks a specific type of trend as donations from individuals seem to be close to 1.3% of GDP in the best case (USA), followed by 0.5% in Great Britain and 0.2% in Mexico and close to 0.13% in the lowest case (Brazil). Clearly there is much work to be done globally to achieve higher donation percentages and amounts. Similarly, amounts donated per capita per year in the same countries are: USA US $955, UK US $237, Brazil US $11.7 and Mexico US $7.68, including only individual giving figures. There is clearly much work to be done globally to achieve higher donation percentages and amounts.
Of course, there is much more information to cross check and reports to add, but through these two articles, we are getting an idea of how the journey through GIVING turns out in the world, and how it is related to our region. Now it’s time for me to share some general conclusions and trends to follow in our fundraising actions in my next article Where is GIVING going in the world and LATAM?.
If you want to read the complete reports mentioned, here are the links:
- https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/research/caf-world-giving-index
- https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/11/30/remittances-grow-5-percent-2022
- https://www.idis.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Pesquisa-Doacao-Brasil-2022-IDIS.pdf
- https://pesquisadoacaobrasil.org.br/
- https://www.cemefi.org/centrodedocumentacion/11568.pdf
- https://www.culturadedar.org/
The Worldwide and LATAM Giving report by Norma Galafassi, is now available for download here, with data of over 12 reports from around the globe, key conclusions, ideas and trends for your organisation’s fundraising efforts.