PRIVATE DONORS CONTRIBUTE OVER $125M TO SUSTAIN FOREIGN AID PROGRAMS AFTER US FUNDING CUTS. (PHOTO).

Private donors contribute over $125M to sustain foreign aid programs after US funding cuts

When the Trump administration froze U.S. foreign aid, a scramble began to find ways to keep critical programs alive. In February, multiple groups launched emergency fundraising efforts to sustain projects that were abruptly cut off. Over the next eight months, private donors and foundations mobilized more than $125 million—far beyond what organizers initially expected, though still only a fraction of the total aid gap.

Teams of former USAID staff and economists worked long hours to identify roughly 80 programs deemed both cost-effective and impactful. Their effort, known as Project Resource Optimization (PRO), ultimately helped secure over $110 million in charitable grants, with additional emergency funds raising another $15 million. Donors ranged from established foundations, like GiveWell, to new philanthropists inspired by the crisis, such as a San Francisco couple who contributed over $1 million to PRO-backed programs. While the funds could not fully replace U.S. government support, nonprofits were able to scale down operations to the most essential components, keeping services running in areas like nutrition, disease treatment, and economic development. Other emergency funds, including the Rapid Response Fund and Unlock Aid’s Foreign Aid Bridge Fund, raised millions more from thousands of smaller contributors. Despite the success of these efforts, uncertainty remains about future U.S. foreign aid policy, leaving private donors to decide whether and how to continue bridging the gap.