Diaspora Philanthropic Ecosystem

A diaspora philanthropy ecosystem has multi-directional flows of funds, knowledge, skills, and feedback among its actors

Diaspora individuals

Donate money and volunteer time for issues, mentor participant communities, and co-design philanthropic activities with participating communities.

• Interact directly with Recipient Communities by donating money, volunteering, mentoring, and co-designing projects, bringing personal knowledge and motivation.
• Channel funds and mobilize actions through Diaspora Organizations and Professional Diaspora Networks to amplify impact and access expertise.
• Engage with Digital Giving Platforms to discover, donate, and track impact transparently.
• Collaborate with Academia/Research for evidence-based philanthropy and capacity-building.

Diaspora organizations and groups

Aggregate small donations, manage local projects, mobilize volunteers, fundraise, deliver culturally relevant projects, strengthen trust and build social capital.

• Aggregate small donations from individuals into manageable pools.
• Manage local projects in partnership with Nonprofits/Local NGOs and Social Enterprises/Innovators for implementation.
• Mobilize volunteers, strengthen trust, and build social capital across Recipient Communities.
• Coordinate with Home Country Government to enable support and legitimacy.
• Work with Intermediaries and Service Providers for regulatory compliance, due diligence, and impact measurement.
• Partner with Professional Diaspora Networks to enhance skills mobilization and strategic giving.

Professional diaspora networks

Mobilize skills, channel strategic giving, enable capacity-building and knowledge transfer.

• Mobilize skills and expertise for capacity building of Nonprofits/Local NGOs and Social Enterprises.
• Channel strategic giving by directing resources from Diaspora Individuals and Foundations effectively.
• Enable knowledge transfer by connecting with Academia/Research Institutions.
• Coordinate with Diaspora Organizations and Foundations to align efforts.

Diaspora foundations/venture funds

Aggregate and deploy capital, support innovation and co-investment.

• Aggregate and deploy capital, with particular investment focus on Social Enterprises and Innovators.
• Support innovation and co-investment alongside Professional Diaspora Networks.
• Partner with Intermediaries and Service Providers to ensure due diligence and impact measurement.
• Collaborate with International Organizations and Multilaterals for match-funding and scaling.

Nonprofits/local NGOs

Implement projects, deliver aid and services, build local capacity, provide feedback and accountability.

• Implement projects and deliver services on the ground in partnership with Recipient Communities.
• Provide feedback and accountability to Diaspora Organizations and Home Country Government.
• Collaborate with Social Enterprises for innovative project design and delivery.
• Work alongside Academia/Research Institutions for monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

Recipient Communities

Articulate needs, participate in project design and delivery, provide feedback.

• Articulate needs and priorities directly to Diaspora Individuals, Organizations, NGOs, and Social Enterprises.
• Participate actively in project design and implementation with NGOs and Diaspora Organizations.
• Provide continuous feedback to improve project effectiveness.
• Engage with mentors from Diaspora Individuals and Professional Networks for capacity building.

Home country government

Mobilize diaspora for development, provide enabling environment, credential NGOs, coordinate campaigns.

• Mobilize diaspora resources by coordinating campaigns with Diaspora Organizations and Governments.
• Provide enabling environment through policies and and by credentialing NGOs and Diaspora Organizations.
• Collaborate with International Organizations and Multilaterals to align national development strategies.
• Engage with Diaspora Individuals and Foundations to encourage giving and investment.

Host country government

Regulate giving, set legal and tax frameworks, support advocacy.

• Regulate philanthropic giving and tax frameworks affecting Diaspora Individuals and Organizations.
• Support advocacy efforts by Diaspora Organizations.
• Facilitate legal frameworks supporting cross-border philanthropy.

Intermediaries and service providers

Structure giving, provide due diligence, impact measurement, legal and tax compliance, facilitate cross-border transfers.

• Structure giving mechanisms and provide due diligence services to Diaspora Foundations, Organizations, and Individuals.
• Ensure legal, tax compliance, and impact measurement for all giving activities.
• Facilitate cross-border financial transfers, crucial for connecting Diaspora Individuals with Recipient Communities.

Social enterprises/innovators

Develop and scaling solutions, pilot and expand projects, mobilize capital and expertise.

• Develop and scale innovative solutions funded by Diaspora Foundations and Venture Funds.
• Partner with NGOs and Recipient Communities to pilot projects.
• Mobilize capital and expertise through connections with Professional Diaspora Networks.
• Collaborate with Academia for co-design and evaluation.

International organizations and multilaterals

Implement large-scale projects, provide match-funding, align with SDGs, broker partnerships.

• Implement large-scale programs that complement diaspora-led initiatives.
• Provide match-funding and broker partnerships with Diaspora Foundations and Home Country Government.
• Align projects with global SDGs to ensure consistency.
• Support capacity building and knowledge sharing with Academia and NGOs.

Digital giving Platforms/aggregators

Implement large-scale projects, provide match-funding, align with SDGs, broker partnerships.

• Facilitate donations from Diaspora Individuals and Organizations.
• Provide transparency and impact data sharing to all stakeholders.
• Partner with Intermediaries for compliance and effective fund transfer.

Academia/research institutions

Provide evidence, evaluation, knowledge transfer, co-design capacity-building interventions.

• Provide evidence and evaluation to inform Diaspora Organizations, NGOs, and Governments.
• Co-design capacity-building interventions with NGOs and Professional Networks.
• Lead knowledge transfer through training Diaspora Networks and Recipient Communities.