International Perspectives on Philanthropy

Image: Adobe Stock By Matus

What U.S. Donors Can Learn Right Now from Global Hybrids, Catalytic Capital, and Civic Tech

If you want a fresh read on where philanthropy is going, stop looking only at America’s biggest foundations.  Look outward as well.

Across Europe, the U.K., and emerging markets, donors and institutions are quietly building new philanthropic machinery: hybrid models that blend grantmaking with investment tools, revenue designs that reduce dependency on annual fundraising, and civic-tech initiatives often tied to AI that treat public trust as the primary performance metric.

These global developments are not “interesting overseas stories.”  They are working prototypes for what U.S. donors, foundations, and trusted advisors will increasingly need at home: durability, leverage, and legitimacy.

Below are four international currents worth watching and possibly importing.

1.      The Rise of “Catalytic Capital” as a Default, Not a Specialty

In the global development arena, philanthropy is increasingly used as catalytic capital – money deployed to de-risk projects so pools of private capital can participate.

This approach is often grouped under blended finance, commonly defined as the use of catalytic capital from public or philanthropic sources to increase private investment in high-impact outcomes.

A headline example now resurfacing is the renewed push for debt-for-nature swaps, where financial engineering reduces sovereign debt costs in exchange for conservation commitments.  Reuters reports that the U.K.’s Legal & General is committing up to $1 billion to a new wave of these swaps, with structures that include political risk coverage and coalitions of NGOs and insurers.

What this means for U.S. donors: We should stop treating “finance tools” as something separate from philanthropy.  Many of the problems donors care about – climate resilience, housing, community health, education, and local infrastructure – aren’t short of ideas.  They’re short of bankable structures.

Domestic translation:

• Guarantees and first-loss capital are affordable housing funds.

• Credit enhancements for resilience infrastructure.

• PRI-style support for workforce systems and education funding.

2.     Europe’s “Science-Sovereignty Philanthropy” is Accelerating

In Europe, major philanthropy is moving aggressively to strengthen regional research capacity, sometimes explicitly in response to geopolitical competition.

A notable recent signal: the Novo Nordisk Foundation is increasing funding outside Denmark, distributing record amounts and allocating a growing share internationally, including investments aimed at strengthening Europe’s science and technology capabilities (e.g., quantum computing initiatives).

This philanthropy acts as strategic national and regional capacity-building, not just charitable relief.

What this means for U.S. donors: We often fund programs.  Others are funding capabilities.

Domestic translation:

• Long-horizon endowments for applied research institutes.

• “Infrastructure for knowledge” investments: labs, data collaboratives, and open tools.

• University-industry-civic partnerships that build durable talent pipelines.

This aligns tightly with our Generosity thesis: preeminent philanthropy is not just compassion.  It’s architecture.

3.     The U.K.'s Rapid Normalization of DAF-Style Giving

U.S. donors sometimes assume donor-advised funds are a uniquely American phenomenon.  They’re not.  In the U.K., donor-advised funds are scaling fast and becoming a mainstream giving vehicle.

The National Philanthropic Trust’s U.K. reporting shows significant DAF activity, including 2024 contributions of £864.5 million and grants of £787.7 million, with grants rising sharply year-over-year.

NPT also describes a dramatic expansion in U.K. DAF adoption and growth in assets in recent years.

What this means for U.S. donors and nonprofits: DAFs are not a side channel; they are increasingly core liquidity for giving.  The international trend reinforces what many U.S. development teams already feel: if you don’t have a DAF strategy, you’re leaving money and relationships on the table.

Domestic translation:

• Build explicit DAF activation pathways that are timely, specific, and have impact-forward asks.

• Offer “DAF-ready” giving menus - restricted, unrestricted, and blended options.

• Provide succession-friendly legacy language for multigenerational donor families.

4.     Civic Tech and Public-Purpose AI Are Becoming a Philanthropic Lane

International philanthropy is also converging as a new priority.  AI and civic technology for public purposes, not as a tech fad, but as a trust and access issue.

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation reports substantial global grantmaking explicitly focused on AI for public purpose across multiple countries and sectors, including media, human rights, climate resilience, digital literacy, health equity, and more.

Meanwhile, city-centered innovation platforms – often global in outlook – continue to scale approaches to municipal problem-solving through philanthropy-backed experimentation.  Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge is one visible example of funding plus technical capacity-building for civic innovation.

What this means for U.S. donors: AI is quickly becoming a form of civic infrastructure.  Global funders are already underwriting the guardrails: literacy, accountability, access, and resilience.

Domestic translation:

• Fund AI literacy for nonprofits and public agencies.

• Support “digital public goods” and open-source civic tooling.

• Underwrite independent audits, transparency standards, and public-interest research.

The Generosity Takeaway: Import The Mechanisms, Not The Buzzwords

The common thread across these global examples is not ideology.  It’s institutional realism:

• Complex problems need blended capital, not just grants.

• National resilience requires funding capabilities, not just programs.

• Giving vehicles are evolving, and donors expect modern rails.

• Technology is governance now; philanthropy must fund the guardrails.

In Generosity terms: this is what it looks like when donors practice philanthropy preeminently as builders of durable systems.

What U.S. Donors Can Do Immediately?

1.       Add a catalytic-capital tool to your portfolio (PRI, guarantee, first-loss tranche).

2.      Fund a capability, not only a program (data, workforce pipeline, research infrastructure).

3.      Modernize your DAF strategy as a giving rail, not an afterthought.

4.      Treat AI as civic infrastructure and fund public-purpose guardrails.

Here’s wishing you luck as you broaden your own perspective.