Fundraising in Emerging Markets: Challenges and Opportunities

But despite the general public scepticism, nonprofits with solid reputations based on real track records are attracting support. Donors can tell the good nonprofits from the bad.

Overcoming obstacles
Traditions of philanthropy vary widely. In Latin America, there is no real culture of giving to social and environmental causes. In Asia, while almost everyone “gives,” they tend to do so to the extended family, poorer relatives or poor people in the neighbourhood. They also give to local temples and mosques. In Africa, strong patterns of kinship and community support also dominate over giving to nonprofits. In most of these countries, family and kinship still play major roles in people’s lives, and people personally know people in need — unlike the situation for many donors in the U.S. today. But this situation is changing with a growing middle class and increasingly smaller families. Improved levels of education also contribute to a rising number of people prepared to part with goods or cash to assist nonprofits they trust.