Draft Principles of Accountability in International Philanthropy

In the spring of 2005 the European Foundation Centre and the Council on Foundations created a joint working group to explore the concept of accountability as it specifically relates to philanthropy that crosses national borders. The product of the working group’s activities over the past year is a draft document that identifies the key principles of accountability in international philanthropy for the respective members of the two organizations and others who may be interested.

The draft Principles of Accountability for International Philanthropy (in PDF) embodies many of the themes and good practices that have emerged from the consultations and working group discussions with Council and EFC members.

In addition, the Council’s discussions have included consultations with peer organizations such as Grantmakers Without Borders, the Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group, the WINGS (Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaking Support) Coordinating Committee and CIVICUS (World Assembly for Citizen Participation. In February 2006, the working group held a consultation in South Africa with 25 African NGO leaders from nine countries. Discussions were also organized in Latin America and Eastern Europe on a more limited scale.

The working group hopes to finalize the draft document by fall 2006.

• Download the Draft Principles of Accountability for International Philanthropy (in PDF).

All constructive comments and suggestions on the draft document are welcome by August 20, 2006 and may be submitted by e-mail to:

Rob Buchanan
Director, International Programs
Council on Foundations
E-mail: buchr@cof.org