Study finds LatAm universities missing out on global philanthropy #LatinHeritageMonth

Latin American universities miss out when it comes to global philanthropy – that’s the finding of a report entitled Why Not LatAm published today by UniversityPhilanthropy.com to coincide with National Hispanic American Heritage Month 2021.

Why Not LatAm provides a review of leading philanthropic foundations – including the Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Silicon Valley Community Fund and Foundation for Open Society – which reveals that Latin American universities rarely receive funding compared to institutions in Europe, Asia and Africa. Latin America has a population comparable to Europe and a long university tradition. The first university in Latin America was established in 1538. There is also evidence that the little Latin American funding that exists is in decline.

Giving by the Gates Foundation, a significant barometer of global philanthropy, is the strongest indicator. In the past decade just $24m has been awarded directly by Gates to Latin American universities. In comparison direct funding to European universities exceeded $2bn between 2010-19. Moreover, LatAm giving has been in decline since 2013. In 2019, Gates awarded $1.6bn to 202 universities around the world; not one was in Latin America. The report provides regional funding comparisons of 8 leading global foundations.

Commenting on the findings the authors Marcelo Mazariegos and Andrew Wigley said:

“Universities matter because they are pathways out of poverty and pillars of a stable society. It’s the driver behind why so many philanthropists chose to fund higher education.

“It remains unclear why so many large funders – especially those in the US – are ambivalent about funding Latin American universities. It appears the issue goes beyond concerns about poor governance or research output.

“Latin America’s economic contraction was the sharpest anywhere in the world during the pandemic (7%), presenting a serious challenge for the region’s higher education sector. Given a fifth of Americans identify as Latinx, the US’ historic vehicles of soft power – its philanthropic foundations – could be making a far greater contribution in supporting Latin America’s fine education tradition.”

ENDS

Note for editors:

Why Not LatAm is available for download at UniversityPhilanthropy.com.

The authors of the report are Andrew Wigley, founder of UniversityPhilanthropy.com, and Marcelo Mazariegos, former director of institutional affairs at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico.

Wednesday 15 September - Friday 15 October is National Hispanic American Heritage Month 2021.