International grant-making policy within philanthropy in the UK Muslim context

“When someone is in a different country … 12 months is a lot of time. Sometimes things change very fast – trustees change, someone may have been convicted of fraud, or there may be a change in government policy or conflict in the area.”

The challenges of partnership mean many grant-makers value long-term relationships, and have policies to support weaker local partners, as these two interviewees highlighted:

“When we are not happy with feedback, we will try our best to fix the issue, and support them … so that we don’t have to go to a stage where we have to replace them.”

‘‘We are always working to improve the capacity of our partners. For example, we provide annual training to our overseas partners, face to face.”

One interviewee highlighted that preexisting knowledge of good partners and access to certain areas strongly influenced final grant-making choices and policies. Direct geographical and cultural links between donors and grantees can also significantly reduce uncertainties. They said:

“We do a lot of community fundraising … some of our mosques have local communities from different countries and want us to work in those specific areas and deliver specific projects.”

The development of good partnership models for international grant-making is an evolving area. While some are rooted in historic diaspora relationships, the problems and costs of managing in-country offices are driving a shift towards working with independent organisations, selected on merit, and managed through service agreements. Some of these are still closely linked but separately constituted, and one interviewee emphasised a growing local engagement:

“We believe it’s always good to work with grassroots organisations for bigger impact, because they understand their local problems better, and they know the solutions.”

Nonetheless, some grant-makers reduce their risk profile by working only through UK charities with international partners, and another model is to work with a single overseas partner.

Future expansion of aid – for example, in Africa – will depend on successful partnership models, and the research has revealed how knowledge and experience could valuably be shared. Internal policymaking by global grant-makers in this study is growing in complexity and importance as it aims to combine compliance with sensitivity and adaptability to local capacity, and a focus on beneficiary need. Surprisingly, there has been no impact assessment of the additional costs of international grant-making, which are carried by donors and grant-makers. If international giving is to grow, government, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders need to consider how to reduce or mitigate these additional burdens. They could start by initiating more sympathetic consultations with international grantmakers, particularly drawing on the experience of Muslim philanthropy.

• There has been little impact assessment of the additional ‘red tape’ demands and costs placed on international grant-makers.

• Regulatory authorities and other stakeholders should consult with organisations, including those working in Muslim philanthropy, about how to reduce barriers and ease giving towards vulnerable and higher-risk communities.

About the authors

Cathy Pharoah is visiting professor of charity funding and co-director of the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Bayes Business School, City, University of London. She has researched and published widely on trends in the funding and finances of the charity sector.

Ikhlaq Hussain is a visiting lecturer at Bayes Business School, City, University of London. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and a PhD candidate at the University of Hull. Ikhlaq is a philanthropy and marketing specialist and regular contributor in sector-led media outlets.

Jenny Harrow is professor in management and co-director of the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Bayes Business School, City, University of London. Her research on institutional philanthropy is conducted collaboratively with academic and practice colleagues and organisations, nationally and internationally.