In 2015, the world agreed to work towards a future without poverty, a sustainable planet, peace, and prosperity. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in unanimity by all United Nations Member States, provide a framework of universal goals and targets to be achieved by 2030.
CAF America’s report explores the SDG landscape that has emerged based on its donors’ philanthropic giving since the goals entered into force on January 1st, 2016. It looks at the SDGs that rose to the top based on the level of support received and provides a window into how priorities have shifted year-by-year. In a regional and source-based setting, the report tracks the charitable giving of corporate, foundation, and individual donors through CAF America.
Key Findings Include
- Education is the issue area that mobilized the largest amount of charitable funding overall, as well as on an annual basis (only coming second in 2017 after SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being)
- Primary support for the top 5 SDGs receiving the most funding during the time-period (January 2016-April 2019) was provided by corporate and individual donors
- The most significant level of foundation support was directed to No Poverty (SDG 1) and Quality Education (SDG 4)
- Zero Hunger (SDG 2), which does not appear in the overall top 5 SDG landscape of CAF America, leaps to being the most supported SDG in South America
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Top 5 SDGs which received the largest amount of funding between January 2016 and April 2019
Donors | A Closer Look
This report tracks the charitable giving of CAF America’s corporate, foundation, and individual donors supporting organizations worldwide in their work aligned with the SDGs.
The landscape of the top 5 most supported SDGs varies only slightly based on the source of funding. The data reveals that corporate, foundation and individual donors alike are committed to health and education, to fighting poverty, and making our cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. In addition to these common focus-areas, each donor group prioritized one unique goal; Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) for Corporations, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16) for Foundations, and Life on Land (SDG 15) for Individuals.
Regions | A Closer Look
One of the key aspects of the SDGs is their universal character as defined in the 2030 Agenda “Applicable to all countries, while taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development that respect national policies and principles.”
At the regional level, the top 5 most supported SDGs paint a slightly different picture. Notably, SDG 2, which does not appear in the overall top 5 SDG landscape of CAF America, leaps to being the most supported SDG in South America.
The Regional Snapshot provides a closer look at how the priority SDGs change by geography. It also explores how the average grant amounts provided to efforts directed towards or undertaken in a given region and overall level of support have varied since the beginning of 2016. Finally, a detailed breakdown per funding source that includes a snapshot of corporate giving completes the regional focus sections.
View the methodology here.
CAF America was a proud sponsor of Uniting Business LIVE 2020, a virtual event hosted by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) . The event convened business, government, and civil society leaders around their commitment to advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more here!
