USAID division relaunches as nonprofit with $48 million in philanthropic backing

Development Innovation Ventures has been reestablished as the independent DIV Fund after raising $48 million from two private donors, and the new nonprofit plans to grant about $25 million a year to support international development projects.

A former division of the U.S. Agency for International Development that was eliminated last year has reformed as an independent nonprofit called the DIV Fund. The relaunch follows private fundraising that secured $48 million from two donors to continue part of the division's international work. Leaders, funders and previous grantees marked the launch at an event in Washington. The effort follows a broader shift in U.S. foreign aid funding and organizational changes at USAID. Key facts: - The entity is the former Development Innovation Ventures, now operating independently as the DIV Fund. - The DIV Fund raised $48 million from two private donors to support its operations. - The nonprofit plans to grant about $25 million annually, which is a bit more than half of the division’s prior budget at USAID. - One anchor funder is Coefficient Giving, which previously provided a $45 million grant; the other donor is anonymous. - Some leaders of the DIV Fund helped direct about $110 million in private philanthropy last year to projects that lost USAID funding. - Michael Kremer, the DIV Fund’s scientific director and a Nobel laureate, said private funding fills only part of the gap left by the loss of U.S. government support. Summary: The relaunch preserves a research-and-development role that identifies affordable interventions and supports their scaling, allowing some international development work to continue under private sponsorship. The DIV Fund’s planned annual grants will replace a portion of its former USAID budget, while broader funding and organizational questions remain undetermined at this time.