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[Page S6884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, for 50 years the Inter-American Foundation,
IAF, has partnered with grassroots organizations and underserved
populations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to advance U.S.
interests by helping to improve the lives of the hemisphere's poorest
people, supporting civil society, and strengthening democratic
institutions. I want to take this opportunity today, on IAF's 50th
anniversary, to comment briefly on the foundation's accomplishments and
on the unique value of small-grant, community-led development.
In 1969, Congress established IAF as an independent development
agency charged with identifying and investing in community-led
development solutions. IAF awards small grants, averaging $280,000 over
4 years, directly to local organizations, eliminating costly
intermediaries and ensuring programs are led and implemented locally.
IAF also requires grantees to contribute or mobilize their own cash or
in-kind resources, helping to ensure sustainability and local
investment in project success. On average, such counterpart investments
mobilize $1.31 for every $1 invested by IAF.
According to IAF, in fiscal year 2019 alone, it awarded $18.5 million
to 97 grassroots organizations in 24 countries and mobilized $20
million in grantee counterpart resources. IAF grantees created more
than 2,500 partnerships with other organizations to share experiences
and advance their missions, trained more than 200,000 people in new
leadership and technical skills, and contributed to the creation of
11,000 new or improved jobs.
IAF's development model illustrates that if modest resources and
technical support are provided directly to communities and their
grassroots organizations so they can define their own needs, design
their own solutions, and invest in their own communities, then local
ownership, self-reliance, and sustainable development are possible.
IAF's small-grants model also enables it to be nimble and responsive
to changing conditions on the ground, including natural and man-made
disasters. In recent years, IAF has used its network of grantees in
Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to support thousands of displaced
Venezuelans and the communities where they have relocated.
After the signing of the Colombia Peace Accords in 2016, IAF launched
the Colombian Peacebuilding Initiative and invested nearly $2 million
in 23 local Colombian organizations to support community-level
peacebuilding and reconciliation.
In Central America, IAF has 98 projects addressing the causes of
migration in areas likely to be targets of criminal gangs in order to
help families and communities resist such violence. And since June
2019, IAF has awarded $650,000 in grants to civil society organizations
across the Eastern Caribbean focused on strengthening community-led
disaster mitigation and preparedness planning.
IAF's successful approach to development is why we increased funding
in the fiscal year 2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations
bill, which was reported unanimously by the Appropriations Committee in
September. Increased funding would enable IAF to support a greater
number of meritorious grant proposals, as the foundation was able to
fund only 7 percent of the almost 800 proposals received in fiscal year
2019.
Regrettably, this model of donors directly supporting small-scale,
local initiatives to design, implement, and sustain their own
development solutions is more the exception than the rule. I hope IAF's
50th anniversary serves not only as an opportunity to commemorate its
many accomplishments, but also to reflect on the need to expand IAF's
approach to development across the U.S. Government.
(At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered
to be printed in the Record.)
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