Navigating Financing Transitions: How Local and National NGOs are Pivoting – or Not

The humanitarian sector is undergoing a significant contraction in grant financing, with profound consequences for local and national NGOs (L/NNGOs) that have depended on international funding flows. While anecdotal evidence of the impact is accumulating – including concerns about the erosion of localisation commitments made under the Grand Bargain and related frameworks – a deeper, more structured picture of how these organisations are coping remains elusive.

Critically, we need to avoid that local and national NGOs do not disappear when international financing dries up – and we know that many have not! They remain embedded in their communities, providing critical assistance and protection support. This raises urgent questions: how are these organisations sustaining themselves? How far can volunteerism and self-financing go? What financing alternatives are they exploring? And what role can international actors and donors play in supporting these transitions?