Which Aussie charities got US cash?
As the fallout of the USAID donation scandal continues, I took a look to see if any Australian organisation got a handout from our friends in Washington...
Anyone with even a remote interest in Trump’s second presidency of the USA will have heard of USAID this week. Not U Said, but US Aid.
Most of us had no idea the organisation existed until President Trump turned a spotlight on it and shut it down – causing USAID staff to protest in the streets.
In broad terms, USAID gave billions of US dollars to various causes. According to official White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt that including $2m for sex changes in Guatemala and $20m on a new Sesame Street kids show in Iraq. Media organisations such as Politico also got a few bob too.
Thanks to the Data Republican website, which seems to have collated all the donations, we can see USD$723bn has been given to 166,000 organisations worldwide, of which $322bn was American tax dollars.
Where the remainder came from…? Your guess is as good as mine.
Using the database I selected charity funding, and searched for Australia. This brought up eight results.
Among them was the Australian International Screen Forum which works to connect the Australian entertainment industry with US-based broadcasters. It was given a little over USD$1m in 2023. The US gave Australia cash to help it in the USA.
The American Australian Association received $561,000 from the US federal government for its work in “…broadening, strengthening and developing ties across the Pacific”.
The non-profit was established by Australian journalist Sir Keith Murdoch – founder of the Murdoch media empire – in 1948. The organisation has offices in New York and Sydney, Australia.
The Australian American Leadership Dialogue was given $105,000. It’s website states the organisation is “a private diplomatic initiative which brings together Australian and American Leaders from government, enterprise, space and technology, media, education and the community…”
While it has a New York address, it only operates within Australia, where it is registered as a charity in Victoria.
The Australian Universities & Schools USA Foundation received $1m from the US government.
The foundation, which is based in Massachusetts, has a board mainly made up of Australians who “…periodically authorises the allocation of grant awards to Australian educational institutions”.
The Australian Wildlife Conservancy USA is a “…a US-based non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of Australia’s unique wildlife and wild places”.
Not enough of that going on within Australian’s borders already? Apparently not. Here’s a list of its recent work.
In 2023 it was given $185,000 by the US government. Oddly, The Australian Wildlife Conservancy USA website has a dead link to its annual reports. That must be an unfortunate oversight.
Finally, I couldn’t help but tap in a search for New Zealand. It seems the country’s Olympic Committee was given almost $600,000 in 2023 to help with its work. The next Olympics in is 2026.
Friends of Massey University got $380,000. It must be good to have friends in high places.
Why US cash was being spent to help organisations on this side of the planet is a mystery to me. But that source of funding is now well and truly dead under Trump’s rule. And who can blame him? The country is in debt to the tune of $36 trillion.