Development Co‑operation Profiles: La Caixa Banking Foundation
Table of contents
The “La Caixa” Banking Foundation is a charitable foundation based in Spain. Established in 2014, it builds upon the philanthropic activities of its predecessors, which have gone back more than 115 years.
This foundation aims to contribute to the progress and equality of people, especially those most in need. It focuses on programmes that support society’s transformation, such as those that fight against child poverty and social exclusion, foster employment and help improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable.
This profile presents verified data on development assistance allocation. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.
La Caixa Banking Foundation provided USD 25.2 million for development in 2023 through its grantmaking activities. Compared to 2022, this amount represents an increase of 1.6% in real terms. Grants represented 100% of the La Caixa Banking Foundation’s gross disbursements.
In 2023, La Caixa Banking Foundation channelled its bilateral development finance mainly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (USD 21.4 million) and multilateral organisations (USD 3.8 million).
In 2023, La Caixa Banking Foundation provided USD 3.8 million to the multilateral system, representing 15% of its total development finance. All of these were earmarked for specific countries, regions, themes, or purposes. Forty-three per cent of these multilateral contributions were channelled through UN organisations, funds and programmes.
The UN system received USD 1.6 million from La Caixa Banking Foundation in 2023. The most significant UN recipients were UNHCR (USD 1.1 million) and UNICEF (USD 500 thousand).
See the section on Geographic and thematic focus of ODA for the breakdown of bilateral allocations, including ODA earmarked through the multilateral development system.
In 2023, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 21.4 million of the La Caixa Banking Foundation’s gross bilateral finance, of which 6.5% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, over half (59.6%) was allocated to CSOs as core support, while 25.4% was earmarked to specific projects or programmes. From 2022 to 2023, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs increased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 79% to 85%.
Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.
In 2023, La Caixa Banking Foundation’s development finance was primarily focused on Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. USD 13.6 million was allocated to Africa and USD 7.6 million to Latin America and the Caribbean, accounting for 53.9% and 30.3% of gross bilateral development finance, respectively. A sum of USD 2.2 million (8.6%) was unspecified by region in 2023, mainly including multi-regional programmes, core support and research grants.
In 2023, 33.8% of gross development finance went to the top 10 recipients, most notably Ethiopia and Peru.
Least developed countries (LDCs) and other low-income countries (LICs) received respectively USD 8.5 million (33.9%) and USD 30 thousand (0.1%) of La Caixa Banking Foundation’s gross disbursements in 2023. La Caixa Banking Foundation allocated the highest share (36.4%) of its bilateral development finance to upper middle-income countries in 2023, followed by least developed countries (33.9%), noting that USD 3.5 million (14%) was unallocated by income group.
Furthermore, La Caixa Banking Foundation allocated USD 4.1 million of its development finance to landlocked developing countries in 2023, and USD 1.3 million to small island developing states (SIDS) in 2023. The main SIDS recipients are Belize, Saint Lucia and Guyana.
Support to contexts with high and extreme fragility reached USD 11.4 million in 2023, representing 45.2% of La Caixa Banking Foundation’s bilateral development finance. Of this, contexts with extreme fragility received a sum of USD 1.6 million.
Learn more about the OECD States of Fragility platform.
In 2023, La Caixa Banking Foundation’s largest allocations went to social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 99.7% of bilateral commitments (USD 25.1 million).
In 2023, La Caixa Banking Foundation committed the largest shares of its contributions to SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Support to SDG 5 (gender equality) amounted to USD 1.6 million.
Access the full list of providers at this link: Development Co-operation Profiles.
Official website: https://lacaixafoundation.org/en
The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied, including the grant-equivalent methodology, core and earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, country programmable aid, channels of delivery, bilateral ODA unspecified/unallocated, bilateral allocable ODA, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.
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