Development Co‑operation Profiles: Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
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The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is a U.S.-based philanthropy engaged in active grantmaking since 2008.
It is committed to helping people live better lives today and creating stronger, healthier futures for individuals and communities. The trust partners with people and organisations to invest in new ideas or research across six programme areas: Crohn’s Disease, Israel, Rural Healthcare, Type 1 Diabetes, Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa, and New York City. Its development finance primarily relates to programmes on Type 1 Diabetes and Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This profile concerns only activities in ODA-eligible countries. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.
Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust provided USD 99.1 million for development in 2023 through its grantmaking activities. Compared to 2022, this amount represents an increase of 41.7% in real terms. Grants represented 100% of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s gross disbursements.
In 2023, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust channelled its bilateral development finance mainly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (USD 62 million) and multilateral organisations (USD 19.7 million).
In 2023, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust provided USD 19.7 million to the multilateral system, representing 19.9% of its total development finance. The entirety of these multilateral contributions was earmarked for specific countries, regions, themes or purposes and was channelled through United Nations (UN) organisations.
The UN system received USD 19.7 million from Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust in 2023, all to the WHO-Core Voluntary Contributions Account (CVCA) .
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 62 million of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s gross bilateral finance, of which 7% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, over half (62.6%) was earmarked for specific projects or programmes, while none was allocated to CSOs as core support. From 2022 to 2023, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs decreased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 100% to 62.6%.
Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.
In 2023, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s development finance was primarily focused on Africa and Asia (excluding the Middle East). USD 78.7 million was allocated to Africa and USD 700 thousand to Asia (excluding the Middle East), accounting for 79.4% and 0.7% of gross bilateral development finance respectively. A sum of USD 19.8 million (19.9%) was unspecified by region in 2023, mainly including multi-regional programmes, core support and research grants.
In 2023, 58.8% of gross development finance went to the top five recipients, most notably Ethiopia and Zambia.
Least developed countries (LDCs) received USD 49 million (49.4%) of Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s gross disbursements in 2023. Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust allocated the highest share (49.4%) of its bilateral development finance to least developed countries in 2023, followed by lower middle-income countries (9.3%), noting that USD 40.9 million (41.2%) was unallocated by income group.
Furthermore, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust allocated USD 49 million of its development finance to landlocked developing countries in 2023.
Support to contexts with high and extreme fragility reached USD 49 million in 2023, representing 49.4% of Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s bilateral development finance.
Learn more about the OECD States of Fragility platform.
In 2023, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust’s largest allocations went to social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 89.2% of bilateral commitments (USD 88.4 million). Bilateral contributions allocated to economic infrastructure amounted to USD 6.6 million, while those allocated to production sectors totalled USD 4.1 million.
In 2023, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust committed the largest shares of its contributions to SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 5 (gender equality) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Support for SDG 5 amounted to USD 13 million. Contributions to SDG 13 (climate action) totalled USD 4.1 million.
Access the full list of providers at this link: Development Co-operation Profiles.
Official website: https://helmsleytrust.org
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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