Localization in Action: How One Day’s Wages Supports Community-Led Solutions

From the very beginning, the leadership of One Day’s Wages made a strategic choice: instead of creating our own programs, we decided to support local leaders who are already doing great work in their communities to fight poverty.

We believe that local leaders are the best at building trust, using resources wisely, and understanding the needs of their own communities. That’s why this focus on localization is one of our core values. In simple terms, our approach is that when we support locally-led efforts to reduce poverty, our collective contributions make a lasting and meaningful impact.

“Localization” has become a popular word in international development. It means making sure that funding and decisions are put in the hands of local organizations that know their communities best. Sadly, many donors still think that organizations from wealthier countries are more trustworthy or knowledgeable, even though local groups are often better at understanding and addressing local challenges. In 2016, global donors and aid agencies made a promise, called the Grand Bargain, to give 25% of humanitarian funds to local organizations by 2020. But in 2023, only 1.2% of these funds reached local groups, and only 13% of U.S. foundation grants from 2016 to 2019 went directly to organizations registered in the countries where the work was done.

At One Day’s Wages, we’re proud to do things differently. This year, 65% of our grants went to organizations founded and run by local leaders!

We also respect the expertise of our partners. In a recent panel discussion, several of them talked about how they involve their communities in every step of their work — planning, implementing, and evaluating their programs. B. Abel Learwellie, Executive Director of Camp for Peace Liberia, one of our partners, said it best: “When community members identify their own problems and find solutions, we see the results are more sustainable than most development projects.”

Leaders like Abel have so much to teach us, and we’re excited to keep learning.