How can philanthropies in Latin America build capacity to close educational achievement gaps?

Over half of the foundations in Latin America and the Caribbean were founded in the first two decades of the 21st century (Berger et al., 2019). Yet, this growth also created what we consider a middle-income social investment trap (Bird & León, 2019). While recent macroeconomic growth generated new philanthropic capital, it also led to the reclassification of many countries in the region as middle-income, which prompted a reduction in overseas development assistance (ODA). (León & Bird, 2018). The challenge facing the region’s new philanthropies is how to substitute for reduced ODA to close a persistent educational gap further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.