August 18, 2026
Dear readers,
The TAI Weekly is back! After a few weeks break, we are excited to return with the latest on all things trust, accountability and inclusion related, plus the usual funder developments, jobs and events.
As you would expect, we have a lot to pack in and there is a surprising flurry of stories relating to illicit finance, starting with this headline stat that the global illegal economy is worth at least $6 trillion annually according to a International Coalition Against Illicit Economies brief.
Happy reading!
TAI team
What's New
Cryptocurrency continues to raise concerns around illicit finance. This report from Transparency International U.S. documents the risks associated with crypto and identifies transparency and accountability gaps in legislation before the United States Congress.
Africa's AI governance landscape is evolving rapidly, and Project by Projects maps some of the institutions, policies, and power dynamics that will shape the continent's approach to AI. Pair this with the citizens' track on Congo-Brazzaville AI that explores who shapes AI policy and whose interests are represented in the country.
An investigation by Finance Uncovered traced 11 properties in Paris, Strasbourg, and Miami linked to members of the Gandzion family, which has close ties to the political leadership of Congo-Brazzaville. The findings illustrate how real estate assets across jurisdictions can obscure the wealth and connections of politically exposed individuals.
Malawi's push to increase domestic revenue reflects a broader challenge across Africa: raising public resources while addressing corruption and weaknesses in public finance. Devex reports on the country's efforts and the wider pressures shaping revenue collection.
What lies between democracy and autocracy? In ”Democracy, Autocracy, or Something Else?", Helmut Anheier, Edward Knudsen, and Joseph Saraceno argue that the decisive political struggles of this century may depend on the less visible work of strengthening democratic accountability and effective institutions.
Citizen participation can play a strategic role in restoring public finances. In an OECD blog, TAI consultant Warren Krafchik examines how public participation can support better budget decisions, stronger accountability, and greater public trust. Explore the Fiscal Ecosystems site for Warren and the team’s work on fiscal accountability.
South Africa is reviewing its General Procurement Regulations 2026, and the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) has submitted recommendations on the latest draft. OCP is also analysing e-procurement reform across 12 African countries. They argue that technology alone cannot deliver better public procurement - governance, institutional capacity, and effective rules are equally important foundations for reform.
The global rush for transition minerals is creating new human rights risks. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre examines these concerns in their new report on Chinese investment. Read also TAI's recently launched report "Mined the Gaps".
Democratic support remains strong across much of Africa despite a shrinking democratic space, according to a Financial Times editorial on the region's democratic trajectory. The piece considers how democratic institutions can retain public support amid political and economic pressures.
For journalists investigating cryptocurrency-related crime, this reporter's guide offers a useful starting point. It explores the central paradox of crypto: transactions can offer users anonymity while remaining permanently recorded on a public ledger.
The World Bank's "Fiscal Policy in Commodity Exporters: A Balancing Act" examines how commodity-exporting countries can manage volatile revenues while maintaining fiscal stability.
Yop Rwang Pam explores what effective participation in open government actually requires. Drawing on experience with the Open Government Partnership process in Nigeria, the author analyzes what it takes to move from formal commitments to meaningful citizen participation.
An Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project investigation uncovered an opaque network of offshore shell companies concealing Chinese state holdings. The findings show how corporate structures across jurisdictions can make it difficult to identify the people and entities behind valuable assets.
The Lobito Corridor is at the center of growing competition for critical minerals. Chatham House examines how transparent digital systems and greater interoperability could support trade, financial accountability, and broader benefits from the region's mineral resources.
From Our Members
FORD FOUNDATION: Has announced $60 million in new funding to strengthen democracy, with support focused on expanding workplace protections, caregiving rights, and the conditions that enable people to participate fully in democratic life.
HUMANITY UNITED: Is calling for greater philanthropic investment in the people, movements, and community-led organizations that sustain democracy. In a new Alliance magazine piece, Bryan Sims, TAI Chair, argues that safeguarding democratic values requires building durable civic power and resilience, not just responding to moments of crisis.
PACKARD FOUNDATION: Makes the case for greater support for work that engages the broader majority of Americans who already share democratic values. In "To Defend Democracy, Funders Must Give Beyond Their Comfort Zones", Democracy, Rights, and Governance Program Officer Benjamin Chou argues that building a more resilient democracy requires both strong movements and broader public support for democratic norms.
TAI SECRETARIAT: Taxes have a branding problem. In a new op-ed for Common Dreams, TAI Executive Director Michael Jarvis argues that taxation should be framed not as a burden, but as a shared investment in the systems that support healthy societies. The piece examines why a new narrative around tax matters for public trust, civic participation, and a more just and resilient future. See also TAI advisor Jenny Lah's ideas on LinkedIn that sparked an interesting debate on tax and politics.
ESSENTIAL READING & LISTENING:
We are excited to share resources from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "The Impact of Fraud on Financial Inclusion in the UK" argues that fraud responses should account for both criminal activity and the risk of further financial exclusion. The latest episode of their podcast, Suspicious Transaction Report, features former FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo in a conversation about the Financial Action Task Force's role in the global fight against money laundering and the gap between international norms and real-world outcomes. Lastly, "Whose Job Is It to Protect the International Financial System?" considers the role of international financial centers and professional services firms in preventing illicit finance and kleptocracy. It argues that responsibility should extend beyond regulators and law enforcement.
TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS
Devex features a reflection from the Lipman Family Prize team on why learning partnerships become especially important when philanthropic funding declines. The piece considers how funders and grantees can preserve learning, adaptation, and shared capacity during periods of financial constraint.
A new book, “Please Be Good at Philanthropy: An Introduction to Grantmaking Strategy and Practice”, by Jen Ford Reedy, explores the unique nature of foundation strategy and offers practical guidance for board members, staff, and anyone navigating the world of philanthropy.
How much additional value do development finance institutions actually provide? Publish What You Fund explores this question in its latest analysis, by Ella Remande-Guyard, which finds progress in the quality and completeness of additionality disclosures but notes that many institutions still rely on generic labels and standard narratives. For a deeper look, read "Making Additionality Count II".
The Chronicle of Philanthropy looks at how foundations are using data dashboards to assess proposals, track strategy, and understand where other funders are directing resources.
ESSENTIAL READING:
The growing reach of transnational repression is the focus of a report and essay collection from the National Endowment for Democracy and the International Forum for Democratic Studies. The collection examines how authoritarian influence from China and Russia has become more widespread, sophisticated, and aggressive, and what this means for democratic resilience.
Focused Topic of the Week
Fiscal short circuits: Opacity undermining both state revenue collection and borrowing potential
Tax and debt are usually discussed as separate policy domains, but both are affected by those seeking to assert private interest over public gain.
Starting on the revenue collection side, the Tax Justice Network's new study on beneficial ownership of real estate finds that most jurisdictions still cannot reliably identify the people who actually own property within their borders, a gap that lets illicit and untaxed wealth move invisibly across the same financial architecture that governments are told is too constrained to fund public services. The ability of countries to tackle use of anonymous shell companies for tax avoidance will not be helped by the U.S. Treasury permanently ending its beneficial ownership reporting requirements. The new rule significantly narrows the scope of the Corporate Transparency Act's reporting regime and has major implications for efforts to identify who ultimately owns and controls companies in the United States.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development's work on tax expenditure reporting highlights how exemptions, credits, and preferential rates are granted quietly, rarely audited for their returns, and rarely weighed publicly against the revenue they forgo. These pieces point to a fiscal state that leaks from both ends—outward through opacity, inward through unexamined generosity to the already advantaged.
The New York Times' investigation into Crocs' use of a small Maltese subsidiary supplies a concrete illustration of how outward flows operates in practice. It is not a story of evasion in the criminal sense but of arbitrage: a profitable multinational routing earnings through a jurisdiction whose tax architecture was built, in part, to be used this way. The mechanism is legal precisely because international tax law was negotiated by the same states now trying to plug the resulting gaps, which is why the Devex report on the UN tax convention talks matters as more than procedural news. Global South countries pushing for a binding, universal framework are attempting to renegotiate a system whose asymmetries were designed into it from the start. The Africa Group of countries has been championing an ambitious convention outcome - for the latest take from the region on how the negotiations are going follow Tax Justice Network Africa’s analysis.
On the other side of the ledger sits debt, and here the reporting turns from revenue lost to room foreclosed. Al Jazeera's account of African governments reassessing concessional lending from the World Bank and IMF describes states caught between two forms of dependence: aid that is shrinking and borrowing that comes bundled with policy conditions. Alex Thurston's conversation with Abdoulaye Ndiaye on Senegal sharpens the picture into a single national case—hidden debt, once discovered, does not just create a fiscal emergency but corrodes the credibility a government needs to negotiate the next round of financing on better terms.
ESSENTIAL READING:
What does human rights progress look like in a decade of upheaval? “Charting Human Rights Change Through a Disorienting Decade,” by Ignacio Saiz, draws on nearly 90 organizations to explore what drives lasting change and what the field can learn from the past decade. Read the full report.
JOBS
Multiple openings - Hewlett Foundation
Multiple openings - MacArthur Foundation
Multiple openings - Open Society Foundations
Multiple Openings - Gates Foundation
Multiple Openings - Social Action, Development Cooperation, Culture, Disability, and Health Sectors in Spain
Multiple Openings - ClimateWorks Foundation
Programmes Administration Consultant - Ariadne
Senior Program Officer, Democratic Resilience - Center for European Policy Analysis
Senior Data Support Manager - Open Contracting Partnership. Deadline: September 1st, 2026.
TI US Communications Intern - Transparency International U.S. Deadline: September 4. Contact [email protected] with the subject line "TI US Communications Intern."
Community and Knowledge Specialist, Civil Society and Responsible Governance, World Economic Forum
CALLS
Call for contributions to the sixth report of the UN Special Rapporteurship on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, focused on state and non-state obligations to protect Environmental Human Rights Defenders. Deadline: August 21, 2026.
Grants for Building Narrative Power in Europe - European AI & Society Fund. Grants of up to €150,000 are available through its €2 million program for organizations working on public interest narratives around AI and data centers, AI and jobs, or AI and young people. Deadline: August 31, 2026.
People Powered is accepting applications for two global programmes offering funding and mentorship to democracy changemakers working to strengthen participation and civic engagement worldwide.
Democracy Stories Lab, an open call by People Powered, invites creators worldwide to submit short videos, illustrations, or graphics imagining a more democratic future. Selected submissions will receive cash prizes and amplification through People Powered and the Democracy Narratives Alliance networks. Applications open until September 14, 2026.
The European Endowment for Democracy provides rolling funding for local democracy organizations in the Eastern Partnership, Middle East and North Africa, and Western Balkans & Turkey.
The Fifth Element invites blog contributions on systems transformation from practitioners and researchers, drawing on both lived experience and analysis across diverse perspectives.
School for Thinktankers, On Think Tanks. February 1-5, 2027.
CALENDAR
The 15th Brazilian Philanthropy Forum, "Between Essence and Reinvention," August 27, São Paulo with an English livestream. International registration is open.
Africa at the Centre: Leading Change, Shifting Power. Accra, Ghana. September 1-3, 2026.
Seeds of the Next Economy, a three part dialogue series for civil society leaders, funders, and innovators hosted by Spring, a global capacity accelerator. September 17, October 1, and October 15, 2026, 9:00-10:30 AM EDT.
UN General Assembly (UNGA 81), September 8 - 22, 2026.
Global Government Finance Summit. Dublin, Ireland. September 14-15, 2026.
Climate Week NYC. September 20-27, 2026.
WINGSForum 2026 in Montreal under the theme "ACT – Activate, Collaborate, Transcend." Save the date, more details to follow in early 2026. September 28-30, 2026.
Athens Democracy Forum. September 29-October 1, 2026.
2026 EITI Global Conference. October 8-9, 2026, Brussels, Belgium.
2026 OECD Global Forum on Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy. Paris. October 12-13, 2026.
2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group,October 12-18, 2026.
The 2026 African Philanthropy Forum Conference, "Bridge the Divide; Reimagine the Future," takes place October 25–27 in Cape Town. Those interested in attending can contact [email protected].
Better Politics Foundation Flagship Gathering - Brussels, November 18–20, 2026.
International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. December 1-4, 2026.
We’d love to hear from you on how we can further improve TAI Weekly to better serve your needs in program management on the transparency, accountability, improved grantmaking and civic space. Please direct your feedback to [email protected] or