October 2 commemorates Gandhi’s birthday. While various aspects of his life and philosophy have been celebrated, debated, and even criticized, it’s worthwhile to reflect on his notion of ‘trusteeship.’ Gandhi’s doctrine of trusteeship serves as a philosophy aimed at promoting greater social and economic justice, ensuring responsible resource and wealth utilization. In essence, it suggests that affluent individuals should act as trustees of their wealth, using it to enhance the welfare of society, especially for those in need. It is with this spirit that we announced the launch of our third India Giving Day Campaign on October 2.
In sectors ranging from politics and economics to medicine and philanthropy, the first step in tackling an opportunity or issue is to diagnose it thoroughly. Next, actionable recommendations should be devised. Most importantly, efforts must focus on implementing the most compelling suggestions. India Giving Day aims to harness valuable insights from previous studies on boosting the quantity and quality of Indian-American diaspora philanthropy benefitting India.
For context, the past decade has seen numerous high-quality studies examining Indian diaspora philanthropy, offering recommendations on how to enhance its impact. Each report highlighted that Indian-Americans represent a ‘sleeping giant’ in American philanthropy, with the potential to increase their contributions by at least $2 billion annually.
As we reflected on various recommendations to enhance diaspora giving, we recognized that the culture of giving in India is not new; it is deeply embedded in Indian values. Moreover, philanthropy plays a crucial role in supporting India’s growth, development, resilience, and responses to societal challenges.
One specific recommendation from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation report, “Strengthening Philanthropy Giving & Impact Investing for Development in India,” was to “promote national campaigns for giving.” Additionally, an influential report by Dalberg and Indiaspora indicated a chance to triple Indian-American donations across all causes, prompting entrepreneur and philanthropist Sunil Wadhwani to urge the community to commit to this goal at a Philanthropy Summit in 2018.
In response to these recommendations, the India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) combined these ideas to establish India Giving Day (IGD) in 2023, aiming to amplify the amount and quality of American private philanthropy directed toward India. The inaugural India Giving Day raised $1.4 million in March 2023 for 25 leading nonprofits operating in India with a legal presence in the U.S. This was followed by mobilizing $5.5 million for 33 nonprofits in March 2024. We are excited to announce that on October 2, in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, the Alliance initiated the countdown to the third India Giving Day, scheduled for March 14, 2025.
India Giving Day was crafted to align with many of the recommendations from earlier reports. For instance:
- A Steering Committee meticulously evaluates applications to ensure only effective and trustworthy Indian nonprofits are featured on the IGD platform. Selected organizations are eligible for over $100,000 in matching funds and prizes, supported by a significant grant from the Rural India Supporting Trust.
- The Campaign promotes youth engagement through peer-to-peer fundraising, simplifying the process for young individuals to gather new donations for their favorite charities.
- IGD aims to educate the public about the positive effects of thoughtful philanthropy on both beneficiaries and donors. IGD National Co-Chairs Deepak Raj and Raj Gupta encapsulated this sentiment perfectly, stating, “Research shows that individuals who contribute significantly to charities tend to be, on average, happier, healthier, and more successful than those who give less or not at all.”
This year, the Campaign aims for another substantial increase in peer-to-peer fundraising and local community events by actively supporting participating nonprofits and allies in these efforts. We will provide small grants to numerous local observances and celebrations of India Giving Day nationwide.
We will also gather insights from organizations like Heart to Heart Foundation and Vicente Ferrer Foundation USA, which excelled last year in motivating youth to act as peer-to-peer fundraisers. While our primary focus is on American donations to India, we welcome those engaged in Indian-American contributions to local causes, such as Hunger Mitao, to join and benefit from our movement. We are a large, inclusive community.
Our goal is to raise at least $7.5 million next March for participating nonprofits, which they can use to further alleviate poverty, enhance education and health care for underserved populations, and ensure environmental preservation and animal welfare. We invite nonprofits interested in joining this movement to visit the IGD website to discover how their noble missions can benefit. We extend our gratitude to our current and past campaign sponsors, including RIST, the MacArthur Foundation, Bank of America, MasterCard, and numerous generous family foundations.
