The event, which is now set to become an annual campaign, highlighted the contributions made by Indian-Americans to India
India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA), a coalition of leading India-focused non-profits in the United States, has raised over $1 million for 25 Indian non-government organisations working across health, environment and education in an India Giving Day event in March this year, reported Times of India.
The event, which is now set to become an annual campaign, highlighted the contributions made by Indian-Americans to India.
For Manisha Bharti, global executive, and CEO of Pratham USA, an organisation that supports millions of children in India through literacy and vocational programmes, the India Giving Day platform was not just an opportunity for the senior members of the Indian-American community to give back to their country of birth but it has also captured the imagination of the second generation of Indian-Americans to connect with social causes in India.
“I was born in Canada and I am an American citizen and fit into the profile of the second generation of Indian immigrants. For my parents’ generation, connecting with India and supporting Indian causes was easier. But to take this forward, organisations such as ours need to stay relevant with the new generation. IPA through the India Giving Day event is doing just that – it is a platform that connects the Indian community members with one and another as well as with India,” said Bharti who is a member of the steering committee of India Giving Day.
She added that through her work, she has spent a lot of time living and working in India and has probably notched up more experience on the ground than her parents.
The India Giving Day leadership team has top Indian-American names including venture capitalist and entrepreneur Desh Deshpande, investor and philanthropist Lata Krishnan, Indiaspora founder M R Rangaswami and philanthropist Sunil Wadhwani
Sejal Desai, co-chair of the steering committee of Indian Giving Day and Executive Director of the New York-based Akanksha Education Fund, felt that to make an impact, IPA needed to serve as a partnership between its stakeholders and the larger Indian-American community.
“This is a platform that while raising over a million dollars is also a part of a movement to make a difference and engage many more people who learn about issues in India. We have US philanthropy platform raises over $1 million for 25 Indian NGOs with the help of young Indian-Americans. For the India Giving Day initiative, several young Indian-Americans volunteered and decided to amplify and embrace causes leading fund raisers. Many of our organisations were created by the first generation of Indian immigrants but we are now creating sustainability by engaging the next generation,” Desai said.
“The Indian-American community is 4-million strong and the immigrant group with the highest average household earnings and we hope to leverage the success of India Giving Day this year to energise the community in a collective and bigger way to support social issues in India in future,” said Desai.
The India Giving Day leadership team has top Indian-American names including venture capitalist and entrepreneur Desh Deshpande, investor and philanthropist Lata Krishnan, Indiaspora founder M R Rangaswami and philanthropist Sunil Wadhwani.
“The event became a platform for celebration and we hosted a virtual dance party with Bollywood dance on India Giving Day. The theme was all about coming together as a community and engaging everyone,” said Bharti.
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