At the most fundamental level, nations, societies, and communities thrive most when they can rise above petty conflicts to identify collective problems and untapped opportunities, coalesce around possible responses, and then apply those with the most promise until progress is achieved.
A shining example of that process in action is the intentional growth of Indian American Diaspora (IAD) philanthropy, which is the lifeblood of the mission-driven organizations in the India Philanthropy Alliance and India Giving Day communities. These nonprofits address critical social, economic, and environmental problems that persist in India despite that nation’s astounding progress over the last few decades. (One example of an issue needing attention is that 25 percent of India’s youth, ages 15-24, are neither employed nor involved in any form of training or education.)
A decade ago, philanthropy thought leaders began studying the untapped potential of the Indian American Diaspora (and to some extent the Indian diaspora generally) to give more, and to give more effectively to charitable causes. One of the most influential reports, issued by Indiaspora and Dalberg in 2018, measured the “giving gap” between what the IAD was giving, and could give if the community donated at the typical levels for Americans, after adjusting for income and wealth. The gap was estimated to be $2-$3 billion. That same study, however, also noted that IAD members volunteer their time at nearly double the rate for most Americans. The studies went beyond analyzing the problem to proposing growth-oriented solutions.
At the event where the Dalberg study was released, philanthropist Sunil Wadhwani stood up and challenged Indiaspora and the IAD to triple giving within five years. Most felt that was an unrealistic goal, but a few folks began to rise to his challenge.
In 2018, the India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA), then in its infancy, began to synthesize the messages contained in these studies and brainstorm how their proposed solutions could be tested and scaled up (See, for example, this article about such an effort at the 2018 Indiaspora Forum that generated dozens of actionable ideas). Later, when a new report was issued in 2023 by Indiaspora, Give, and Bridgespan, IPA took the opportunity to update its summary of the research on IAD giving and how to increase it.
Much of the work IPA has been doing since being established in 2018 (and publicly announced in 2019) has been to increase IAD philanthropy. For example, IPA established India Giving Day in 2023 as a national campaign conducted annually (which was specifically called for in a 2016 MacArthur Foundation study) and annual Youth Essay Competitions since 2020. Dozens of Virtual Town Halls and webinars have been organized on philanthropy and fundraising (many can be found on the IPA YouTube channel), and numerous pieces of thought leadership on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of American philanthropy to India have been composed and published. We at IPA often remind the community that research has shown that people who give the most to help others are, on average, happier, healthier, and more successful than those who give less or not at all.
We have been joined in this effort by allies such as Dasra and its GivingPi initiative, Living My Promise, thought partners including Dalberg and Bridgespan, and members of academia. For its part, Indiaspora has been increasingly focused on IAD donations to local causes in America such as hunger, helping at-risk adolescent boys, and supporting higher education, as part of its exploration of the diaspora’s vast contributions to the United States that go well beyond philanthropy.
After nearly a decade of working to grow IAD philanthropy using ideas and techniques recommended in the reports cited above, IPA, Indiaspora, and Dalberg decided in 2024 to resurvey the community to measure progress. Most of those involved in designing the study anticipated that it would show that the giving gap had grown, due mostly to external factors, such as changes in tax laws and inflation.
The good news is that the findings of the study, From Closing the Gap to Setting the Standard: The State of Philanthropic Giving in the Indian American Diaspora, released in October 2025, were unexpectedly positive. The main conclusions were:
- – From 2018 to 2024, giving has increased significantly, especially among higher-income households. This translated to IAD giving reaching $4-$5 billion, based on an estimated growth of donations as a percentage of income from 1-2% to 4-5%.
- – As a result, the giving gap shrank from $2-$3 billion to around $1 billion, a remarkable change in just six years.
- – Indian Americans remain prolific volunteers, now donating their time at nearly triple the national average in America.
- – The “passion-giving gap” fell by half, from an average of 8% in 2018 to 4% in 2024.
The report further analyzes what would be required to eliminate the giving gap entirely, focusing on donor education and active engagement of second- and third-generation members of the IAD (the latter in particular is a high and growing priority for IPA).
The most important lesson here is that when this or any unified community puts its mind to something, progress can be achieved in a relatively short period of time. Sunil Wadhwani’s bold challenge was met. With many remaining needs in India, the stakes related to continuing and accelerating this momentum are high.
With a growing number of governments in North America and Europe pulling back from supporting traditional approaches to international development and solidarity, tapping into growing diaspora wealth to develop and apply pragmatic solutions (which can often be scaled up in partnership with local governments) becomes even more important. At IPA, we plan on doubling down on our current initiatives to grow and qualitatively improve American philanthropy to India, while searching for new ways to work on our own, and with partners, to not only close the remaining giving gap, but to set the standard for global philanthropy at this critical time in history.
About the Authors
Alex Counts is the Executive Director of the India Philanthropy Alliance and the author of Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind.
Jay Sehgal is the Vice-Chairman and Chairman-elect of the India Philanthropy Alliance, and the Executive Vice President of the Sehgal Foundation.
