I wrote this article on a tight deadline for inclusion in a special publication, titled Woven, that was handed out to every family that attended the historic event in Houston featuring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 22, 2019. More than 50,000 people, mostly Indian-Americans in the greater Houston area, took part. The article (which I have enhanced in one minor way from what was originally published) chronicles the past, present and future of Indian-American philanthropy, with an emphasis on leading givers in the Houston area. It seeks to complement other writings I have done on the subject, including this one published by Indiaspora about how to grow the culture of philanthropy within the community. I did not mention the India Philanthropy Alliance since it was not yet publicly announced.
The destruction, death, and suffering caused by the January 2001 Gujarat earthquake catalyzed an outpouring of generosity around the world. Among the responses was a campaign by Indian American business leaders to raise millions of dollars over a few weeks, mostly by convening hastily organized fund-raising galas.
After sending $4.5 million to India for relief and rehabilitation, those same business leaders laid the foundation for an organization to channel Indian diaspora wealth and talent towards humanitarian needs in India: the American India Foundation (AIF). Their secondary objective was to create a more robust culture of philanthropy among Indian Americans. In the words of AIF co-founder Pradeep Kashyap, “We wanted to convince the community that an Indian American business leader wasn’t a true success until they began to thoughtfully and effectively give away some of what they had earned.” By any measure, this vision is well on its way to becoming reality.
Some might argue that it was inevitable that an enterprising ethnic minority that was growing in numbers and that recently became the highest-earning ethnic group in the country would come to energetically embrace philanthropy. However, pioneering leadership doubtless played a major role. Regardless, the breadth of Indian American philanthropy is impressive, as are some noteworthy trends.
Donating Time, Expertise and Money
It is important to recognize that philanthropy doesn’t simply mean writing a check. According to a recent survey by Dalberg and Indiaspora (founded by the iconic entrepreneur and philanthropist M.R. Rangaswami), Indian Americans volunteer their time at double the national average in the U.S. today. While some volunteers stuff envelopes and the like, many leverage their expertise in information technology, the law, medicine, finance, and management consulting to collectively provide the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars in pro bono services to mission-driven nonprofits around the country.
The amount of money donated is also significant, and growing. Indian Americans give an estimated $1 billion per year to causes as diverse as the arts, higher education, combating homelessness in their communities, and of course, advancing the humanitarian agenda in India. There are active efforts to grow this amount to $3 billion or more. Related activities include profiling those who have already experienced the joy of giving, better engaging second and third-generation Indian Americans in philanthropy, supporting the essential ecosystem-building work of organizations such as Dasra, and launching an annual week of giving next month called ChaloGive.
Support for Education … and Much More
The diversity of those in the diaspora who have emerged as philanthropic role models is remarkable. For example, Nidhika and Pershant Mehta contributed $500,000 to establish an “Arts of India” gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Their goal was to share the India experience of arts and culture with their own children, other second-generation Indian Americans, and the community at large. Since then, their philanthropy has focused on women and children’s causes, with impact on both the greater Houston area and on India.
Sanjay Shah’s Vistex Foundation has, since it was established in 2012, tackled inner-city poverty by supporting organizations in the Chicago area that provide health care and education services to those in need.
Given the high value that Indian Americans place on education, it should not be surprising that giving to universities is a major focus. For example, Durga and Sushila Agrawal made a major donation to the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering and have a building that now carries their name as a result of their generosity. The gift is allowing the college to enhance classrooms and recruit world-class faculty.
“My message to the students is to always be optimistic; one can achieve any goal with hard work, persistence and determination,” Agrawal said when the gift was announced. “As alumni, we must keep the torch of knowledge, excellence and innovation growing and glowing.” Theirs is not an isolated example; according to a 2018 survey by Indiaspora of gifts amounting to $1 million or more, since 2000 the community has donated $1.2 billion to higher education in the U.S., including more than $700 million during the period 2013-2017 alone.
Naturally, a major focus of some philanthropists is helping those people who have not yet benefited from the rapid economic growth India has experienced over the past quarter century. For example, Vijay and Marie Goradia have been Houston-based benefactors of numerous charitable organizations, but none more than Pratham and its local arm, Pratham USA. Due in part to the Goradia’s early leadership and generosity, Pratham has developed a world-class program to ensure quality education for poor Indians that reaches millions of children each year. Their daughter Sapphira, who heads the family’s foundation, has taken a keen interest in the impact investing movement while demonstrating that second generation Indian Americans have the capacity to bring sophistication and energy to the community’s public service efforts.
Prabhu and Poonam Goel have been steadfast supporters and true champions of Foundation for Excellence’s work to provide scholarships to low-income Indians.
One of the most prolific philanthropists is Manu Shah, the founder of MSI, a leading distributor of flooring, wall and countertop surfaces based in Orange County, California. To Manu and his wife Rika, giving back has become the focus on their lives in recent years. This pure vegetarian, non-violent and compassionate couple has worked hard to achieve the success they have today and sworn to give the world all they can in return. Manu is known to say, “God has given us so much just for one reason – to donate, to help others and to never stop doing so.”
Manoj Bharghava, who made a fortune selling his ubiquitous 5-Hour Energy drink, has donated tens of millions, much of it to accelerate sustainable development in India, especially in the areas of affordable health care and income generation. He has done so through the Billions in Change initiative, the Hans Foundation, and the Hans Foundation Hospitals. Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethi parlayed their success in technology start-ups to play outsized roles in supporting a portfolio of professionally-run nonprofits.
No conversation about diaspora philanthropy would be complete without mention of the Wadhwani brothers. Romesh has donated millions to help employ the disabled in India (among many giving areas) through his Wadhwani Foundation, while Sunil has launched a network of hundreds of high-performing health clinics using a far-sighted public-private-partnership model.
Many Indian Americans have started their own nonprofits and social enterprises. For example, Nalini Saligram founded Arogya World and has worked full time as its unsalaried CEO. Her team has already reached four million Indians with the essential information needed to prevent diabetes and other lifestyle diseases. She and her husband Ravi, the incoming CEO of Newell Brands, have donated and raised millions to support the organization’s public health mission.
Closer to home, Murali Vullaganti has established a Silicon Valley-based public benefit corporation called PeopleShores that is committed to training and employing hundreds (and in time thousands) of low-income and at-risk Americans in good-paying information technology jobs.
From Celebratory Galas to Brainstorming How to Grow Indian-American Philanthropy
Many donations from the community are pledge and captured in colorful, celebratory, and poignant gala dinners held around the county on an almost nightly basis by organizations such as Ekal Vidyalaya, Akanksha Fund, Magic Bus USA, and CRY America.
Clearly there is no shortage of Indian-American philanthropy role models. But the community is hardly complacent in terms of growing a culture of philanthropy. For example, a series of workshops held over the last two years by Indiaspora, Dasra, and Georgetown University’s India Initiative has focused on growing the amount donated and also improving the impact of each dollar contributed.
As mentioned earlier, ChaloGive, a week of giving to be launched this year on October 2, will focus on encouraging more online giving by the broad spectrum of Indian Americans, not just those in the community that have accumulated significant wealth through business and investing. Furthermore, delegations of second and third generation Americans of Indian heritage have taken part in trips to India that include social impact exposure and training. The Houston-based Ek Disha Foundation transformed itself into a local chapter of AIF in 2017, admirably reversing the troubling trends of fragmentation and unnecessary duplication of effort in American philanthropy.
Finally, leading philanthropic organizations have professionalized their operations in the U.S. and India, begun working more closely together, taken advantage of the Indian government’s new law requiring most companies to increase their corporate social responsibilities activities, and are beginning to have a dialogue with various ministries about how they could tweak policies in order to unleash even more philanthropic resources and talent (especially from the diaspora) on addressing urgent humanitarian, environmental, and cultural needs and opportunities.
Over the last thirty years, the Indian American community in Houston and in cities across the United States have emerged as major players in business, medicine, technology, higher education, and most recently, in politics – with influence and impact beyond what would expect give its size. Now it is time to add philanthropy to that list, and watch how the next generation carries this important tradition forward and in so doing, advances the public good through meaningful engagement in solving some of society’s most complex problems.
The author, a former Fulbright Scholar in Bangladesh, is a writer, consultant to nonprofit organizations, and professor of public policy at the University of Maryland. He founded Grameen Foundation and was its CEO for 18 years, and more recently was the President and CEO of the American India Foundation. His latest book, Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind: Leadership Lessons from Three Decades of Social Entrepreneurship (Rivertowns Books), opened as a #1 new release best seller on Amazon in April and was chosen as an “editor’s pick” by the Chronicle of Philanthropy in August 2019.