IN the inaugural year of Give’s partnership with US-based Indiaspora – a nonprofit inspiring the global Indian diaspora to be a force for good and catalyse social change – a joint summit being held in New York will focus on new insights into philanthropic giving to India.
Bringing together leading philanthropists, foundations and nonprofits, the in-person summit is set to explore recent shifts in India’s philanthropic giving landscape and opportunities to collectively give and find solutions to pressing social issues.
Timely partnership
For the third consecutive year, India’s rank in the global Sustainable Development Report, 2022 has slipped – to 121 out of 163 countries. If India is to meet its Sustainable Development Goals (a universal call to action by the United Nations to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity) it requires a collective, mammoth effort with all hands on the deck.
In this context, the Give-Indiaspora strategic partnership, which was entered into earlier this year to scale philanthropic giving to India and accelerate impact on the ground, is very timely.
Power of entrepreneurship
At the Indiaspora-Give Philanthropy Summit 2022, Desh Foundation co-founder Desh Deshpande will set the tone with his keynote address on the power of leveraging entrepreneurship and innovation for sustainable social change.
The philanthropist and Indian American venture capitalist, best known for his contribution to Deshpande Centre for Technological Innovation at MIT Massachusetts, is a native of Hubballi, Karnataka. Last year he proudly announced a wonderful example of philanthropic giving by the Deshpande Foundation, which “has constructed 6,000 farm ponds in India in the last five years…as the beginning point for rural transformation.”
Climate change and India
Besides the role and impact of philanthropic giving by the Indian diaspora and the opportunity to scale it even further, an important topic under discussion at the summit will be India’s exposure to climate change and its effect on vulnerable communities.
The discussion will be between Kamaljit Bawa, Founder-President of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), one of India’s top-ranked environmental think tanks, based in Bangalore; Ajaita Shah, founder of Frontier Markets connecting rural households to climate-friendly products and green energy services; and Satya Tripathi, Secretary general to UNEP’s Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet.
Among other subjects that will be explored at the summit include the rights of widows, education, making India tuberculosis-free and workforce development. Some of the prominent speakers at the summit include Jay Shetty, producer of movies such as The Last Colour and Barefoot Empress, Ravi Kumar, former president of Infosys and workforce development thought leader, Alex Counts, director of the India Philanthropy Alliance, Sejal Desai of Akanksha Education Fund, Sunil Wadhwani of Wish Foundation, MR Rangaswami, founder and chairperson of the board, Indiaspora, and Sumit Tayal, COO, Give.
The event, to be held on October 28 at the Indian Consulate in New York, will include panel discussions, fireside chats and talks, with opportunities for audience questions and participation.
If you are interested in attending, please contact mirabhayroo@give.do.
Give exists to alleviate poverty by enabling the world to give. Established in 2000, Give, together with its partners, is the largest and most trusted giving platform in India. Give enables individuals and organizations to raise and donate funds conveniently to any cause they care about, with offerings including crowdfunding, corporate giving, cause marketing, and philanthropy consulting. Give’s community of 2.6M+ donors supports 3,000+ verified nonprofits, serving 15M+ people across the country.
