The Curtain Rises on India Giving Day 2024

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On the eve of India Giving Day, a national campaign to increase the impact and joyfulness of American philanthropy benefiting India, the organizers predict a profound jump in donations on March 1, compared to the inaugural effort in 2023.

"After attracting 1,031 donations and more than $1.3 million last year to benefit the 25 leading charities that participated, this year we set the goal of doubling the number of donations and quadrupling the funds raised to advance the development agenda in India. "This year we have 33 organizations participating and with a big final push, we expect to exceed those goals," said Alex Counts, the Executive Director of the India Philanthropy Alliance that sponsors India Giving Day. He added, "We provided fundraising training throughout the year to participating organizations, and we see it paying off."

Deepak Raj, the chairman of the Alliance, said, "We are grateful for every single donation, and especially for all of the youth and young professionals who are volunteering their time and represent the future of giving to India. We salute the efforts of our national co-chairs, youth leaders, steering committee, and ambassadors to help make this campaign a success."

Gatherings are occurring in communities around the country to observe and celebrate India Giving Day. The flagship national event, taking place at Drexel University in Philadelphia on March 1, offers both online and in-person components that are open to the public. Drexel has educated thousands of Indian students over the years and has emerged as an essential partner to the campaign. The event will be livestreamed and the public can register to take part by clicking here.

At the Drexel conference, Paul Glick, the Executive Director of the Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST), which is a major sponsor of India Giving Day, will be announcing several new grants totaling almost $1.4 million. One of the organizations partnering on this endeavor is Arogya World, a founding member of the India Philanthropy Alliance that implements breakthrough programs to prevent diabetes in India.

Glick said, "We are proud to support India Giving Day for the second year in a row. And we are excited to extend our partnership with Arogya World with this new grant. They do incredible work to address the diabetes epidemic in India, and we encourage others to support them, and all of the other organizations involved in India Giving Day."

About the grant, Dr. Nalini Saligram, the founder of Arogya World that is taking part in its second India Giving Day campaign, said this as part of the organization's announcement of the grant, "We are working hard to address the diabetes tsunami in India by providing people with information and motivation to lead healthier lives in places where they live, learn, and work. This new funding from RIST will allow us to impact adolescents and improve India's health."

Elsewhere, the Sehgal Foundation announced on February 15 that it was using India Giving Day to raise the final $100,000 needed to fully fund a $1 million program, called Project Umeed, that bridges the urban/rural digital divide for thousands of India's rural schoolchildren.

Sejal Desai, the Executive Director of the Akanksha Education Fund and the co-chair of the India Giving Day Steering Committee, said, "Our donors and volunteers are highly motivated to advance our mission through participation in India Giving Day. We are having events around the country, including one in Dallas that includes other leading Indian charities. It's all for one and one for all!"

Manisha Bharti, the CEO and Global Executive of Pratham USA, added, "It's terrific to see 33 of the most professionally run and high-impact nonprofits coming together to grow the philanthropy pie available to India. We appreciate the devotion of the volunteers and financial supporters of all of these organizations, as well as so many other groups that are participating in creative ways."

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation joined as major sponsors of India Giving Day this year. The Wadhwani Impact Trust, the Raj Family Foundation, the Ujala Foundation, and the Sehgal Foundation continued as founding sponsors.

Contact: Alex Counts
Executive Director, India Philanthropy Alliance
mobile: 202-257-8739
email: [email protected]

SOURCE India Philanthropy Alliance