India Philanthropy Alliance’s nationwide “India Giving Day” campaign receives over 1,000 donations

The India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA), a network of leading India-focused non-profits in the U.S., announced the results of its inaugural “India Giving Day.” The campaign, which culminated in a national day of giving to India on March 2, attracted more than 1,000 unique donors contributing $1,376,262 to support humanitarian and environmental causes in India.

India Giving Day received a tremendous response from people across the United States, including from the Indian-American community. The campaign was celebrated through a series of online and in-person gatherings held throughout the country, including signature events in Washington, Dallas, and Chicago. Donors contributed to a wide variety of causes, including health care and education for vulnerable populations, environmental protection, and eldercare. 

Indian singer Shivansh Kapil released a song with the support of Vibha, one of the 25 beneficiary organizations, titled ” India here to give ” on March 2 as a contribution to India Giving Day. It has already been viewed more than 39,000 times. 

Alex Counts, the Director of the Alliance and the campaign, said, “”Our ability to attract more than 1,000 unique donors in our first year exceeded our expectations. Indian-Americans and young people were enthusiastic, imaginative, and generous in their celebration of India Giving Day, which bodes well for future campaigns.” 

Nearly $100,000 in campaign-wide matching funds and prizes were allocated to participating non-profits, which provided extra motivation for donors to contribute at a time when donations in the United States are usually infrequent. For example, the top cash prizes for overall contributions to the campaign went to Vibha and American Friends of HelpAge India to recognize the work of Ashwini Kumar and Sumani Dash, respectively. They both creatively motivated many members of their highly influential networks to participate actively in the campaign. The prize for the most gifts secured by a past winner to IPA’s national student essay competition went to CRY America based on the success of Riya Balaji’s peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. 

The campaign’s steering committee and national co-chairs will be meeting soon to determine the timing and format for India Giving Day 2024. 

As a part of the campaign, IPA announced its fourth Youth Essay Competition, inviting middle and high-school students to share their perspectives on India’s development challenges. Winners will showcase their ideas to leading philanthropists at a major philanthropy conference to be held in San Francisco in late September 2023 that is being organized by Give. 

Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) was the lead supporter of India Giving Day, with Mastercard and Bank of America as corporate sponsors. 

About the India Philanthropy Alliance 

The India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) is a network of nonprofit organizations that mobilize people and funding in the United States for development and poverty-reduction programs in India. For more on IPA, visit: https://www.indiaphilanthropyalliance.org/ 

 

Image courtesy of (IPA logo)

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