How Philanthropic Ecosystems Are Redefining Cross-Border Impact

By Alex Counts

If one considers the history of human progress, many breakthroughs were driven either by government or by business. Powerful political leaders and savvy entrepreneurs have accomplished a lot.  Yet a remarkable and underappreciated number of advancements have come from philanthropists and their nonprofit partners.

For example, our knowledge of the universe through modern astronomy can be traced to funding from a forerunner of the Carnegie Foundation supporting Edwin Hubble. The Rockefeller Foundation funded work that led to our understanding of how DNA works and the discovery of penicillin. Benefactors were crucial to supporting many of the world’s greatest artists, many of whose forms were ahead of their times when they first emerged.

Likewise, the public and private sectors have played an outsized role in building synergistic relations between sovereign nations. But philanthropic resources have played an important role as well. Nonprofits, from large private universities to small humanitarian groups, provide platforms for collective problem solving and its frequent byproducts: enhanced mutual understanding and augmented solidarity.   

Philanthropy, which can fund risky as well as politically and socially disfavored innovations and activities, can help ensure that crucial challenges are met by India and the United States while also binding these natural allies together. A healthy relationship between these two countries can magnify what either could do on its own. The five million-member-strong Indian American Diaspora and in particular its growing philanthropic engagement have an essential role to play in realizing this potential.

For philanthropy to play its most impactful role, it—like the business and other sectors—needs a healthy ecosystem to nurture new entrants, back good ideas, attract talent, and engage potential allies. Indeed, a more supportive philanthropic ecosystem has already led to an explosion of corporate social responsibility funding in India and also to the dramatic growth in Indian American giving over the last decade.

This ecosystem has had a few prominent pillars that can and must be further built upon. They include:

·       Credentialing of nonprofits by campaigns like India Giving Day, leading to increased confidence in donors that their funds are being used well.

·       Nonprofits breaking down barriers to collaboration, such as when Pratham, Akanksha Foundation, and Foundation for Excellence realized that they were complementary in nature, each intervening in different parts of children’s educational journeys, and that they could benefit from coordination, collaboration, and cross-promotional efforts. This enhances donors’ trust that unnecessary duplication is avoided in favor of powerful synergies.  

·       Collective and coordinated giving through initiatives such as GivingPi, Co-Impact (whose vice-chair, Ingrid Srinath, is a leading voice on Indian philanthropy), Together Women RISE, and Social Venture Partners.

·       The recognition and celebration of philanthropic role models, such as those who serve as national co-chairs of India Giving Day. 

·       Nurturing of youth engaged in India-focused philanthropy involvement through programs like the Sehgal Foundation’s internship program, American India Foundation’s Banyan Impact Fellowship, and essay competitions.

·       The emergence of a cadre of senior consultants who specialize in advising nonprofits and donors oriented towards India. Several of whom recently formed the India Philanthropy Advisers Network and brought greater clarity to how organizations can engage consultants ethically, strategically, and for long-term impact

·       Defining standards for excellence in philanthropy, as the India Philanthropy Alliance, the Center for Effective Philanthropy, and others have done.

·       Well-organized convenings attended by leaders from both countries, such as the Dasra Philanthropy Forum, the new Johns Hopkins India Conference, and the Indiaspora/IPA Philanthropy Summit.

·       The continued success of powerful organizations that work adjacently to the India-U.S. philanthropy corridor, such as Indian American Impact, TiE, and Indiaspora.

·       The growing recognition that giving benefits not just the recipient, but the donor as well. Respected philanthropists Deepak Raj and Raj Gupta made this point powerfully in an important article, writing that “research shows that people who give the most to charities are, on average, happier, healthier, and more successful than those who give less, or not at all.”

The recent Dalberg report ‘From Closing the Gap to Setting the Standard: The State of Philanthropic Giving in the Indian American Diaspora’ recognized the significant growth of Indian diaspora philanthropy and the possibility that it will come to set the global standard for giving in the years ahead. If this vision is to come true, hundreds of innovations, programs and ideas benefitting the public will be spawned and grow to a significant scale (often with the aid of the public sector after proof of concept is achieved).

In a world characterized by increasing uncertainty, the contributions and further development of the philanthropy sectors in the United States and India are essential. 

(Alex Counts is an author, the Executive Director of the India Philanthropy Alliance, and an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Previously, he established Grameen Foundation in 1997 and served as its CEO for 18 years.)