Indian American Philanthropic Influencers: Religion, Education

Photo: Pew Research Center

India-West Staff Reporter

In a survey conducted between July 2022 and January 2023, the Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of Asian American adults actively engage in charitable giving, either in the United States, their Asian ancestral homeland, or both.

Breakdowns by origin showed that majorities across the six largest Asian origin groups in the U.S. expressed involvement in charitable giving within the country. Japanese, Filipino and Indian adults exhibited particularly high levels of participation, with approximately seven in ten indicating charitable contributions.

Among those born in the U.S., 74% of third- or higher-generation and 65% of second-generation Asian adults told the Pew they had given to a U.S. charity in the year before the survey.

Education and income levels were also influential factors, with individuals holding postgraduate degrees and higher incomes more likely to engage in charitable giving within the U.S.

Mother Country

Additionally, the Pew survey shed light on charitable giving in Asian “ancestral homelands,” with one in five Asian adults in the U.S. reporting involvement in charitable activities in their country of origin.

About a third of Indian American adults (31%) and about a quarter of Vietnamese American adults (24%) say they have given to a charity in their Asian origin country. One in ten Chinese adults and 6% of Japanese adults say the same.

Individuals’ perceptions of their ancestral homeland influenced their likelihood of engaging in charitable giving. Those with a favorable view of their ancestral homeland were more inclined to donate to charitable organizations there compared to those with neutral or unfavorable opinions.

Religion also played a role in charitable giving behaviors, with Asian Hindus and Muslims exhibiting higher rates of engagement in charitable activities in their Asian ancestral homelands compared to the religiously unaffiliated Asian Americans’ charitable giving in their Asian country of origin also varies by how important religion is in their lives. The Pew Survey showed:

29% of those who say religion is very important have given to a charity in their Asian origin country in the 12 months before the survey.

12% of those who say religion is not too or not at all important in their life have done the same.