Washington, Mar 7 (PTI) In one single day on March 2, the India Giving Day raised more than Rs 10 crore for various US-based non-profit bodies carrying out charitable work and social welfare measures in India, organisers of the one-of-its-kind fundraiser said on Monday.
“I think there is going to be many more (India Giving Day) because we feel it was very successful. We are pleased with how the first India Giving Day came together,” Alex Counts, director, India Philanthropy Alliance, told PTI in an interview, adding that this shows the generosity of the Indian American community.
On March 2, nearly 1,000 donors from across the country raised USD 13,22,927 for 25 US-based non-profit organisations, which carry out charitable work and social welfare measures in various parts of India, including in the fields of education, health and poverty alleviation.
Counts said 990 donors made 1,286 donations. “This during a time when giving, during March and February, is very limited in the US. Just for these reasons, a lot of the giving happens at the end of the year. We had no track record. An India fundraising campaign led by a non-Indian,” he said.
“So there were all sorts of reasons why we should have really struggled this first year. But the community turned out extremely generously and many people made more than one donation. They made donations to organisations they knew, they made donations to organisations they did not know that well. The response was fantastic,” he said.
A relatively less known NGO, Akanksha Education Fund Inc., raised USD 359,749 from 107 donors. This was followed by American India Foundation (115 donations), Teach for India (USD 143,668 from 39 donations) and Pratham USA (USD 129,206 from 122 donations). NGO Vibha raised USD 16,405 from a maximum number of 224 donations. In all, 25 organisations participated in it.
Counts said encouraged by the overwhelming response, India Philanthropy Alliance would organise the India Giving Day every year.
“It just points to the fact that they respond to this kind of collective work, non-profits joining hands to work together, not competing with each other, but trying to compete with the problems they are trying to solve in India, such as poverty, such as illiteracy, such as malnutrition,” he said.
“People responded to this kind of collective effort. It shows that the Indian American communities are very open to people outside of that community,” he added.
Ahead of the India Giving Day, Indian artist Shivansh Chhaya Kapil composed a song with the support of Vibha, which was rendered into a video musical — “India Here to Give” — celebrating India’s sounds, capturing India’s energy and calling people to give back to the key issues facing India. PTI LKJ RC
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