WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): As many as 33 top Indian American nonprofit organizations are participating in the India Giving Day on March 1, during which organizers expect to raise money for important social welfare programs in India. “The number (results) we’re going to announce at the end of India Giving Day is going to be significantly larger than last year. That’s because we have a track record as we’ve been working all year long and people are excited,” Alex Counts, executive director of the India Philanthropy Alliance and India Giving Day told PTI in an interview. India Philanthropy Alliance is a network of non-profit organizations that mobilize people and funding in the US for high-impact development programs in India.

The second edition of the annual India Giving Day organized by India Philanthropy Alliance has launched a nationwide campaign to generate awareness among Indian Americans and “friends of India” in the US to donate generously on this important day dedicated to raise funds for a host of critical social and economic issues in India.

The inaugural edition last year raised USD 1.3 million in one day. All funds raised through India Giving Day will be used to support programs based in India or to build a more robust fundraising operation in the US to benefit India, Counts said.

“The three (issues) that were most common, perhaps almost exclusive issues last year were education for the poor, healthcare for the poor, wellbeing and third was we put a broad category of livelihoods, the ability of people to generate economic sustainability for themselves through good jobs and entrepreneurship,” he said.

“Those remain central to what we’re doing. This year we’re adding a few more. We’re adding a few organizations that work in environmental preservation and climate change. We have a couple of groups that work in animal rights and animal welfare. We are expanding with more cultural organizations. Most of our money will be going towards these three — health education and livelihood,” Counts said.

Urging Indian Americans and “friends of India” to donate generously, Counts said: “Give when you have surplus. If someone is just living paycheck to paycheck and is struggling economically, they can give in other ways. They can give their time. I wouldn’t want them to be giving financially. But for those who have been fortunate enough who’ve worked hard to develop some surplus financial resources, giving can be something that’s done in a communal and collective way.”

He said that for many who are part of India Giving Day, it is where they were born or where their parents were born. Giving is an opportunity to really change that society for the better, to give new opportunities for healthcare, education, environment preservation, livelihoods.

“It’s an opportunity to do it joyfully, to do it communally and to do it when you choose organizations that are really well designed,” the executive director of the alliance said. India, he asserted, has some of the best NGOs in the world and they do all or most of their work in India.

“So you’re not talking about organizations that are kind of poorly organized. The 33 groups we have here are some of the best non-profits in the entire world. So when you work with them, you really have confidence that it’ll bring change,” Counts said. “I just ask people to also just do it, give what you can, give it joyfully, where you let others see what you’re giving and inspire them to give and know that if you choose groups that are well trained and well and they can execute, you’re going to change India as a result,” Counts said in response to a question,” he added.
(Source: PTI)