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Wealthy Indian Americans Could Give More To Home Country

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Indian-born immigrants in the United States are a wealthy lot – representing the top 10 percent of earners in the country.

And they are interested in supporting Indian causes. That’s the crux of a report on strategic philanthropy released on Monday by The Bridgespan Group - an advisor for not-for-profit organizations and philanthropists.

“The combined annual discretionary income of Americans of Indian origin is approximately $67.4 billion,” says the report. “If their philanthropic contributions were consistent with those of other US households in similar income brackets, and they directed 40 percent of their philanthropy to India, $1.2 billion per year would flow from Indian diaspora donors to Indian causes as compared to current U.S. foreign aid to India ($116.4 million in FY 2014). And it represents over half the entire amount of annual official development aid received by India from all countries—$2.2 billion, on average, from 2005 through 2013.”

Households with Indian heads had a median annual income of $89,000  - compared to the US median of $50,000. Nearly one in three Indian households in the U.S. earned more than $140,000. While that’s a lot of wealth the report establishes that there’s now an interest in supporting causes back in the home country.

“Our research clearly indicated that the Indian-American diaspora can play a distinctive and consequential role in the economic and social development of India,” says Rohit Menezes, a Bridegespan partner, who co-authored an article featuring the research. “Our interviewees universally suggested that giving from Indian Americans could be considerably increased from current rates. It is our aim to encourage donors to give more to India and to do so more effectively.

There are 1.9 million Indian-born immigrants and another 1.6 million Americans with Indian ancestry currently living in the United States.

“Indian Americans are donating more than ever before to support broad-based social change aimed at addressing India’s inequities. The potential for impact is great, but so are the challenges,” says the report.

The Bridgespan Group along with Stanford Social Innovation Review and  Dasra (www.dasra.org) launched Impact India "- a joint publication on strategic philanthropy in India. It represents trends in giving by Indian-Americans back to India, and the impact of these funding flows. The giving could also be in non-monetary terms.

“Indian Americans are highly educated and well represented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions, in technology and entrepreneurship, and increasingly occupy roles of political and social influence in the U.S. ,” says Menezes, ” This achievement, combined with familiarity with Indian culture and communities, positions Indian Americans well to increase involvement in building the capacity and professionalism of India’s civil society organizations and the philanthropic entities that support them."

India still needs a boost in terms of jobs, housing, and infrastructure. The United Nations Development Program says that about three-fourths of Indians live on less than $2 per day. It is in this context that the giving becomes meaningful.