Philanthropy
Walking past a beggar and the suffering, a man asks, "Why, oh God, do you not do something for these people?" To which God replied, "I did do something, I made you." -- Old Sufi saying
As we know there is a huge divide between haves and have-nots in India. And we are receiving significant amount of aid from world bank, NRIs and international philanthropists from around the world to reduce this gap, but unfortunately, we, the privileged individuals of India, who falls under the category of haves are too reluctant about philanthropy towards our own nationals who comes under the category of have-nots. According to the Bain report, India’s giving in 2006 was $5 billion compared to $300 billion in the US.
Mr. Warren Edward Buffett is a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation.
It is true that it is difficult for an individual to be like Mr. Warren Edward Buffett, but still a little contribution from every individual can bring a significant change.
Philanthropy has been a part of our value system since starting of our civilization, for example the tradition of "Daan" (Hindi word for donation).
Equity or "equal opportunity" is the cornerstone to civilization. Every human being must have roughly the same opportunity to succeed in life, irrespective of where or how s/he is born.
Unfortunately, this tends to not be true. The last two decades have witnessed a widening of the gap between the rich and poor in India. While the poor in India don't get a fair chance to succeed in life (lack of access to decent education, healthcare and livelihood opportunities), the well-off continue to enjoy benefits from a globalising economy- greater incomes, reducing taxes, 100% inheritance, etc. The net result is a ticking time-bomb of growing social unrest.
A caring and sensitive well-to-do section can change this without waiting for the situation to explode. Each of us could probably afford to give much more to private, charitable efforts to alleviate poverty and suffering. Indeed, given the failure of our political leaders to provide anywhere near an adequate response, private action has become indispensable."
Every one is talking of inclusive growth now a days, and one of the mediums to ensure this inclusive growth is philanthropy. However, most of us think of philanthropy some point of time in our life but we feel concerned about where to donate so that the donation reaches in the hand of the individuals, it is really intended to.
So as per my knowledge one of the safe places is a NGO named " GiveIndia", (Website: http://www.giveindia.org). Conceived by Venkat Krishnan, an IIM-A graduate in December 1999, GiveIndia is managed by a team of professionals who have earlier worked with various corporates and now have dedicated their careers to making a difference. GiveIndia got registered on April 28, 2000, as a non-profit under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Here you can donate as low as 100 Rs (INR).
So, please start contemplating of philanthropy, and you will be contributing something very soon to make India a better India.
Walking past a beggar and the suffering, a man asks, "Why, oh God, do you not do something for these people?" To which God replied, "I did do something, I made you." -- Old Sufi saying
As we know there is a huge divide between haves and have-nots in India. And we are receiving significant amount of aid from world bank, NRIs and international philanthropists from around the world to reduce this gap, but unfortunately, we, the privileged individuals of India, who falls under the category of haves are too reluctant about philanthropy towards our own nationals who comes under the category of have-nots. According to the Bain report, India’s giving in 2006 was $5 billion compared to $300 billion in the US.
Mr. Warren Edward Buffett is a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation.
It is true that it is difficult for an individual to be like Mr. Warren Edward Buffett, but still a little contribution from every individual can bring a significant change.
Philanthropy has been a part of our value system since starting of our civilization, for example the tradition of "Daan" (Hindi word for donation).
Equity or "equal opportunity" is the cornerstone to civilization. Every human being must have roughly the same opportunity to succeed in life, irrespective of where or how s/he is born.
Unfortunately, this tends to not be true. The last two decades have witnessed a widening of the gap between the rich and poor in India. While the poor in India don't get a fair chance to succeed in life (lack of access to decent education, healthcare and livelihood opportunities), the well-off continue to enjoy benefits from a globalising economy- greater incomes, reducing taxes, 100% inheritance, etc. The net result is a ticking time-bomb of growing social unrest.
A caring and sensitive well-to-do section can change this without waiting for the situation to explode. Each of us could probably afford to give much more to private, charitable efforts to alleviate poverty and suffering. Indeed, given the failure of our political leaders to provide anywhere near an adequate response, private action has become indispensable."
Every one is talking of inclusive growth now a days, and one of the mediums to ensure this inclusive growth is philanthropy. However, most of us think of philanthropy some point of time in our life but we feel concerned about where to donate so that the donation reaches in the hand of the individuals, it is really intended to.
So as per my knowledge one of the safe places is a NGO named " GiveIndia", (Website: http://www.giveindia.org). Conceived by Venkat Krishnan, an IIM-A graduate in December 1999, GiveIndia is managed by a team of professionals who have earlier worked with various corporates and now have dedicated their careers to making a difference. GiveIndia got registered on April 28, 2000, as a non-profit under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Here you can donate as low as 100 Rs (INR).
So, please start contemplating of philanthropy, and you will be contributing something very soon to make India a better India.
