Diaspora philanthropy is rising. India must build systems to absorb it

India’s 34-million-strong diaspora is among the world’s most influential, shaping boardrooms, universities, and capital markets across continents. Today, that global success is increasingly translating into philanthropy directed back home. But while intent and capacity are rising rapidly, the systems needed to absorb and channel this capital are not keeping pace. 

Recent data suggests this is an inflection point. A study by Dalberg, Indiaspora, and the India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) estimates that Indian-American philanthropic giving has tripled in just six years, from $1-2 billion in 2018 to $4-5 billion in 2024. This growth is underpinned by both rising incomes and a strengthening culture of giving: median Indian-American household incomes have grown from $110,000 to $151,000, while giving intensity has increased from 1-2% to 4-5%. In other words, intent, capacity, and action are beginning to converge. 

This momentum is also visible in collective giving efforts. India Giving Day, a 24-hour campaign led by Indiaspora and IPA, raised $5.6 million in March 2026. At the same time, remittances to India have grown at a 14% CAGR between FY21 and FY25, highlighting the scale of cross-border financial flows that, with the right support, can be channelled into long-term social impact. 

A shift in how the diaspora gives 

More telling than the scale of giving is the way the diaspora is choosing to engage. The India Philanthropy Report 2026, co-published by Bain and Company and Dasra, highlights that diaspora donors are gradually moving beyond financial contributions to play more active roles in the ecosystem through governance, advisory support, and collaborative platforms. While 36% of giving remains tied to home states, particularly Maharashtra and Gujarat, over 53% of donors are now supporting pan-India initiatives. 

Sector preferences are also evolving. Education and healthcare remain core, but interest is rising in gender equity, climate action, and institutional strengthening. Equally notable is a growing emphasis on trust-based philanthropy. Sapphira Goradia, who leads the Vijay and Marie Goradia Foundation, has anchored its work on health, education, and human agency in deep partnerships 

with community-rooted organizations, recognizing, as she often reflects, that nothing can be solved in isolation and that community is where sustained impact begins. 

Alongside this, diaspora engagement is becoming more systems-oriented. Sunil Wadhwani, who also co-chairs the IPA, reflects this through Wadhwani AI, founded on the belief that technology should be directed at India's most underserved communities, not just its most profitable markets. By embedding artificial intelligence within government systems across health, education, and agriculture, and designing for India's scale, his approach captures something many diaspora donors are beginning to internalize: that lasting impact requires capital as well as a genuine understanding of how public systems function. 

Across geographies, diaspora donors are bringing time, knowledge, and global networks into the development ecosystem alongside their financial contributions. Diaspora-led platforms and convenings are further building awareness, strengthening connections, and mobilising collective action. 

From wealth to purpose 

These shifts are unfolding alongside a broader evolution in how wealth is being structured and managed. The number of family offices in India has grown from 45 in 2018 to over 300 in 2024, and many diaspora families are anchoring their financial and philanthropic activities through family offices in global hubs such as Singapore, the UAE, and Hong Kong. 

For cross-border families, this creates an opportunity to integrate philanthropy more deliberately into long-term wealth stewardship. Structured platforms enable alignment between capital and values, ensuring that giving is not episodic but embedded in how wealth is governed, deployed, and sustained across generations. 

Yet this trend also introduces a challenge: distance. As wealth becomes more globally managed, maintaining proximity to India's development realities requires deliberate effort through partnerships, local knowledge, and sustained engagement. Strengthening ties with India, bringing in next-generation leaders, and supporting more inclusive participation, including that of women donors, will be essential to ensuring this momentum deepens over time. 

Why infrastructure matters now 

This is where opportunity and constraint become most visible. As diaspora giving grows in scale and ambition, the ecosystem that supports it remains uneven. Donors often face fragmented information, limited access to credible nonprofit partners, and a limited number of trusted intermediaries who can bridge global intent with local execution. 

Philanthropic infrastructure including intermediaries, advisory platforms, peer networks, and giving collaboratives plays a critical role in addressing this gap. These systems help donors navigate complexity, conduct due diligence, and align contributions with long-term priorities. But infrastructure must go beyond facilitating transactions. It must build knowledge and confidence. 

Diaspora donors, particularly first-time or next-generation givers, benefit from structured exposure to what works in India's development context: which models scale, why certain interventions succeed, and how impact can be measured meaningfully. Peer learning matters equally—understanding where others with similar values are giving, and what they are discovering, often shapes philanthropic decisions as much as institutional guidance does. For younger donors, especially, community is a catalyst. Platforms that enable collaboration, co-investment, and shared learning can accelerate engagement and deepen long-term commitment. Stronger infrastructure also enables nonprofits to build more durable cross-border relationships, by providing shared language, clearer expectations, and greater transparency. 

Looking ahead 

As India works toward Viksit Bharat 2047, diaspora philanthropy is set to play an increasingly important role. The question is no longer whether the diaspora will give; it already is, and at a growing scale. The real question is whether India can build the systems needed to channel this momentum effectively. 

This will require investment in institutional capacity, stronger intermediary platforms, and more accessible pathways for cross-border giving. It will also require a shift toward informed, evidence-based philanthropy, where generosity is matched by context, and ambition by execution. 

The diaspora has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to mobilize in moments of crisis. The challenge now is to sustain that engagement over the long term, across complex issues such as gender equity, livelihoods, public health, and climate resilience. Meeting that challenge will require increased capital and stronger ecosystems to deploy it effectively. 

(Dadlani is Head of GivingPi; Pal is Manager at Dasra. Views are personal.)