Recently, Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace, in association with Alliance magazine, Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS), and the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University, released a highly anticipated thought piece on the emerging philanthropic sector in India, one of the largest and most rapidly changing countries in the world.

The report, a working paper by Caroline Hartnell, titled simply Philanthropy in India, draws on interviews with key local actors to inform us about the varying types of philanthropy, illustrate some of the current challenges and opportunities, and throw light on the history of and approaches to philanthropy in India. The report does not purport to answer all questions or predict trends, nor does it present hard numbers on giving or impact, but it does start to give an intelligible and exciting glimpse into the complexities and highly varied contexts in which philanthropy operates in a country as multifaceted as India. Because of this, the report, understandably, offers only partial views into Indian philanthropy, so it raises as many questions as it answers ...

India, ironically, is world renowned for its talent in data, coding and technology, and would seem to be the perfect place for such important work to be nurtured. However, this work does not yet seem to have been integrated into the philanthropy landscape. Why is this? The report suggests that one challenge for NGOs is that they are not ready to invest in technology or to scale operations by way of data because they feel they have insufficiently trained staff, poor quality databases, and inadequate funding to invest in online giving tools and promotional activities.

Read the article about philanthropy in India at Philanthropy In Focus.