South Asian diversity and philanthropy

This hilarious post by V.V. on Sepia Mutiny got me thinking about the diversity of the South Asian community and how it might affect philanthropy. From Bangladesh to Afghanistan, from Sri Lanka to Nepal, and everything in between, the region of South Asia is huge and diverse. All these countries – and regions within each country – have different cultures, different traditions of giving and service, and different approaches to building community.

When it comes to SAPP, we’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can inspire people from many different backgrounds and countries of origin to come together around philanthropy. There may be issues where this is impossible, such as around religious giving, but there might be very intuitive areas of common interest as well – such as immigrant rights and education, or fighting poverty in our home countries.

Do you think it’s even possible to bring together such diverse audiences in this one forum? Is it a worthwhile goal? Do you see yourself as South Asian or something else? Does that identity affect your giving or service?