AFP South Asian Philanthropy Conference Updates
Yesterday was the much-anticipated South Asian Philanthropy Conference hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Toronto Chapter. Held at the gorgeous Toronto Reference Library, 180 participants turned up on a snowy day to hear from philanthropists and nonprofit leaders about giving and fundraising in the South Asian community.
I was honoured to moderate the panel of philanthropists on behalf of SAPP (left). The distinguished panel included (from left to right) Dr. Terry Papneja, Neena Kanwar, and keynote speaker Aditya Jha.
I was so inspired to see this landmark event finally happen after all these years. We at SAPP had been hoping for a gathering just like this – full of inspired South Asians and non-South Asians, talking with each other about giving, fundraising, diversity, and inclusion. I’ll write a lot more about the event in the days and weeks to come, but for now, you can check out real-time tweets about the action at #inclusivegiving and @ArchanaSAPP!
Many thanks to Krishan Mehta, Aditya Jha, Afshaan Kohari, Aarthi Sethi, the AFP, and all the participants for such an exhilarating day!
Apply for This!: Grants for disability work in India
Based on the emails we receive, we have a lot of readers from the NGO sector in India. I hope some of you may be interested in applying for a new grants program from the Disability Rights Fund, called “Advancing the Rights of All”:
The Disability Rights Fund seeks to strengthen the participation of disabled persons’ organizations in the advancement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities…
As part of the fund’s first grantmaking round of 2013, Letters of Interest are invited from organizations in Ukraine and India (states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and the national capital of Delhi only).
Grants are offered at three levels ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. More information here. The official RFP here.
Toronto conference on South Asian philanthropy – January 2013
It’s official! The AFP Inclusive Giving conference on South Asian Philanthropy is coming up in Toronto very soon! If you are in Toronto (or interested in coming for this occasion), please sign up. Here’s the info:
A one-day conference focused on education, training and networking activities for Ontario-based nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, volunteers and donors in the South Asian community.
Our keynote speaker is Aditya Jha, LL.D an Indo-Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist with active involvement in Canadian public affairs.
Friday, January 25, 2013 – 11:30am to 5:15pm, Toronto Reference Library
Register here and visit the website here and here. You can find more information at our Facebook page.
A philanthropy rut?
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to think about whether I’m in a ‘philanthropy rut’. Each year in November/December, I find myself turning to the same charities for our family’s year-end charitable donations. I am very happy with my choices, but I want to think about whether to diversify and/or grow our giving a little, especially to include more Canadian nonprofits since we live here now.
My husband challenged me to bring all that I’m learning here at The South Asian Philanthropy Project to our own family philanthropy. We don’t have a huge amount to give, but we want to spend the year thinking a bit more attentively about how and where we do our charitable giving.
I invite all of you to join us – comment here or send in guest posts about your own giving. Are you in a philanthropy rut? Do you want to do more this year? What values guide your giving? Do you want to make any changes?
New York Times coverage of year-end giving
Hat Tip to Sendhil for some great recent recommendations from the New York Times about year-end giving:
- An interesting endorsement of GiveWell by an Oxford philosopher, who says we should all focus on “effective philanthropy” – impact as many lives positively through our donations as possible.
- I really identified with the author of this article, who talked about being more deliberate about his family’s year-end giving. We definitely do the year-end scramble in our household, and also focus on religious institutions and universities, but also international organizations. Comment below about how all of you give at year-end and what you think about!
- And lastly, a piece that appeals to my former tax lawyer self – Yale Professor Shiller gives a robust defense of the charitable tax deduction and why it’s important that we as a country keep the deduction alive during the coming tax reform.
Templeton Foundation $4.8M grant to study philanthropy
The John Templeton Foundation has announced a monumental $4.8 million grant to the University of Chicago to establish a Science of Philanthropy Initiative. Collaborating with scholars from Wisconsin, Georgia State, Brown, and Minnesota, this exciting collaborative will “study why people give, how they give across life cycles and in different cultures, and how philanthropy can be increased, in the United States and around the globe.”
We at SAPP are thrilled – we have been talking for awhile now about the lack of data about giving patterns among diverse populations and the lack of academic research about giving across the globe. We hope that giving in diaspora communities, especially South Asians of course!, will be a focus of the research promoted by the new initiative.
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy National Conference — Call for Session Ideas and Early Bird Registration Open!!
I’m thrilled to be serving on the host committee for EPIP’s national conference, which will take place here in Chicago on April 4-6, 2013, just prior to the annual Council on Foundations (CoF) conference which is also being held in Chicago (April 7-9, 2013).
As a learning, teaching and national networking organization, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) exists to ensure that all emerging foundation professionals reach their potential as leaders and stewards of philanthropic resources. It also supports others emerging as community leaders through personal philanthropy. The theme for this year’s national conference is LEAD. There will be three tracks: generational change and multigenerationalism, professionalism and effectiveness, and social impact to build a better world.
Do you have an idea for a great session? Proposals for session ideas are being accepted through December 23rd. Sessions will run for 1.5 hours and should be designed to accommodate between 35-55 conference participants. Submit your session proposal through this online form.
Registration is now open as well and early bird registration rates are available through December 31st. Learn more and register here.
Here’s some additional info about EPIP – 
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) is a national network of foundation professionals and philanthropic community leaders. The organization promotes excellence in members’ practice of philanthropy in their organizations, communities and in the field at large. While membership has traditionally consisted of young people under 40 navigating careers in philanthropy, the organization has grown into one of the most diverse in the field. It reflects America’s changing ethnic and social demographics and attracts members from varied professional backgrounds. After being around for a decade, the organization recognizes that you don’t have to be young to be new to the field of philanthropy and encourages everyone to practice philanthropy in their own lives, in small and large ways.
Learn more about EPIP and join us at the conference in Chicago in April 2013!
