One in three Indian households in the US earn more than $140,000.
By Raif Karerat
A new strategic report released by The Bridgespan Group has revealed that wealthy Indian Americans could play a significantly more influential role in philanthropically propping up their home country.
“The combined annual discretionary income of Americans of Indian origin is approximately $67.4 billion,” read the report. “If their philanthropic contributions were consistent with those of other [U.S.] households in similar income brackets, and they directed 40 percent of their philanthropy to India, $1.2 billion per year would flow from Indian diaspora donors to Indian causes as compared to current U.S. foreign aid to India ($116.4 million in FY 2014). And it represents over half the entire amount of annual official development aid received by India from all countries—$2.2 billion, on average, from 2005 through 2013.”
The median income of Indian Americans — the richest ethnic community in the U.S. — was $100,547, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Washington post reported that early one in three Indian households in the U.S. earned more than $140,000.
There are 1.9 million Indian-born immigrants and another 1.6 million Americans with Indian ancestry currently living in the United States.
Rohit Menezes, a Bridgespan partner, believes Indian Americans can play “a distinctive and consequential role in the economic and social development of India.”
“Our interviewees universally suggested that giving from Indian Americans could be considerably increased from current rates, he told The Post. “It is our aim to encourage donors to give more to India and to do so more effectively.”
While “the potential for impact is great, but so are the challenges,” the report stated.