Changing relationship between the Indian diaspora and India

Good article (in the economist) on the changing relationship between the Indian diaspora and India. The article doesnt' specifically address efforts by the diaspora to "give back" through NGOs such as AIF, but it provides a good overview of India's efforts to leverage its 25 million strong NRI population.

Slumdog Millionaire's Success

The American India Foundation NY Young Professionals Chapter is excited to see the success that Slumdog Millionaire has experienced with its win of 8 Oscar awards. Its heartwarming story and the great recognition it has received is a milestone for all involved. We wanted to share one of the many interviews with members of the Slumdog cast particularly the child actors and actresses from the film. (EONLINE Interview)

We hope that the tremendous success of Slumdog Millionaire also sheds light on the many that live in the slums of India. Over the past few years, the AIF NY Young Professionals Chapter has focused on the goal of accelerating social and economic change in India. Currently, we are focused on supporting The Apna Clinic, an Urban Health Center for sustained improvement in reproductive, maternal and child health in the slums of Mustafabad in Delhi. This initiative is particularly compelling as one in every five childbirth-related deaths in the world occurs in India and as India's population rapidly grows, the availability of services for the already underserved urban poor will be subject to increasing pressures. To learn more about this initiative please go to http://newyork.aifyp.com/initiative.

The AIF NY Young Professionals Chapter will also be hosting our Annual Benefit to support the Apna Clinic this spring. Please visit our website for more details.

Welcome

We've designed this blog as an interactive means for New York area young professionals to share their thoughts and questions with the AIF Young Professionals Chapter as well as the larger American India Foundation. We hope you will comment on our initiatives and we will seek to answer all questions posted to the blog regularly. We appreciate your support.

Philanthropy in the Credit Crunch

Below is an interesting article in the Economist that discusses the decline in charitable giving in the US recently because of the financial crisis. Interestingly enough, I think this relates to the extreme excesses we've seen over the last twenty years due to the advent of leverage. Just as the US economy is over-retailed and over-banked, we're also over-charitied. There are so many charities that currently exist without an efficient business model focused on fundraising for the best causes with the highest returns. As Mr. Das mentioned at our event, All in for a Healthy Cause, we will certainly see a philanthropic Darwinism occur over the next several years. This will happen as asset bubbles in the US deflate and consumers begin to save more. We'll see high quality charities like AIF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation survive but smaller and less efficient organizations will shut down as consumers become more focused on where their charitable dollars go. The real question is, is this a good or bad thing in the long run. I remember while at the Kentucky Derby seeing donation solicitations for a charity for retired thoroughbreds! Really necessary? Thoughts??

http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12881455