Give and Indiaspora to host Philanthropy Summit Oct. 28, 2022, present Youth Essay winners  

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The two non-profit organizations, Give (giveindia.org) and Indiaspora (indiaspora.org) are holding the Indiaspora-Give Philanthropy Summit on Friday October 28, 2022 at 9:00 am ET at the Consulate General of India, New York.

This in-person event is expected “to bring together leading philanthropists, foundation CEOs, and non-profit leaders to share insights about recent shifts and opportunities in philanthropy to India, understand pressing social issues in the United States, and explore how we can collectively work towards solutions,” a press release from the organizations said.

During the gathering, winners of the Youth Essay Competition 2022, an initiative of the India Philanthropy Alliance, will present their ideas to the room full of business leaders, philanthropists, and nonprofit executives.

Winners of the competition are Riya Balaji of San Jose, CA, and Esha Gadi of Warrington, PA. Runners up are Yashi Bhowmick of Pooler, GA and Chinmayi Joshi of Basking Ridge, NJ. Finalists include Tej Shah of Chicago, IL, Rithvi Sathish of Redmond, WA, and Ramanathan Venkatesh of Brambleton, VA. Subjects covered by essay contestants included a variety of topics such as women’s rights and safety, pollution, religious intolerance, the stigma of HIV/AIDs, the availability of quality education. The Youth Essay Competition was inspired by the need to engage today’s youth to ensure the philanthropy of tomorrow, organizers said in the press release.

The India Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) is a U.S.-based coalition of 14 nonprofit, philanthropic, and charitable organizations that operate programs in India. The mission is “to inspire the Indian diaspora to be a force for good through collaboration, community engagement and by catalyzing social change.”

“Honestly, it means everything to me that I’ve won,” says Esha Gadi, winner in the high school category. “It gives me hope that people really do care about this topic [sexual assault]. It makes me realize that we can truly change as a society together, for the better.”

“I entered this competition in 2021 and I didn’t win, but that didn’t stop me,” says Riya Balaji, winner in the middle school category. “I was determined to do it again but this time with more research, facts, and concrete actions.”

Competition winners are awarded grants of $1,000 and runners-up are awarded grants of $500 to give to the charity of their choice. The competition, as well as the grants to nonprofits awarded by the students, is sponsored by Sarva Mangal Family Trust (SMFT), which has supported the competition since its inception, and by the Iowa-based Sehgal Foundation.

The Philanthropy Summit will  include panel discussions, fireside chats, and talks, with opportunities for audience questions and participation.

Speakers listed for the program include:

• Kamaljit Bawa, Founder, ATREE
• Ashwin Bharath, CEO, Revature
• Alex Counts, Director, IPA
• Sejal Desai, Executive Director, Akanksha Education Fund
• Desh Deshpande, Co-Founder, Deshpande Foundation
• Dinyar Devitre, Vice Chairman, Pratham Education Foundation
• Heather Ibrahim-Leathers, Founder, Global Fund for Widows
• Manoj Jain, MD MPH, Infectious Disease Specialist
• Angie Kamath, Dean at NYU School of Professional Studies, New York City Workforce Development Board Member
• Ravi Kumar, Workforce Development Thought Leader
• Shefali Mehta, Founder & Lead Principal, Open Rivers Consulting Associates
• Narenda Mulani, AI Advisor & Investor
• MR Rangaswami, Founder, Indiaspora
• Gouri Sadhwani, Adjunct Professor, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
• Nidhi Sahni, Partner & Head of US Advisory, Bridgespan
• Jay Sehgal, Executive Vice President, Sehgal Foundation
• Ajaita Shah, Founder & CEO, Frontier Markets
• Keyur Shah, Vice Chairman & Treasurer, Leap to Shine
• Mona Shah, Representative, Sarva Mangal Family Trust
• Jay Shetty, Executive Producer, The Barefoot Empress
• Sumit Tayal, Chief Operating Officer, Give
• Satya Tripathi, Secretary-General, Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet
• Murali Vullaganti, Founder & Executive Chairman, PeopleShores
• Sunil Wadhwani, Founder Donor, WISH Foundation
• Eric Westphal, Global Workforce Strategy & Operations, Cognizant