Azim Premji and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala speak at HNI Giving Summit

July 28, 2011 - PRLog -- The First Givers Club, a platform to drive an active and strong giving culture among high net-worth Indians, is now ONE year old. In its first year, the club channeled around Rs. 3 Cr to 5 different causes, impacting over 5,000 lives. Launched with a summit last year, followed by a series of workshops/discussion forums, the club focused around domain areas like Health, Children, Building Trusts/ Foundations and Education.

The second annual “First Givers Summit” will once again host 100 individual HNIs who have each committed to donate a minimum of Rs. 5 lacs each p.a. and engage at least 40 hrs p.a. on their philanthropy. The Summit is the beginning of a year long engagement that will educate these individuals on philanthropy and help them decide how much to give, how to give and what to give for.

“Just like any one-year old, we are taking baby steps and are beginning to walk before we start to run. We are teeming with enthusiasm on the potential of First Givers Club. The members have an opportunity to learn from their peers and forge new relationships that can dramatically drive the philanthropy movement forward,” says GiveIndia’s CEO Mr. Dhaval Udani.

The event will be a sit-down dinner, which will bring together members with philanthropists and leading policy makers. The theme for the summit is ‘Impact’. Keynote speakers include Mr. Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro, Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Primary Investor & Visionary and CEO, Rare Enterprises and Mr. Abhijit Banerjee, Co-Founder, MIT J-PAL.

The summit would be followed by a series of five events (workshops/forums/field visits) with continued focused around specific domain areas like Education, Livelihoods, Women & Children, Health, Disability & Elderly. Each of these panels will be accompanied by a "sector research report" that will showcase the sector and opportunities for making a difference.

“As we move into our second year, we aim to engage and help the members of the club grow as a giver, to help them move to the next level of giving - whether it be in the time and reflection that they bring to their giving, in the amount that they give, or in the understanding of the role they play in changing our country through their personal philanthropy,” says Deepa Varadarajan, Projects/HNI Giving Head, GiveIndia.  

BNP Paribas India is a proud supporter of the First Givers Summit in association with CNBC-TV18 and Forbes-India.

The First Givers Club is a clear indication of the changing face of philanthropy in India. Will it make India's wealthy take on a greater responsibility in the country's social development; just as Gates and Buffett have done by calling upon America's billionaires to pledge at least half their wealth to charity? That only time will tell.

About First Givers Club: By building a community of donors committed to various social causes, the First Givers Club aims to provide an opportunity for people to engage more actively with their giving; in turn enabling them to enhance the nature of their philanthropy. Its members have a stated intent of dedicating Rs. 5 lacs or more and at least 40 hours of their time per year to any cause(s) of their choice.

About GiveIndia: GiveIndia (www.GiveIndia.org) is one of India's top fund raising intermediaries and has channeled more than Rs. 100 Cr. since its inception in 1999 impacting more than a million lives across India. GiveIndia has more than 40,000 donors and partners with more than 80 companies.

For more information about the First Givers Club, visit the website http://firstgiversclub.giveindia.org/ or write to deepa@giveindia.org

.

# # #

GiveIndia is a nonprofit organisation that helps people donate to trustworthy NGOs in India. We conduct a strict due diligence on NGOs so that you may donate without a doubt! Also, you receive a feedback report on whose life you changed and how.