~NRIs/PIOs in US and UK to receive tax benefits via Impact Guru for giving towards Indian NGOs ~
Creating the world’s largest digital platform for donating towards Indian social causes
Mumbai, May 02, 2017: Impact Guru, India’s leading crowdfunding platform for NGOs, medical and personal causes has entered into a strategic partnership with US and UK based GlobalGiving, the world’s first and largest non-profit crowdfunding platform. This partnership will enable vetted Indian NGOs and social enterprises raising money on www.impactguru.com to offer tax benefits to international donors in US and UK, particularly NRIs (Non Resident Indians) / PIOs (People of Indian Origin), when they donate towards social causes using GlobalGiving’s technology on the Impact Guru platform.
India is home to the highest number of nonprofits in the world (33 lakh NGOs), and raises more than INR 8,500 crores annually from international donors. Tax incentives are often considered a crucial factor in encouraging philanthropy. By offering tax exemptions to US and UK donors, this partnership will help Indian NGOs and social enterprises to attract more philanthropy or grant capital from the Indian diaspora.
The Indian government estimates that there are more than 60 lakh NRIs / PIOs residing in the US and UK. According to a research report by The Bridgespan Group, if the charitable contributions of Indian diaspora in US were consistent with those of other American households in similar income brackets, and they directed 40% of their philanthropy to India, Rs 8000 crore additional funds could flow from such donors towards Indian social causes per year. International donors can be rest assured about the transparency and authenticity of the participating organizations as all participants will need to go through an intermediary facilitating the process of due diligence or should have been vetted in the past by one.
Social enterprises based in India are also eligible to either fundraise online or route their grants via Impact Guru. Beyond India, this partnership will also enable nonprofits and social enterprises across Southeast Asia (including Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia) to raise funds via Impact Guru.
Speaking on the partnership, Impact Guru’s co-founder and CEO, Piyush Jain said, “Having spent over a decade outside of India prior to starting Impact Guru, we can relate to the desire of Indian diaspora to give back while obtaining local tax benefits, and their concerns around transparency of Indian NGOs. Impact Guru is thrilled to be partnering with GlobalGiving to address these gaps, thereby making us the platform of choice for crowdfunding by Indians globally.”
Additionally, GlobalGiving’s Spokesperson, John Hecklinger, Chief Network Officer said: “GlobalGiving is excited to partner with Impact Guru to help Indian NGOs transact with donors in India, the US and the UK on a single giving platform. This partnership will help GlobalGiving, Impact Guru and the global social sector to understand more about how donors and NGOs interact locally and globally.”
In the past, Impact Guru has executed a successful partnership with Fundnel, a Singapore based private investment platform. This collaboration strengthened the Indian platform’s presence in Southeast Asia. Since 2016, Impact Guru and Fundnel have helped mobilize over Rs 329 crores for various projects across 15 countries.
Impact Guru was also recently chosen as the official crowdfunding partner of Project Inspire, an initiative by Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard that focused on creating a better world for women and girls in Asia Pacific. It raised approximately Rs 25 Lakhs from more than 1,100 supporters from over 30 countries in less than a month.
Impact Guru offers a complete crowdfunding solution that combines social or donation crowdfunding, rewards crowdfunding for medical or personal causes, nonprofits, and social enterprises for all their fundraising needs - be it small or large. The company was incubated at Harvard Innovation Lab’s Venture Initiation Program in USA in 2014. Impact Guru has offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and San Francisco.
GlobalGiving is the first and largest global crowdfunding community for nonprofits. A top-rated charity on Charity Navigator, GlobalGiving has helped raise more than $250 million from more than 580,000 donors for more than 16,000 projects. GlobalGiving supports local nonprofits around the world with the understanding that they are best suited to support their communities, especially during crisis relief and recovery efforts. Each organization is vetted thoroughly to ensure that donations are delivered to those who need them most.