Is generosity always a privilege of prosperity? The assumption feels intuitive: the richer a country, the more it gives. Yet the World Giving Report 2025 unsettles that belief. Across the globe, lower-income nations are donating a larger share of their earnings than wealthier ones. Generosity, it appears, is not merely an outcome of affluence—it is an expression of collective will, or social conscience—to put it in a better way.
The report further brings in an interesting insight: India stands firmly within this global map of giving, contributing 1.92 per cent of its national income. But in India, giving has never been limited to money. It was deeply embedded in a sense of duty towards community—a humane idea of giving back—especially when it concerned children and other vulnerable groups.
In many parts of India, volunteering has existed outside formal institutions and organised campaigns, long before volunteering became a part of development vocabulary.
It is visible in families informally sharing childcare responsibilities in villages and urban settlements; in neighbourhood youth groups mobilising during floods, heatwaves, or medical emergencies; in communities collectively contributing food to vulnerable households; and in villagers coming together to traditional ways of water harvesting and strengthening river embankments during cyclones.
Children at the centre of giving
Across the world, children remain one of the top priorities for donors, with 29 per cent of respondents choosing to support child-related causes. Poverty relief follows closely. This is not accidental. Investing in children is widely understood as investing in the foundations of society itself.
The 2024 CRY Study, done in collaboration with Grant Thornton and conducted among more than 5,500 respondents across 22 states and Union Territories, reflects a similar impulse within India. The motivation to volunteer often begins with children—their education, protection, and development.
The study reveals something deeper than statistics. Students view volunteering as a way to build agency and communication skills. Working professionals seek to share their expertise with young learners. Homemakers gravitate towards supporting education initiatives. Senior citizens value the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to children’s growth.
This convergence is more than significant. It suggests that volunteering in India is not just a case of episodic goodwill. It is increasingly structured around strengthening the ecosystem that shapes a child’s life.
The rise of the young volunteer
Globally, 26 per cent of people reported volunteering in 2024, with the 18 to 24 age group contributing the most. With the Economic Survey 2025-26 underscoring that the youth population of India is projected to remain above 20 per cent in the next two decades, India mirrors this trend. Young Indians are not disengaged spectators; they are active participants.
This participation is not restricted to metropolitan activism alone. Across villages, small towns, and informal settlements, young people increasingly step into community roles—organising relief during local crises, helping children continue learning, supporting elderly residents, mobilising health awareness campaigns, and using digital platforms to connect local needs with wider support networks.
They are also redefining how volunteering looks. A hybrid model is emerging—digital engagement combined with on-ground action. Online campaigns, skill-based mentoring, content creation, fundraising drives, and field participation coexist seamlessly.
And, yes, there is a clear gender angle! Encouragingly, young women are at the forefront of this shift. Their leadership signals more than participation; it points towards expanding gender equity in civic spaces.
For a country with one of the world’s largest youth populations, this trend is not merely heartening; it is transformative. It reflects a generation willing to own social causes rather than outsource them.
Trust, institutions and the role of civil society
Globally, charities are seen not merely as organisations, but as institutions of public trust—steady actors in times of both stability and crisis. Around 14 per cent of people discover charitable causes through social media, underscoring the growing role of digital platforms in shaping civic engagement.
In India, this places a renewed responsibility on the non-profits and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Trust must be nurtured continuously. Transparency, accountability, and sustained community engagement will determine whether the current momentum translates into long-term social transformation.
Volunteering cannot remain confined to one-time drives or symbolic gestures. It must evolve into structured, sustained engagement.
The global findings reiterate a powerful truth: generosity does not merely depend on how deep our pockets are. It depends on collective intention.
Working with young volunteers across India for the past four and a half decades has taught us a fundamentally profound lesson—while our demographic advantage and long-standing culture of seva hold immense potential, sustaining this culture requires conscious effort—through behaviour change communication, digital engagement, institutional support, and youth-led platforms.
If nurtured well, volunteering can become way more than charity. It can become civic participation in its truest sense—a shared responsibility to ensure that every person, not only children, has equal opportunity to participate with dignity.
Local action, global moment
In this context, the United Nations General Assembly’s proclamation of 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026) acquires particular significance. Marking 25 years since the first International Year of Volunteers and 55 years of the UN Volunteers programme, IVY 2026 is not meant to be a ceremonial celebration. Its central message,“Local, Everywhere”, underscores how community-led action shapes sustainable global progress.
The agenda is clear: move beyond appreciation towards strategic recognition of volunteering as a force for sustainable development. It calls for greater inclusion, safer and enabling environments for volunteers, better policy integration, and stronger measurement frameworks to capture the impact of nearly one billion volunteers worldwide.
For India, this global moment aligns naturally with its demographic advantage and enduring culture of giving back. The country’s youth-driven, hybrid volunteering ecosystem perfectly echoes the IVY 2026 vision: local engagement with national and global resonance.
The question, then, is not whether India participates in this global year of volunteering. It is whether India leverages it to deepen institutional trust, expand inclusive access, strengthen measurement of impact, and anchor children’s rights at the centre of civic participation.
If nurtured thoughtfully, volunteering in India can move beyond episodic charity to sustained civic partnership. In a billion-strong democracy, every local act—whether mentoring a child, helping a neighbour access healthcare, organising food support for vulnerable families, rebuilding a village pond, strengthening a river bund, or mobilising communities during emergencies—carries the potential to shape larger social outcomes.
The author of CEO of CRY – Child Rights and You, an Indian NGO present across 19 states in the country.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.