India has spent the last decade building a strong development trajectory, backed by the growth of private capital and a strong muscle in service delivery. This has also had a cascading effect on a maturing social impact sector, through the two pillars: a growing pool of private capital and one of the largest organised civil societies capable of putting it to work.
Private philanthropy reached an estimated ₹1.43 lakh crores ($16 billion) in FY25. Family offices have grown sevenfold since 2018 (from 45 to more than 300) as wealth management becomes more formal and families begin to think about giving with greater intent. On the other side of the ecosystem, the country is home to more than 595,819 registered nonprofits, employing about 16 million people.
The India Philanthropy Report 2026 (“IPR 2026”) and the India Nonprofit Report 2026 (“INR 2026”), taken together, point to a sector rife with possibility. Even though ultra-high net worth givers have largely structured their philanthropy, newly institutionalised family offices by high net worth individuals and affluent givers are still looking for credible routes to social impact. Meanwhile, several established nonprofits are ready for trust-based, longer-term capital. The opportunity lies in building the infrastructure that allows the two to find one another.
Take the newly formed family office that wants to move beyond cheque-writing towards more strategic wealth stewardship. As their wealth grows, families are asking deeper questions about legacy, purpose, and responsibility. They want to understand how to narrow down causes to support, how organisations can be funded more impactfully, how progress can be measured over time, and how to involve the next generation.
Then there are the medium-sized nonprofits. These organisations are often a decade or more into their work, having moved beyond early experimentation into building community trust and generating evidence-based working models. They act as the sector’s proof layer: they build and strengthen approaches capable of being adopted by larger institutions or public systems. Crucially, however, about 66% of their funding is derived from domestic capital, i.e. private funding (23%) and CSR (43%). Not only are these nonprofits highly vulnerable to shifts in priorities, but this funding is also typically tied to defined programs and annual targets. Furthermore, 91% of the 438 nonprofits surveyed in the INR 2026 cited funding and long-term financial stability as their core challenges, with 68% reporting operating with a funding deficit in FY24-25 while only 31% broke even, and 1% had a surplus.
So, we have a sector where these family givers are looking for credible opportunities to practice meaningful philanthropy while nonprofits are looking for partners willing to back their next phase of growth. Would they not then benefit from the same solution: a long-term partnership built around evidence, trust, and shared purpose? What we need is a stronger philanthropy support ecosystem, connecting the two pillars.
By this, we mean the intermediaries able to identify strong, credible organizations beyond familiar networks; co-investment platforms and pooled funds that allow multiple families to give together to maximize impact; common due diligence systems that reduce the burden on both donors and nonprofits; advisors who understand both wealth stewardship and the realities of social change; and convenings that help funders and nonprofits build relationships before entering into partnerships.
This support system is already taking shape. Philanthropy support organisations such as Dasra and EdelGive Foundation, alongside boutique advisory firms, already combine sector knowledge with strategic execution, lead collaboratives, convene the sector, and help families shape giving strategies. We need to widen the reach of this expertise across a broader set of funders and across India’s emerging wealth centres.
Other Asian countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE offer useful reference points. These countries have invested deliberately in the systems around philanthropy: specialist advisory talent, regulatory pathways, philanthropic networks, collaborative funding mechanisms, and regular fora to bring together different stakeholders in the ecosystem. Their rise as philanthropic hubs was shaped as much by the infusion of wealth as it was by the institutions that enabled this wealth to catalyse impact at scale.
India already holds the foundational elements those markets built towards: one of the world's largest nonprofit ecosystems and rapidly expanding private wealth. What it requires now is to have these assets reinforce one another. Unlocking this next wave of philanthropy will also necessitate funders investing in the systems that make effective giving possible by treating this infrastructure as a part of the work of philanthropy itself rather than ancillary costs in making it possible.
The IPR 2026 estimates that targeted investment in enabling infrastructure could unlock an additional ₹1.25-1.35 lakh crore in philanthropic capital by FY30 – a substantial opportunity by any standard. But the broader gain would still be a social sector in which emerging philanthropists can give with greater clarity, medium-sized organisations can grow on stronger foundations, and capital can travel beyond the most visible organisations and geographies.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
