NEW YORK, U.S.A. August 14, 2005: Selected in 2003 by the International Fellow Centre on Philanthropy and Civil Society attached to the City University of New York to study Community Foundations and Diaspora Philanthropy, Priya Anand conducted a three-month research on the social contributions the Hindu religious diaspora is making in the U.S.A.
The article explains, “Anand’s study attempts to look at how much these religious institutions receive in terms of donations from donors and what percentage of these funds are utilized towards supporting civil society and social development initiatives in India and the United States. The research covers key temples and Hindu religious movements based in the United States. Representatives of key Hindu religious movements such as the Chinmaya Mission, the Swaminarayan Sanstha, the Sathya Sai Organization, etc. were contacted and interviews conducted through face-to-face meetings, telephone conversations and e-mails. In addition important temples based in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania were also contacted.”
Hindus mainly give money when they attend the temple as this is the focus of most religious Hindus. Therefore it is not surprising that most of the money collected from the Hindu community is from the temple Hundi (collection box).
Anand’s study focused on three main temples. The Sri Venkateswara Temple located in Penn Hills, an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh, is modeled after the famed Venkateswara temple in Tirupati. Even though Anand was told by one of the Board of Directors that the temple is essentially a religious organization devoting its energies to traditional worship and that it does not venture into any intense and aggressive fund-raising because the temple’s income is adequate to pursue the main goal of providing authentic religious services, the temple does support humanitarian causes to the tune of US$20,000 a year in both the U.S. and India. Local police and fire fighting associations and annual contributions to soup kitchens in Penn Hills receive part of this $20,000.
As with the Penn Hills temple, the New York Flushing temple does not claim philanthropy as one of its goals. However, the temple provided aid to earthquake victims in Latur and Gujarat and it raised approximately $35,000 through Hundis after 9-11. In addition yoga classes and senior citizen programs are also offered as well as health fairs where noted Indian physicians volunteer their time and expertise.
The Maryland Sri Siva Vishnu Temple has been making conscious efforts to give back to the community by playing an active role in helping local charities such as soup kitchens and shelters. Also the news release explains, “The community has volunteers work with secular groups and nonprofit organizations such as Mitra Mandala, or Circle of Friends to provide a sympathetic ear and assist them in obtaining help from service organizations that provide counseling and other social services. In particular this service is targeted at Indian women – new immigrants who find it difficult to adjust to an alien culture, are subjected to abuse and face depression. It also helps to mentor young people and assists seniors.”