Indian-Americans Asked to Invest in Education in India

Washington:  Entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam would like fellow Indian-Americans to make a strategic investment in education in India as it is the great equalizer and opportunity creator.

"Supporting educational institutions is one of our highest priorities because education is the key to opportunity and the bridge to the future," he said during the Second American Bazaar Philanthropy Dialogue and Dinner, organised by an ethnic publication here.

Dozens of prominent philanthropists, nonprofits, stakeholders and leaders from the South Asian and Indian American philanthropic community attended the dialogue to brainstorm giving.
"While education is important in America, the needs are even greater in India and that is why I am supporting initiatives in India," Islam said.

"My intent is to use education as a tool to improve the socio-economic status of the underprivileged in India. My desire is those who benefit will in turn contribute towards social, political, and economic development in India," he added.

Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, born Islam, has announced a $2 million donation to his alma mater, Aligarh Muslim University, which "shaped my history and my journey and determined my destiny," for building the Frank and Debbie Islam School of Management.
"Let us together change the face of India. One family, one village and one life at a time," he said. "Let us extend our hope, our help, and our hand so that we can together change the face of the world."

Apart from AMU, Islam has made major gifts and supported scholarships at his alma mater in the US, the University of Colorado at Boulder and his wife Debbie Driesman's alma mater in Canada, Western University among others.

Underlining the importance of strategic philanthropy, Islam said: "I invest in education and promotion of the arts because these are two of those critical areas. I refer them as pivot points -areas that can be leveraged to build a bigger and better future for all."

"Education is a pivot point because it is the great equaliser and opportunity creator," he said. "Art is also a pivot point because it educates and advances social causes. Art and culture transcend all boundaries."
Islam has also given $1 million to the US Institute of Peace, an organization devoted to nonviolent prevention and mitigation of conflict around the globe, "because it's very much engaged in curbing violent extremism."

"In addition they are engaged to make the transition to peaceful and stable democracy," he said.