Dr. Akhil Shahani is the Managing Director of The Shahani Group and a prominent education entrepreneur in India. He has pledged to donate over 50% of his net worth to philanthropic causes through the LivingMyPromise initiative.

The First Generation: Charity Born from Struggle

My grandfather arrived in India from Sindh after Partition, carrying little more than resilience. Out of the chaos of displacement, he founded the Shahani Trust, dedicated to helping poor Sindhi migrants begin again.

He funded colleges, hospitals, and low-cost housing. He gave generously to Sindhi-led causes as needs arose. His giving was rooted in empathy, not strategy. “When you have something, you share it,” he would often say.

There were no dashboards, no reports. Trust itself was the currency of charity. The act of giving mattered more than measuring outcomes.

The Second Generation: Balancing Business and Charity

When my father inherited the trust, India was undergoing economic liberalisation. His primary focus shifted to building the family business, while philanthropy took a quieter role.

The trust remained active but largely in maintenance mode. Support was steady, but it lacked the same pioneering energy my grandfather had infused. For my father, charity was important, but it was one priority among many.

The Third Generation: From Intent to Impact

When I took charge, I knew the trust needed reinvention. India’s challenge was no longer about survival; it was about opportunity. Millions of young people were entering the workforce without the skills needed for good jobs.

We pivoted. Instead of scattering funds across multiple causes, we began to design and run our own projects in education and skilling. We sought out co-funders and grantmakers to expand reach, but with a new emphasis: measurable impact.

Every rupee spent had to link back to outcomes—students trained, jobs secured, salaries earned, families lifted. Philanthropy could no longer stop at intent; it had to prove impact.

A Wider Pattern Across Families

Our family’s story is hardly unique. I have seen the same arc repeated across many philanthropic families:

• First generation: charity was heartfelt, immediate, personal.
• Second generation: philanthropy was sustained, but often overshadowed by business.
• Third generation: exposure to global ideas—venture philanthropy, impact investing, blended finance—brings a sharper focus on outcomes.

Each stage is shaped by its time. None is “better” than the other; each builds on the last. But as challenges grow more complex, philanthropy must evolve to meet them.

Honouring Legacy, Leveraging the Future

I often reflect on how different my grandfather’s giving was from mine, yet how connected we are by purpose. His vision created the platform; my responsibility is to adapt it to new realities.

“Generational giving is not about erasing the past; it is about transforming legacy into leverage.”

This is the essence of impact philanthropy: honouring the spirit of generosity, while harnessing new tools to multiply outcomes.

A Call to Fellow Philanthropists

As peers in the philanthropic world, we must ask ourselves:

• Are we giving in ways that honour our family’s legacy but also adapt to today’s needs?
• Are we moving beyond charity into impact, beyond goodwill into measurable change?
• And most importantly, what kind of philanthropy will we hand over to the next generation?

My grandfather gave with heart, my father preserved with duty, and I strive to give with impact. The baton now is not just to pass on money, but to pass on a living vision that continues to adapt, inspire, and transform. The challenge before us is clear: if philanthropy is to remain relevant, it must shift from charity to impact—generation after generation.