Pledge: We pledge to give away more than 50 per cent of our wealth to philanthropic causes while we live.

Rationale: One, because we have more than enough for our lifetimes based on our moderate spending habits coupled with no financial liabilities. Two, it is unlikely that modern medicine will prolong our life to 763 years for which we might need to keep cash in the till (after factoring for inflation). Three, our children’s education should translate into remunerative careers for them so they are likely to build their lives with intangibles provided than tangibles inherited. Four, return on capital employed will be higher in the hands of the marginalised than in our own. Five, we have run out of space for material possessions at home. Six, we poached well from the teachings, experiences and encouragement of others; we are paying forward. Seven, we are yet to figure a way to transfer cash to wherever we are dispatched after we have passed away.

"When I would hear of billionaires donating significant portions of their wealth, it always struck me as a wonderful thing to do. How fortunate that they were able to build such wealth and how much more fortunate that they are using it so wisely! However, not being a billionaire (or remotely close) this was clearly not something I could do.

LivingMyPromise made me realise that while such riches may not be in reach, there is still very much the scope to be generous. I really like the push to have a focused intent and commit to a specific goal. "

-Mukund Rajagopalan

My journey so far has been blessed with shelter, opportunity and enriching companionship; one can’t but simply thank one’s ‘stars’ given the inequity in the world around us. This inequality (really an outcome of birth in most cases) has always made me wonder as to how I can contribute to make it less so.

Growing up in a middle class family, I had the opportunity umpteen number of times to see the family express gratitude for what we had and always willing to support any who sought help or needed support. It was never seen as ‘Giving’ – it was simply the thing to do !

Having been fortunate to be accorded educational and professional opportunities, over time, I have come to realize that beyond enabling similar opportunities for my son, we have enough to provide for our current needs (and retirement) as a family and hence glad to contribute to chip away at this inequity.

In addition to education, I am mostly driven to support health, elderly care, social activism and cultural efforts. I currently give about 15% of my annual earnings and am only happy that I can commit to taking this to 50%+ over the years.

- Upendra Bhatt

Maneesh is an entrepreneur at heart, likes to build or scale ventures for both social and commercial models. Has keen interest in policy making and supporting good politics over the next decade. Has also been actively working with startups in India. He has two beautiful children.

"I feel like I am the custodian of the wealth I have created or will create in the future. I owe all the privileges to my caring parents (who are no more), taxpayers of this country who funded my IIT education, and lots of selfless people directly or indirectly that have also played a key role. While my needs are limited, I do strongly believe in having financial security but beyond that plan to use the wealth for larger good.

I do plan to give most of the surplus wealth while I am still alive, and the remaining through the will."

- Maneesh Bhandari

I have been involved in several philanthropic activities for past several years e.g., I have been a fundraiser for and also donating to "Isha Vidya" during Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM). I also ran half Marathon for seven editions of TMM. Clearly, charity is a sure way of receiving (both peace, grace and sometimes blessings). My poem in this regard should be sufficient to explain my motivation.

दौड़

पीछे छूट जाने के भय और जीत जाने की आशा

के निरंतर द्वंद को शायद दौड़ कहते हैं।

ऐसी दौड़ में मैं अकसर भागा हूँ और अब चाहता हूँ

निकलना भय और आशा के इस झूले के पार


अब मैं भागना चाहता हूँ उन कुछ बच्चों के लिए

जिनकी नियती मैं परिवर्तित कर सकूँ

इससे क्याकि मैं उनके चेहरे नहीं जानता

मैं अपने चेहरे की मुस्कान में उनके चेहरे देख लूँगा

- Neeraj Sanghi

Sunita is a serving medical professional and Deepak is a full volunteer for the last 8 years with Udayan Care a 27-year-old NGO. Prior to this, he spent 31 years in Corporate across the public sector, MNCs, and Indian Corporate. Today Deepak is a Trustee on the Board of Udayan Care. They have a son who is married and settled.

"We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to God for guiding our lives and thoughts over the years enabling us to reach where we are today. We definitely owe a lot to life by giving back to society. Here I would like to quote a phrase by Mother Teresa (my life’s inspiration) which I read in my mid-30s - "GIVE, BUT GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS”. We strongly believe that for India to become a developed nation from a developing nation, girls’ education will continue to play a key role. We are publicizing it for others to get inspired and motivated. We wish this tribe grows exponentially. We promise to give back 50% of our wealth to charitable causes after both of us leave the world."

- Sunita Sharma & Deepak Sharma

All wealth that we have or will ever have, we have it as a Trustee and not as the owner. Our duty as people with wealth is to manage the wealth as a Trustee for the ones who do not have enough or are at some disadvantage to gain wealth and we should plan to hand the wealth so that it benefits the maximum once we are not there.

In Feb’2002, I was on the roadshow for an IPO in New York. Post a busy day, four of us, including two bankers, were enjoying a casual dinner. Looking at one of the bankers' experiences and maturity – an Australian, let us call him Richard. I inquisitively asked how much saving one needs to retire and live happily ever after. Richard gave me a number in USD and explained how this is sufficient to live in any part of the world.

By 2010 at the age of 42, I reached that mark and took a sabbatical to seek what I loved to do most in my life. During the sabbatical, we pledged that the earnings beyond this mark would be kept for creating impact and executing a 'Registered WILL' for my wife and me to donate 60% of the wealth for the poor's education. And recently, in 2020, we decided to support digital education during our lifetime. In my profession as a Venture Capitalist, we can earn in multiples. Hence, I will feel privileged to donate maybe 90% of the wealth as I only need to retain the apartment that we live in for my family and a fixed deposit that can take care of our apartment's maintenance expenses.

I hope this pledge continues to guide me, my family and many others.

My life has been profusely blessed. But all these never belong to me. This is the time to give back as much as I can to others in need and to the mother earth. I feel deeply blessed to be able to participate in this act of giving. This is my way of celebrating gratitude and celebrating life with a deeper connection with myself. I pledge at least 50% of my net worth to the charitable causes.

We have been lucky to have been born in families that provided us the foundation and allowed us to build the skills to acquire the wealth. Our society has given us the freedom to explore and try out different paths and also the freedom to struggle and fulfill our potential. As Ricardo Semler says, "If you are thinking of giving away, you have already taken too much". We believe that we are product of this society and it is our responsibility is that the society continues to have the structure for as many as possible to flourish and find their ultimate purpose. We believe that fundamental values of liberty, democracy, equality opportunity and human rights are at the heart of such a society and our endeavour will be to invest whatever little wealth we may be blessed with in that direction.

Through the good fortune of being born to my parents, and exposure to incredible friends, colleagues and mentors over the course of my career of 15 years in development finance and social entrepreneurship, I have come to realise the importance of the ‘giving philosophy’; not just from a humanist imperative - to help your fellow humans with your time, money and effort wherever possible - but also for self-development. The more one gives, the more ones gets back. In love, in learning, in luck, in life. The ‘Living My Promise’ commitment is a way to provide structure and discipline to giving back, to support non-profits and enterprising individuals that are doing meaningful and measurable work to create impact in two broad areas: (1) education, skilling, employment, the most critical drivers of human development, the ability to learn and earn for oneself and one’s family; and (2) media, governance and digital technology for inclusion, to overcome the social and cultural barriers that divide. It’s also a fantastic journey of self-discovery with a community of like-minded individuals and families who are committed to using their resources and energies to make this world a better place in their lifetimes and beyond.

We firmly believe that whatever we have achieved won't have been possible without the help from the society that we live in. Hence, it's our moral obligation to give back to the society. Second and even more important reason is a firm belief in the saying - पूत सपूत तो क्यों धन संचय, पूत कपूत तो क्यों धन संचय. We interpret this saying as 'why leave an inheritance if your children are competent, why leave an inheritance if your children are incompetent'. We pray and hope that our children turn out to be good human beings and capable enough to lead their own life without need to dip into our savings. So, it makes it very easy for us to sign this pledge.