Several Indian Americans were named to TIME magazine’s 2026 TIME100 Philanthropy list, which recognizes influential figures shaping the future of global giving and social impact.
Among those honored were Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, Deepak Bhargava, president of Freedom Together, and Anna Verghese, executive director of The Audacious Project.
The annual list highlights philanthropists, nonprofit executives and advocates driving large-scale social change through charitable initiatives and public engagement.
Shah, an Indian American physician and economist born in Detroit, previously served as administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Obama administration.
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He became president of the Rockefeller Foundation in 2017 and was the first Indian American to lead the organization. TIME recognized Shah for overseeing philanthropic initiatives focused on global health, climate resilience, food security and economic opportunity.
“We need to work with faith-based institutions, and heads of state, government officials, with entrepreneurs, with academic scientists,” Shah says. “It’s through these kinds of broad partnerships that we are able to really make a difference.”
Shah studied at the University of Michigan and later earned medical and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
Bhargava was recognized for his work leading Freedom Together, one of the largest progressive grant making organizations in the United States.
TIME noted his efforts directing funding toward racial equity, immigrant rights, democracy-building and economic justice initiatives. Bhargava previously served as executive director of the Center for Community Change and has spent decades working in organizing and policy advocacy.
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“We are at an inflection…with severe challenges to fundamental rights, the rule of law, and basic norms,” says Bhargava about philanthropy’s role in society, especially in the U.S. “That demands an extraordinary response.”
Also included on the list was Verghese, who leads The Audacious Project, a TED-created philanthropic platform supporting large-scale nonprofit ventures.
TIME highlighted the organization’s role in helping mobilize more than $8 billion in multi-year, unrestricted funding for 70 projects around the globe. “This kind of collaborative philanthropy space is fledgling. It’s growing year by year,” Verghese says. “But to see more folks doing this kind of philanthropy together would be amazing.”
TIME introduced the TIME100 Philanthropy list in 2025 to spotlight individuals influencing charitable giving and nonprofit innovation worldwide. The 2026 edition includes philanthropists, activists, nonprofit leaders and public figures from several countries.