Doing disability through charity and philanthropy in contemporary South India

This research explores how giving circle (GC) member identities relate to funding recipients, investigating if GCs foster giving to similar (bonding social capital) or dissimilar (bridging social capital) identity groups. Drawing on survey data from GC members and a control group, findings indicate both groups are more likely to give to shared identity groups. However, GC members show a greater propensity to give to groups not sharing their identity, suggesting GCs encourage bridging social capital, potentially democratizing philanthropy for marginalized groups.