The 2025 IPA Youth Essay Competition is Now Open!

Are you passionate about changing the world for the better? This is your chance! Join the IPA Youth Essay Competition and shine a light on an issue that is important to you. This is a great opportunity to find your voice, and be a force for good in the world! Now in its 6th year, the IPA Youth Essay Competition is a great way to hone your analytical skills and put your research and writing to the test.

Here are just a few of the benefits:

  • Essay Competition winners, runners-up, and finalists will have their papers published on the India Philanthropy website and promoted on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn; showcasing your views to thousands of readers and leaders in the field of philanthropy.

  • Winners in the middle and high school categories will present their award-winning ideas at a national gathering of business leaders, philanthropists, and nonprofit executives at a high-impact Philanthropy Summit in the fall of 2025. Airfare and accommodation are provided.

  • Winners and Runners-up in both the middle school and high school categories will be able to award $1,000 (winners) and $500 (runners-up) to the charity of their choice.

  • All who participate can earn community credit for a well researched essay.

How to Participate

Each essay should answer the following question: 

Which developmental issue in India do you feel is most pressing and why? What are the challenges and impacts posed by this issue? How can we as individuals be a part of the solution? 

We encourage you to share personal stories that have impacted you and how those stories influence your thinking. Be sure to identify tangible, specific, and creative solutions to address your chosen issue.

When you are ready, submit your essay here.

The deadline to participate is July 1, 2025.

Eligibility

The essay competition is open to middle and high school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. You do not need to be Indian American to participate.

Competition categories - The competition is judged in two separate categories, middle school and high school, determined by the student’s grade level during the 2024-2025 school year. Middle school students are encouraged to respond to the prompt in 600 words or fewer. High school students are encouraged to respond to the prompt in 900 words or fewer.

Permission to feature your essays Competition winners, runners-up, and finalists will be asked to submit written permission to have their name, grade level, city and state, essay, and image shared on print, digital, and social media. We will also require signed permission from parent/s or legal guardian/s.

Past Winners, Runners-Up, and Finalists

Click here to view the essays of winners and finalists of the 2024 competition.
Click here to view the essays of winners and finalists in the 2023 competition. Click here to view the essays of winners and finalists in the 2022 competition.
Click here to view the essays of winners and finalists in the 2021 competition.
Click here to view the essays of winners and finalists in the 2020 competition.

Our heartfelt thanks

The IPA is tremendously grateful to the competition’s sponsors, Sarva Mangal Family Trust, supported by the Shah Family of Orange County and their company, MS International, Inc., and the Iowa-based Sehgal Foundation, which has been working to strengthen community-led development initiatives in rural India for the past 25 years. We also extend our thanks to Indiaspora for providing the winners a terrific platform to share their ideas.