HSEF funds Oxford scholarship and youth education for Hindu families. First, five guesses. Drag, then lock it in.
LeavingHere's what it adds up to
Nearly 8 in 10 Hindu American homes keep a shrine. But young Hindus told Oxford researchers that nobody explained what it all means, and in America 18 in 100 raised Hindu have already left. That's the gap Hinduism Explained closes.
Hinduism is vast, plural, and hard to put into words. Kids don't leave in a day. They drift, one unanswered question at a time. Keep scrolling.
In a tradition this deep, a parent who can't explain it and a school that won't is all it takes. Hinduism Explained puts an Oxford-quality answer in every family's hands, free.
See howWhat we do
Most philanthropy picks one: programs or academia. We fund both and wire them together, with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies as our primary partner.
Endowed Oxford graduate scholarships for doctoral and postdoctoral work in Hindu studies, Sanskrit and textual scholarship.
Endowed lectureships and chairs, starting at OCHS Oxford and growing to universities like Harvard, Princeton and Cambridge. Every seat comes with our terms: it teaches Hindu studies, permanently, and trains the next cohort. Money given for Hindu studies hasn't always produced Hindu studies. Ours will.
Hinduism Explained takes that scholarship to schools, temples, homes and phones, at the same level of rigour.
How fast it spreads
We meet young people, their parents and their teachers where they are. Train one teacher well and the effect multiplies through every class, school and family they touch. Tap through.
A secondary-school cycle is five to seven years. With the infrastructure in place, the pattern can change within one school cycle, not over generations.
Illustrative assumptions: 30 students a class, 5 classes a teacher, 5 trained teachers a school, 50 schools following one local curriculum, 2 parents a student.
What we're investing in · an initiative of OCHS
Free explainers bring people in. Each product makes the next one easier to say yes to, from a single question answered by an Oxford scholar to a textbook adopted by a whole school.
Six audiences. One ladder. It all leads to endowed Oxford chairs.
Who are you? Pick one to see your path.
Where we have the most detailed data so far: UK Hindu families.
Sources: INSIGHT UK, Hinduism in Religious Education in UK schools (2021), self-selected online survey of UK Hindu parents. OCHS Hindu Youth Research Project (2001), 342 young UK Hindus.
How we build it
The first rung puts Hinduism Explained's free education within reach of all 1.2 billion Hindus. Each rung after it adds depth. Tap a rung to see what it funds.
Each gift goes into the endowment. The money is invested, never spent down, and the annual return pays for the work. That's the intention behind every dollar: once a rung is funded, it keeps running without asking again.
The free learning the world leans on, from Wikipedia to Khan Academy, runs on donors, not course fees. Hinduism Explained will charge for some deeper tiers, but fees will never fund the free layer that reaches everyone. That's what philanthropy is for.
People
Academic leadership
He has led the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies since its founding in 1997, building Hindu studies at Oxford from the ground up into a centre formally recognised by the University. Along the way he forged its publishing partnerships with Oxford University Press and Routledge, built formal ties with universities across the US, Europe, India and China, and became the first Hindu chaplain in Oxford's 800-year history. Since 2007 he has also been a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4's Prayer for the Day. His relationships are the doors HSEF walks through.
One of the first doctoral students at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, he arrived at Oxford at 17 and earned his DPhil at 22. Today he holds the Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies and heads the Department of History at Utah State University. He has written or edited four books, including a Columbia University Press translation of the Bhagavata Purana, and has won four teaching awards and a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship. As a Permanent Research Fellow of OCHS, he still teaches its students. He is the scholar this fund exists to create.
Youth leadership
HSEF isn't something done to young Hindus. It's being built by them, and they're the first people to talk to about getting involved.
Talk to AnanjayLeads Hinduism Explained: taking Oxford-level Hindu scholarship and turning it into explainers, courses and classroom tools that a teenager, a parent and a teacher can all pick up and use.
A fundraiser and changemaker who isn't waiting for someone else to fix this. Ananjay is rallying young donors to fund the infrastructure their own children will inherit, and asking boldly for it.
The creative force behind The Sanga Initiative's retreats across the country: honest, open spaces where young Hindus looking for a home find one, and leave with real answers and real friends.
Give
HSEF is an endowment. Your gift is invested, and the programs run on the annual return. Pick a level to see what it does, every year, for good.
funded every year, indefinitely
Illustrative, assuming a 4% annual endowment draw. Actual returns and payout policy will vary.
Fully tax-deductible. HSEF is a US 501(c)(3) public charity under IRC 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), EIN 41-4629363, effective February 20, 2026. Corporate matching through Benevity and major employer programs accepted.
The plan is designed. The legal foundation is in place. The scholars and partners are ready. What's left is the capital.