Indian American Impact Project

The group also publishes a resume bank called the “Brown Book” which collects resumes of Indian American aspiring political staffers and promotes the hiring of such individuals by the Biden administration. Indian American Impact and the Indian American Impact Project are led by Neil Makhija, a Democratic politician and attorney who is Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. ^{1 2 3 4}

Background

The Indian American Impact Project was granted tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service in 2018. The organization’s roots are traced to the 2016 establishment of the Indian American Impact Fund, a political action committee established to elect more Indian American members of Congress. The Impact Fund was established by organizer and activist Deepak Raj and former Kansas State Representative Raj Goyle (D). The Indian American Impact Project’s website notes that in 2016 five Indian Americans were elected to the U.S. Congress including U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and then-Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA). ⁵

The Indian American Impact Project is the educational 501(c)(3) arm of Indian American Impact, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that conducts lobbying and political activity. Most of the Impact Project’s work includes operating voter registration campaigns and resources in order to bolster the advocacy of its sister organization and promoting the hiring of Indian American staffers by the Biden administration and Democratic members of Congress. ^{6 3}

Activity

In 2022, the Indian American Impact Fund launched Desisvote.org, a voter registration and social media toolkit that includes resources targeted towards politically competitive states. Resources provided by the organization include graphics to post on social media, including state-specific graphics for Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina; “culturally relevant memes;” videos; and voter registration flyers. ⁷

Desisvote.org was launched by Impact Project in collaboration with several other left-of-center advocacy groups including Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Chalo Vote, Digi Canvas, South Asians for America, South Asian American Policy and Research Institute, South Asian American Voter Empowerment Texas, Wise Up TX, Democracy Labs, North Carolina Asian Americans Together, and Desis for Progress. ⁸

Another project of the Indian American Impact Project is the Brown Book, a resume bank that was first launched in 2018 and updated in 2020 “that contained resumes of 350 talented Indian Americans and South Asians and shared the collection with the Biden-Harris administration, Capitol Hill recruiters, and advocacy organizations.” The group claims that “Many of our Brown Book participants went on to significant roles in the Biden Harris Administration.” ³

Leadership

Neil Makhija is the executive director of Indian American Impact and the Indian American Impact Project. Makhija is also a lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and an attorney who has been involved in litigation against opioid and tobacco companies. In 2021, Makhija was one of 13 activists invited to the White House to advise President Joe Biden (D) and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) on voting rights. He was previously named by City & State PA as one of the “40 under 40” most influential people in Pennsylvania politics alongside some of the state’s highest-ranking government leaders. ⁹

In 2023, Makhija was elected as Montgomery County Commissioner, running as a Democrat. ²