This paper will examine the complex politics that resulted from a remarkable transnational philanthropic project. In the early 1850s, wealthy Parsis in Bombay began to actively assist their Zoroastrian brethren in Iran, who had suffered from centuries of oppression and socioeconomic marginalization. In Yazd, Kerman, Tehran, and elsewhere, Parsis helped to build schools and community institutions while encouraging commercial ventures. They lobbied Iranian imperial authorities to curtail the discriminatory practices and policies that had trapped the community in a cycle of impoverishment. These efforts helped Iranian Zoroastrians emerge as a relatively prosperous minority community by the early twentieth century. But Parsi activities also had distinct and lasting repercussions in the halls of power in London, Tehran, and Calcutta—and helped transform social and political dynamics within the Parsi community. There was a symbiotic relationship between charity and political power. Parsis, for their part, skillfully leveraged the might and influence of the British Empire in their activities on behalf of Iranian Zoroastrians. In Tehran, the Parsi emissary, Manekji Limji Hataria, established close relations with the British legation as he built schools and community institutions. In London, Parsi leaders such as Navrozji Fardunji and Dadabhai Naoroji relied upon British orientalists and diplomats to make direct overtures to the Iranian shah. British colonial authorities in India, meanwhile, sensed a certain usefulness in Parsi activities in Iran. They believed that Parsi endeavors could further British interests in the country and held out hope that, amongst members of the increasingly affluent and successful Iranian Zoroastrian community, Britain would have “a powerful political instrument which should be turned to good account”—especially as the British and Russian empires competed for influence in Tehran. Finally, Iranian government authorities recognized the economic clout of the Parsi community. By welcoming Parsi educational endeavors and cracking down on discriminatory practices against Iranian Zoroastrians, they believed that they could attract much-needed investment from wealthy Parsis—and perhaps even encourage Parsis to “return” to Iran. While philanthropic in nature, Parsi activities in Iran evolved into a clear struggle for power and influence. Parsis, furthermore, were not content to let their endeavors become an arm of British imperial influence. They increasingly saw themselves as concerned stakeholders in Iran’s political and economic modernization in the early twentieth century, using amelioration of the Iranian Zoroastrian community as a stepping stone towards broader influence and involvement in Iranian national affairs.