NRIPress
The American India Foundation’s (AIF) Orange County chapter, which began in the summer of 2013, held its inaugural gala on Saturday, March 8, 2014. The Gala hosted more than 260 guests at the historical Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.
The night kicked off with where guests were able to tour the exhibits while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Orange County Chair, Tinnie Grewal, welcomed the guests who had come together to support the chapter’s inaugural gala. AIF CEO Ravi Kumar then highlighted AIF’s strategy of collective, strategic and secular philanthropy.
The Inaugural was coordinated by Mrs. Tinnie Grewal. The Gala was chaired by M S International, Inc. and the Tarsadia Foundation, and featured Former U.S. Ambassador to India and Former Governor of Ohio Richard F. Celeste as the keynote speaker. The evening’s last speaker, AIF William J. Clinton Fellowship Alumnus Charles Ianuzzi, approached the issue of social and economic progress in India from a different angle. Charlie spoke about his Fellowship experience at AIF Partner NGO Ashram Paryarvaran Vidyalaya and the benefits he saw from the program.
Inspired by the stories shared by AIF Chair Lata Krishnan and AIF CEO Ravi Kumar, guests pledged over $181000 approximately to AIF’s Digital Equalizer. By the end of the night, the Orange County chapter raised over $380,000 approximately.
The evening was an occasion for AIF to celebrate its success as one of the leading Indian diaspora philanthropies, and highlighted AIF’s Digital Equalizer, which utilizes technology to bridge the digital divide in India and transform under-resourced schools into dynamic places to teach and learn through collaborative, project-based learning.  Since its founding in 2001, AIF has raised and deployed over $84 million to support its programs in the areas of education, livelihoods and public health. As a result of its work, more than 1.9 million of India’s poorest and marginalized people have taken their first step up the ladder of economic opportunity.
