AIF Raises $400K at Orange County Inaugural Gala

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - March 20, 2014 - PRLog -- Orange County, CA – March 20, 2014: The American India Foundation’s (AIF) Orange County chapter held its inaugural Gala on Saturday March 8, 2014. More than 270 leaders of global business, arts and culture, and philanthropy attended the Gala at the historical Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA.

Orange County Chapter Chair Tinnie Grewal, and Co-Chair Shiv Grewal of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth welcomed 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 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. Also, AIF William J. Clinton Fellowship Alumnus Charles Ianuzzi delivered a meaningful speech that approached the issue of social and economic progress in India from a different angle. Charles spoke about his Fellowship experience at AIF Partner NGO Ashram Paryarvaran Vidyalaya and the benefits he saw from the program on the ground. Rohit Shukla gracefully MC’ed the evening, and multicultural dance group JazzXchange provided the entertainment.

The evening was an occasion for AIF to celebrate its success as one of the leading philanthropies focused on the Indian diaspora, 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.

Inspired by the stories shared by AIF Chair Lata Krishnan and AIF CEO Ravi Kumar, guests pledged over $180,000 to AIF’s Digital Equalizer. By the end of the night, the OC chapter had raised approximately $400,000 to support AIF’s goal of uplifting the lives of India’s most marginalized communities.

The American India Foundation is committed to catalyzing social and economic change in India and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India through high impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development. Working closely with local communities, AIF partners with NGOs to develop and test innovative solutions and with governments to create and scale sustainable impact. Founded in 2001 at the initiative of President Bill Clinton, AIF has impacted the lives of more than 1.9 million of India’s poor and aims to reach 5 million by 2018. Learn more at www.AIF.org.