The American India Foundation’s (AIF) Bay Area Chapter hosted its 25th Anniversary Gala April 11, 2026, at Grace Cathedral, bringing together leaders across philanthropy, business, and the community.
The gala raised more than $2.6 million, organizers said in an April 16 press release, including $1.4 million raised at the record breaking Pledge Drive, to support AIF’s projects in India’s most underserved communities through interventions in public health, education, livelihoods, and leadership development.
This year’s gala honored entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist Lata Krishnan, with the Legacy of Leadership Award for co- founding AIF in 2001 in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in Bhuj, Gujarat, and for her decades of leadership as president and co-chair of the Global Board in expanding AIF’s influence and impact.
“What I’ve come to recognize over time is that giving, at its core, is a deep, pervasive spirit—one that is woven into everyday life and across every community. It isn’t driven by obligation, but by a shared sense of responsibility. That idea has stayed with me,” said Krishnan, as she accepted the award. “Through this journey with AIF, I’ve been profoundly changed. It has shaped me, it has shaped my children, and it has shaped the way we see the world and our responsibility within it. When we talk about 25 years and 21 million lives, that achievement doesn’t belong to me; it belongs to all of us.”
ADVERTISEMENT
AIF’s CEO Nishant Pandey, praised Krishnan saying what sets her apart “is a rare combination of qualities—she is a magnet who brings people together around a shared purpose, a doer who leads from the front, and a deeply generous philanthropist who gives wholeheartedly…. It is because of her leadership that AIF is stronger today than when it began.”
The program spotlighted the impact of AIF’s programs and beneficiaries such as Pushpanjali Majhi, a young woman who began her journey as a migrant child in AIF’s LAMP program and, with AIF by her side pursued a college education to ultimately become a teacher—and the first formally employed person in her family, raising it out of the cycle of poverty.
The AIF attributed its fundraising success the generosity of its sponsors and supporters, including underwriter sponsors WestBridge Capital, Sumir Chadha, Lata Krishnan, and Ajay Shah, and Aishwarya and Shashin Shah, and patron sponsors Wadhwani Foundation, Christina and Deepak Kamra, and Riaz Taplin.