Ujala Foundation

The Ujala Foundation is a private family foundation established by Rajiv "Raj" L. Gupta — former chairman and CEO of Rohm and Haas Company — and his wife Kamla Gupta. Its name means "light" in Hindi and Urdu, signaling the founders' Indian heritage and their dual-country philanthropic vision. Raj Gupta created the foundation following Rohm and Haas's $15.4 billion sale to Dow Chemical in 2009; it has since grown to $37.6 million in assets and now deploys roughly $2.45 million per year.

The foundation operates as a pure relationship-driven grantmaker. Its grant database record carries a preselected-only designation. There is no published application portal, no stated deadlines, no RFP cycle, and the foundation's website contains no programmatic grant information. In practice, every documented grantee traces to a direct personal, professional, or family connection: Johns Hopkins University (where Raj Gupta has sustained advisory relationships), Drexel University (his alma mater, where the Gupta Governance Institute was seeded with early funding), Pratham USA and Indiaspora (Indian-American civic causes the Guptas have championed publicly), and Legal Aid Society of DC (a family-connected organization). Smaller community grants to organizations like the Arlington Food Assistance Center and Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia reflect neighborhood and civic relationships rather than competitive selection.

For first-time applicants, the honest assessment is that there is no traditional application pathway. The foundation's entire documented portfolio — $5.6 million across 30 grants — flows through pre-existing institutional or personal relationships. Cold applications to the Foundation Source address listed in IRS filings are unlikely to succeed.

The most realistic engagement pathway is positioning within networks the Guptas already inhabit: the Indiaspora network of Indian-American leaders, JHU's School of Advanced International Studies advisory circles, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE, where Raj Gupta is a named donor), or chemical industry alumni groups from Rohm and Haas and Dow Chemical. A warm introduction from a shared board member carries far more weight than any direct outreach. Organizations working on US-India education exchange, housing in Virginia, legal services in the DC metro area, or Indian-American civic programming in Philadelphia are the strongest natural fits — provided they can establish a human connection to the Gupta family first.

The Ujala Foundation's giving is heavily concentrated and growing rapidly. Annual charitable disbursements rose from $723,000 in FY2020 to $2,453,900 in FY2024 — a 3.4x increase over five years — against a backdrop of asset growth from $20.75 million in FY2019 to $37.6 million in FY2024. The foundation's payout rate in FY2024 was approximately 6.5%, comfortably above the IRS 5% minimum.

Total documented grants across available filings reach $5,605,500 across 30 grants. The average grant in the grantee dataset is $186,850, but this figure is dramatically skewed by a single dominant relationship. Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins University India Institute together account for $4,975,000 — or 88.8% of all documented grant dollars. Remove Johns Hopkins entirely, and the remaining 26 grants average just $24,250, far closer to the foundation's reported median of $27,500.

The full grant range spans $1,000 (American Heart Association) to $750,000 (JHU India Institute in a single grant), with the foundation's own data citing: median $27,500, average $91,042, count 12. The bimodal structure is the defining pattern: two or three major institutional partners receive large, recurring six- and seven-figure grants, while a broader circle of community organizations receives $1,000–$25,000 in smaller, occasional gifts.

Geographically, Pennsylvania leads with 7 grants (Philadelphia Zoo, Pratham USA, Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia, WHYY), followed by Virginia at 6, Maryland at 4, and Texas at 4. California receives 5 grants, likely tied to Indiaspora's West Coast programming. The DC metro corridor — DC, Maryland, and Virginia combined — accounts for over 40% of all grant transactions.

By focus area, education absorbs over 90% of total grant dollars (driven by JHU). Civic and international giving (Pratham USA $200,000, Indiaspora $100,000) ranks second by dollar amount. Legal aid (Legal Aid Society of DC $120,000), housing (Albemarle Housing Improvement Project $90,000), arts and culture (Philadelphia Zoo $75,000, WHYY $5,000), and food assistance ($15,000) complete the portfolio. Healthcare is minimal, at $1,000.

The Ujala Foundation's five closest asset-size peers in the Philanthropy & Grantmaking category are all in the $37.6–37.7M range. None maintain public-facing websites in available databases, limiting detailed comparison, but the Ujala Foundation stands out on giving volume and focus specificity.

Among comparable-asset family foundations, the Ujala Foundation distinguishes itself on two dimensions. First, its giving volume is substantial: deploying $2.45M annually against $37.6M in assets represents a 6.5% payout rate, above the legal minimum and notably high for a private foundation without an institutional endowment structure. Second, its giving is unusually concentrated — one institution absorbs nearly 89% of grant dollars — which reflects the personal convictions of its founders rather than a diversified programmatic strategy. Peer foundations at this asset tier typically spread giving across 20–40 grantees annually; Ujala's portfolio mirrors a sustained partnership model more common among operating foundations than grantmaking ones.

No formal press releases, new program announcements, or grantee announcements from the US-based Ujala Foundation were identified for 2025 or 2026. The foundation maintains a minimal public footprint consistent with a private family operation: its website (ujalafoundation.com) contains no news feed, no grant history page, and no substantive programmatic content.

The most significant recent activity is financial: FY2024 charitable disbursements of $2,453,900, the highest annual giving total in the foundation's recorded history. This represents a 43% increase over FY2023's $1,711,500, and follows a sharp giving spike in FY2022 ($2,256,500) that was partly moderated in FY2023 before resuming growth in FY2024. Foundation assets reached $37.6M in FY2024, up from $33.2M in FY2022.

The Johns Hopkins Gupta-Klinsky India Institute — the foundation's most visible public legacy — continues to operate as a center at JHU's School of Advanced International Studies dedicated to US-India academic and policy exchange. Its ongoing programming represents the single most significant sustained commitment in the foundation's history.

Rajiv Gupta's broader philanthropic and civic profile remains active: he is listed as an Indiaspora network member and has been publicly associated with giving to IIT Bombay, Cornell University, and Drexel University across multiple years. No leadership changes at the Ujala Foundation have been publicly reported; Kamla Gupta remains the designated Successor Director on IRS filings, with both founders receiving zero compensation.

Because the Ujala Foundation is preselected-only with no formal application process, the following guidance focuses on the realistic engagement pathway: deliberate relationship cultivation rather than conventional proposal submission.

There is no front door — accept this first. The foundation has no RFP, no online portal, no stated deadlines, and no published guidelines. Sending an unsolicited proposal or letter of inquiry to the Foundation Source address in IRS filings will almost certainly go unanswered. Treat this as you would a major individual donor prospect, not an institutional grant opportunity.

Map the Gupta network rigorously before any outreach. Rajiv Gupta's documented affiliations include board service at Tyco International, HP, Delphi (now Aptiv), and Vanguard Group; advisory roles at Johns Hopkins and Drexel University; and membership in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE) and Indiaspora. Identify every person in your own network — board members, major donors, program partners — who intersects with any of these nodes. That person is your entry point.

Lead with the India-US angle if credibly applicable. The foundation's clearest programmatic signature is US-India education and civic exchange: the JHU Gupta-Klinsky India Institute, Pratham USA ($200,000 over three grants), and Indiaspora ($100,000 over three grants). If your work has a genuine connection to Indian-American communities, students from India, or India-based programs, foreground that connection prominently and authentically.

For smaller community grants, geography and sector matter. The foundation has made $5,000–$30,000 gifts to housing organizations in Virginia, food banks in the DC suburbs, and civic organizations in Philadelphia — all in sectors and geographies with personal Gupta family resonance. If your organization fits this profile and you have a credible mutual connection, a brief personal introduction note (one page maximum, no attachments) is appropriate.

Calibrate your ask for a first engagement. The foundation has never made a documented first-time grant above $25,000 to an organization outside its core institutional partnerships. A request in the $5,000–$15,000 range for a well-aligned first-time relationship is far more plausible than a six-figure ask. Build the relationship before scaling the request.

Do not reference cold outreach or grant databases. Any communication should read as a personal introduction, not a grant application.