The Deshpande Foundation, the family foundation of Desh & Jaishree Deshpande, is focused on innovation in social development, providing grants to non-profit and non-governmental organizations in the United States and India that empower people to participate in the global economy. It uses innovation as means of creating opportunities and solving problems, and improving the quality of life in Northern Karnataka, with a specific emphasis on the Hubli-Dharwad region. The Foundation has provided a major grant in the United States to MIT for the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation and provided grants in India to the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, the Akshaya Patra Foundation, and to a host of NGO's based in Karnataka working in education, environment and health.