The Aark Impact Foundation concentrates its giving on higher education scholarship and fellowship support, primarily funding endowed graduate fellowships at elite U.S. universities. Grants are often named for family members (Singh/Saharan), suggesting a legacy-driven scholarship strategy and an emphasis on supporting graduate students—likely in STEM/technical fields or merit-based programs. The foundation also directs smaller gifts through a family donor-advised fund and to charitable education partners focused on student opportunity.
Highly concentrated: a small number of large, named gifts to elite universities and recurring use of a family DAF; few grants overall with the majority of dollars going to two multi-hundred-thousand-dollar commitments.
Aark Impact Foundation’s recent grantmaking is anchored by two large endowed graduate fellowships: $250,000 to Stanford University for The Singh Graduate Fellowship Fund and $200,000 to Carnegie Mellon University for the Renu Saharan and Ajeet Singh Endowed Fellowship. Those awards point to a long-term scholarship strategy rather than one-off operating support. The foundation’s giving is concentrated in higher education, especially graduate-level fellowships and scholarships tied to the Singh and Saharan family names. The foundation also appears to support student opportunity through smaller gifts to education-focused organizations and a family charitable fund. In 2024, it gave $15,000 to Foundation for Excellence Inc., and it has also made gifts to The Singhsaharan Family Charitable Fund - Charles Schwab DAF. The recent record shows a mix of large institutional commitments and smaller related support, with individual scholars and graduate students as the clearest beneficiary group. Its tax filings also show that it funds individuals, reinforcing the scholarship-centered pattern visible in the grants data.
Graduate education is the clearest theme in the foundation’s giving. The largest recent grant was $250,000 to Stanford University for The Singh Graduate Fellowship Fund, and another major award was $200,000 to Carnegie Mellon University for the Renu Saharan and Ajeet Singh Endowed Fellowship. Both grants support graduate study through named fellowship funds. A second theme is education access beyond the flagship university gifts. In 2024, the foundation gave $15,000 to Foundation for Excellence Inc. That gift places student opportunity work alongside its university-based fellowship support. Family-linked philanthropy is also present in the recent record. The Singhsaharan Family Charitable Fund - Charles Schwab DAF received $46,864 in 2024 and $9,400 in 2023, showing an affiliated channel within the foundation’s broader giving pattern.
Aark Impact Foundation’s typical grant size sits at a $12,200 25th percentile, $15,000 median, and $30,932 75th percentile, while its recent record includes two much larger endowed-fellowship commitments. The pattern suggests a core of mid-sized gifts alongside a smaller number of major, long-term awards. The grants list shows repeated giving to The Singhsaharan Family Charitable Fund - Charles Schwab DAF in both 2024 and 2023, which points to some recurring support rather than purely one-time awards. The foundation funds individuals and also makes institutional gifts, but the data provided does not identify a public application process. Its structure appears family-linked through the Singhsaharan naming in multiple awards and DAF gifts.
$521K
$5.4M
$294K
$560K
Most grants fall between $12K and $31K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$12K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$31K
About 100% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Notable grantees: Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, The SinghSaharan Family Charitable Fund (DAF), Foundation for Excellence Inc
Aark Impact Foundation gives entirely within the United States, and its recent grants are concentrated in California. The recipient locations include Stanford, Sunnyvale, and Los Angeles in California, plus Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for Carnegie Mellon University. California accounts for 100% of grants in the state distribution provided. The strongest city-level pattern is in California: Stanford and Sunnyvale both appear in the recent grant record, with Los Angeles showing up through the family charitable fund gifts. Outside California, Pittsburgh is the only other named recipient city in the recent data.
The foundation focuses on graduate education and scholarship support. Its largest recent grants went to Stanford University for The Singh Graduate Fellowship Fund and Carnegie Mellon University for the Renu Saharan and Ajeet Singh Endowed Fellowship, and it also made a grant to Foundation for Excellence Inc. for student opportunity work.
The foundation’s typical grant size is $12,200 at the 25th percentile, $15,000 at the median, and $30,932 at the 75th percentile. Its recent record also includes larger endowed fellowship grants of $250,000 and $200,000.
Its giving is local in scope, and the recipient-state distribution shows 100% of grants going to California recipients. Recent California recipients include Stanford, Sunnyvale, and Los Angeles, while Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is the main out-of-state recipient in the recent list.
The recent record shows recurring support in at least one channel: The Singhsaharan Family Charitable Fund - Charles Schwab DAF received gifts in both 2024 and 2023. The foundation also made large named fellowship commitments in 2025, suggesting a mix of recurring and longer-term awards.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | STANFORD, CA | $250,000 | 2025 | THE SINGH GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP FUND |
| CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY | PITTSBURGH, PA | $200,000 | 2025 | RENU SAHARAN AND AJEET SINGH ENDOWED FELLOWSHIP |
| THE SINGHSAHARAN FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND - CHARLES SCHWAB DAF | LOS ANGELES, CA | $46,864 | 2024 | GIFT |
| FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE INC | SUNNYVALE, CA | $15,000 | 2024 | GIFT |
| THE SINGHSAHARAN FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND - CHARLES SCHWAB DAF | LOS ANGELES, CA | $9,400 | 2023 | GIFT |
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
$250,000THE SINGH GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP FUND
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
$200,000RENU SAHARAN AND AJEET SINGH ENDOWED FELLOWSHIP
THE SINGHSAHARAN FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND - CHARLES SCHWAB DAF
$46,864GIFT
FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE INC
$15,000GIFT
THE SINGHSAHARAN FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND - CHARLES SCHWAB DAF
$9,400GIFT