“We Give Where We Live” is the Mission of a Special Fund

Since 2018, FISH Philanthropy, a volunteer charitable fund supported by the Central Valley Community Foundation, has raised and awarded $371,065 to local nonprofits.  To ensure fiscal responsibility, the Fund identifies beneficiaries through four pillars: local needs first, embrace diversity, collaboration with the larger community and youth inspiration. Past recipients include: Marjaree Mason Center, CASA, Poverello House, Boys & Girls Club of Fresno County and Breaking the Chains. 

Every year since 2018, a Central Valley event takes shape under the guidance of a remarkable group of women. They are doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and mothers who share a common heritage. Under their leadership, FISH (Fund by Indian Subcontinent Heritage) has become a powerful example of people coming together for a common goal: “give where we live.”

“All of us give individually,” said Sonia Shah, member of the FISH Fund’s board of directors. “We wanted to see what we could do when we all came together to give back where we live, to the community that’s given so much to us.”

Their goal was to bring Fresno’s South Asian community together, not as an exclusive group, but as a cultural family eager to contribute to the broader region. They wanted donors to know that their dollars were stewarded responsibly, transparently and locally. From the beginning, FISH’s founders understood that philanthropy must be rooted in trust. This is where the Central Valley Community Foundation’s (CVCF) stewardship of the fund has been essential.

“The FISH Fund is 100% volunteer-run, and CVCF helps us immensely,” said Annu Bezwada, current president of the Fund’s board of directors. “They are a resource for us, and they’ve helped us navigate fundraising and all that goes into it.”

“It’s like they (CVCF) helped us grow from babies to toddlers, now hopefully to teenagers,” Sonia added.

FISH evaluates every beneficiary through four pillars:

●      Local needs first

●      Embrace diversity to foster connections with people from different backgrounds

●      Collaboration is key to gather people from within a specific community to help the larger community

●      Inspire stewardship in the next generation by involving youth as volunteers

This disciplined approach has fueled extraordinary growth. Their first gala, in 2018, raised $20,000 for the Marjaree Mason Center. By 2025, they raised $120,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County. They have also supported Breaking the Chains, CASA and Poverello House, each chosen because FISH knows every dollar will be stretched into meaningful change.

A highlight of the annual FISH Gala is the live auction.  Community support for the FISH Gala has grown since the first event in 2018.  The first gala raised $20,000 for the Marjaree Mason Center.  Through the generosity shown at their most recent gala in 2025, the FISH Fund awarded $120,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Fresno County.

FISH’s annual gala has become one of Fresno’s most anticipated philanthropic events, a joyful celebration of South Asian food, music, fashion and community. The evening is intentionally inclusive, and all are welcome.

“You know, we all come from different backgrounds,” said Annu. “And those backgrounds, they shape us as to who we are and what we hope to achieve in life, personally, professionally, as a community member. I think a lot of division can happen as a result of not knowing one another or thinking that we can't understand or be like others.”

Since 2018, FISH Philanthropy has hosted an annual gala to raise funds for local charities.  The event, a celebration of South Asian culture including traditional dress, food and entertainment, is open to all.  The next Gala will take place Saturday, September 26 at the Painted Table.  Proceeds from th event will benefit the Central California Food Bank.

The FISH board of directors hopes to change that with every gala they host.

Perhaps, though, FISH’s most enduring legacy is the example it sets for young people. Board members’ children volunteer, ask questions and learn early that giving is not an obligation but a joy. “It is our obligation and duty to give back. I want my kids to live their lives with purpose,” Annu said. In this way, FISH is cultivating the next generation of philanthropic leaders, young people who see generosity as a sustaining pillar of their lives.

Today, the FISH Fund stands as a model of culturally rooted, community-driven philanthropy: transparent, joyful, local and generational. It proves that when people come together, they can build something extraordinary. As Annu reflected, “When you think you can’t, you can. And when you think it won’t make a difference, it will.”

That spirit continues in 2026. FISH invites the community to its next signature event:

FISH Gala 2026: White Out Hunger: An elegant evening in white benefiting the Central California Food Bank. It will be Saturday, September 26, at The Painted Table on Blackstone.

To learn more and purchase tickets, visit the FISH Fund website.

This story is part of the Central Valley Community Foundation’s “Sixty Stories That Shaped Us” initiative to help mark 60 years since our founding. We invite you to join us in celebrating this milestone and this special place we call home. To learn more, visit centralvalleycf.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @centralvalleycf.