MurthyNAYAK Foundation Announce $1 Million Grant for Immigrant Programs

Maryland Chamber Vice Chair Sheela Murthy, Founder and President of Murthy Law Firm, announced a 20-year, $1 million gift to the American Immigration Council (AIC), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, and the nation’s leading advocate for fair, rational, and economically sustainable immigration policy. Murthy made the grant on behalf of the MurthyNAYAK Foundation (MNF), the family charity she established with her husband, Vasant Nayak, back in 2001, to channel their resources into projects that empower immigrants, women, and children.

Benjamin E. Johnson, the Executive Director of the American Immigration Council, announced Murthy’s $1 million gift at the AIC’s American Heritage Awards gala, which was held at the Marriott Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston earlier this month. Murthy challenged the audience to match the first tranche of her $1 million grant — $50,000 — and the audience responded, raising another $50,000 in about 10 minutes.

It could not have been a more appropriate setting: the event commemorated the achievements, talents, and contributions of outstanding immigrants from all walks of life and every corner of the world. The Murthy Law Firm was proud to be a major sponsor of this important celebration.

Ms. Murthy greeted the guests by video. She challenged the audience to match the first tranche of her $1 million grant — $50,000 — and the audience responded with startling and expeditious generosity: as they watched the totals mounting on the screen, the guests raised another $50,000 in about ten minutes.

“I am proud to support the work of AIC, because I share their commitment to an open, diverse, and welcoming America. Their work, like ours, is incredibly important to America’s future: we are working to ensure that our country will continue to be a nation of immigrants, constantly reinvigorated by the brains and energy and entrepreneurial drive of newcomers from all over the world,” Murthy said.