An Oregon Foundation

Making an Impact in the Places We Call Home

The Renjen Foundation is a family foundation rooted in Oregon and India. We bring what we have learned — from a lifetime in business, public life, and community — to the work of giving back. It is not about writing checks. It is about investing in people and programs we believe in, staying close, and applying everything we know to help generate real, lasting impact.

We Invest. We Partner. We Deliver.
2
Geographies
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Focus Areas
Punit and Heather
Our Story

Two Lives. One Purpose.

Punit came to America on a scholarship — sight unseen, never having left India or boarded an airplane — and landed in Oregon. He found a welcoming and warm people, a land of possibility, and the chance to build a life he could not have imagined. That journey, from a small town in India to the highest levels of global business, never left him. If anything, it sharpened his understanding of how much opportunity matters, and how unevenly it is distributed.

Heather's roots run deep in Oregon soil. A descendant of pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail and settled in the Willamette Valley, she carries their spirit and the quiet responsibility that comes with belonging to a place across generations.

Both started humbly. Both have been fortunate. And now, in the closing chapters of their working lives, they find themselves wanting to give back — not as an obligation, but as a genuine expression of gratitude for everything this country, this state, and this world have given them.

That is what the Renjen Foundation is. Not a legacy project. Not an obligation. A thank you.

Our Mission

Two Communities. One Commitment.

The Renjen Foundation was established to channel a lifetime of learning — in business, public life, and community — into lasting, meaningful impact. We work at the confluence of education, opportunity, and environment, in the Oregon communities we call home and in India, where our family's roots run deep.

We invest in initiatives that combine creative thought and disciplined execution. The goal is a measurable impact and the potential for that change to outlast any single grant.

"Making an impact in the places we call home."
— Renjen Foundation
Our Work

Two Areas of Focus

We are drawn to the people and causes that rarely make headlines. Refugees and immigrants finding their footing in Oregon. An intractable problem of stubble burning and environmental degradation in Northern India, mitigated with creative solutions. Students who need more than a degree — they need a path. We don’t just write checks. We show up — with resources, yes, but also with time, experience, and a willingness to think creatively alongside the organizations we support. We don’t have a formula. We have purpose, deep roots, and a long horizon.

Renjen Career Center, Willamette University

Opportunity

We fund work that opens doors — for students who need more than a degree, for refugees and immigrants finding their footing in Oregon, for animals without homes. We start where we are.

  • •Renjen Career Center, Willamette University — career readiness embedded in liberal arts education
  • •Intercultural Cities & Towns Collaborative, Salem, Oregon — integrating refugees and immigrants into Oregon communities
  • •Pet rescue, care, and re-homing services
  • •Renjen Fellows and other education programs
CRM Program, Punjab

Environment

Stubble burning and air quality in Northern India. Environmental pressures on the Oregon coast. We bring personal leadership and philanthropic capital to both.

  • •Crop Residue Management Program, Haryana & Punjab — Launched by Punit as Global CEO of Deloitte, in partnership with governments, farmers, and industry. Now reduced stubble burning by up to 86% across hundreds of villages, cutting 1M+ tons of CO₂ and saving an estimated 10,000 lives.
    Read The Tribune article →
Opportunity

Dedicating the Renjen Career Center

Punit and Heather dedicated the Career Center at Willamette University — built on the conviction that a liberal arts education and career readiness are not in tension, but complementary. Every student deserves support in finding their path forward.

Punit Renjen speaking at the dedication Ribbon cutting at the Renjen Career Center
Environment · North India

Crop Residue Management Program

An initiative launched during Punit’s tenure as Global CEO of Deloitte — working with state governments, farmers, equipment manufacturers, NGOs, and industry — has reduced stubble burning by up to 86% across hundreds of villages in Haryana and Punjab, saving an estimated 10,000 lives. Read The Tribune article →

86%Reduction in stubble burning
~10,000Lives saved
1M+Tons CO² reduced
Punit Renjen with Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh
How We Work

We Invest. We Partner. We Deliver.

We bring what we have learned from business, public life, and failure as much as success to the work of philanthropy. We are active participants in the programs we support, not passive funders. We stay close, stay engaged, and measure success not by dollars granted but by lives changed.

Money and More

We invest our capital, but that is only the beginning. We invest our time, our knowledge, and our networks alongside every dollar we commit. We show up — not just at the signing, but throughout.

Creative Problem Solving

We bring ideas from one world and apply them to another. The thinking that drives breakthroughs in business, science, or policy can unlock solutions in education, community, and environment — if someone is willing to make the connection.

Partnership and Collaboration

We do not work alone and we do not expect our grantees to either. The most durable change happens when governments, businesses, nonprofits, and communities pull in the same direction. We look for those coalitions — and help build them when they don’t yet exist.

Impact, Measured

Good intentions are not enough. We focus on outcomes — real, measurable change in real people’s lives. We ask hard questions, track what matters, and hold ourselves to the same standard of rigour we bring from our professional lives.

Where We Work

Oregon & India

Our work is anchored in two places connected by family, values, and a shared belief in the power of civil society to drive change that governments and markets cannot achieve alone.

Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is home. From the coast at Gleneden Beach to Portland and the Willamette Valley, we invest in the communities we live alongside and in the people and causes that rarely make headlines but genuinely matter.

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India

India

India is where our family's roots run deep. We invest there with connection, humility, and a long-term commitment — in opportunity, in air quality, and in the partnerships that make change possible.