A New Chapter

A New Chapter for the Meera and Ashok Vasudevan Foundation

For more than a decade, the MAV Foundation has been driven by a single conviction: that the circumstances of your birth should not determine the trajectory of your life. That conviction has not changed. But our understanding of what stands in the way has broadened.

The hunger we set out to fight is one expression of a much older and more persistent struggle against poor health and economic inequality. These are not separate problems. They are two faces of the same barrier, each reinforcing the other, compounding across generations.

We are proud of the work we have done alongside the remarkable individuals and organizations fighting food insecurity across the US. That work continues to matter deeply to us.

50+
Organizations Funded
20+
States Reached
10+
Years of Impact
See Our Funded Organizations

And now, we are ready to go further.

Introducing

Critical Mass Ventures

We envision a world in which the biological, societal, and economic barriers to human potential are lifted. Our mission is to expand the years of vibrant life by advancing a scientific understanding of healthspan, by eradicating the financial and digital barriers that create and sustain inequality, and by empowering individuals and communities with the knowledge, resources, and agency to shape their own life trajectories.

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Our Expanded Mission

The MAV Foundation serves as the philanthropic giving arm of Critical Mass Ventures. Together, we address the two ancient and stubborn forces constraining human progress — poor health and economic disparity.

We have a particular interest in funding novel, creative, and multidisciplinary ideas. Through philanthropic giving, we back the thinkers and builders who are willing to reimagine what's possible.

What Drives Us

Our Values

We have a particular interest in funding novel, creative, and multidisciplinary ideas by backing thinkers and builders willing to reimagine what's possible.

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Bold Vision

We fund ideas that are ambitious, scientifically rigorous and well-grounded.

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Translational Impact

We support the movement of cross-disciplinary ideas from bench to lived experience to bridge the boundaries between academia, industry, and the communities we ultimately serve.

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Equity & Access

We want to ensure that the benefits of healthspan, financial inclusion and digital access reach all populations, not just privileged ones.

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Lasting Change

We fund durable ideas and long-term initiatives that lead to the kind of steady, compounding work that creates change across generations.

What We Stand For

Three Pillars of Change

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Healthspan Research

Advancing a scientific understanding of healthspan to expand the years of vibrant life for all people, regardless of where they were born.

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Financial Inclusion

Eradicating the financial barriers that create and sustain inequality, because economic disparity and poor health are inseparable forces.

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Digital Access

Ensuring that access to technology and the tools of the digital economy are available to all, because opportunity in the modern world begins with connectivity.