The Foundation for Excellence (FFE) was established in 1994 by three leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs – Prabhu Goel, Kanwal Rekhi and Dr. Romesh Wadhwani under the auspices of Indians of Collective Action, a non-profit organization based in Santa Clara, California. The Foundation incorporated in its own name in California in 1997. The Foundation is unique in its approach for providing targeted scholarships to brilliant and well deserving students and particularly female students who are unable to complete their studies due to lack of financial resources. In the words of one of the trustee member, the Foundation's focus is to particularly focus on the education of the poorest that do not have a chance to go to college without financial assistance. With a network of over thousand volunteers based in the US and India, the Foundation has impacted the lives and careers of many brilliant students in India thereby enhancing the intellectual capital of the country. Since its inception in 1994 and until end of academic year 2001-02, the Foundation has provided around 8,400 scholarships to 5,800 students for an amount of US $ 1.7 million. The Foundation is exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (a) as an organization described in section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Foundation is also exempt from state franchise or income tax under section 23710d of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California. The Foundation's employment identification number is 77-0474749. FFE' s principal office is located in Santa Clara, California. An office in India is located in Mumbai city.