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Thanks for sharing your story with us Natasha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.


Born in Pakistan, and raised in a low-income family in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am a first-generation college student and a classic “do-gooder”. I started volunteering as a pre-teen because it was the right thing to do, and conveniently, volunteering (+ solid academics and extracurriculars) got me a spot at UCLA where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Urban Planning.

Then, I spent seven years in the nonprofit affordable housing industry helping low-income families in South Central Los Angeles become homeowners (and consequently, change the lives of their children and invest in their community). When I left Los Angeles, I was sure that I’d spend my life in the nonprofit sector, but the eternal hunt for funding, coupled with an industry that was slow to innovate, had me considering other options. So… I joined Google to manage events and special projects, and have been here for 13 years working on a variety of efforts intended to make humans better. Relatedly, I founded and lead the women@Google Boulder effort which helps women inside and outside of Google thrive.

Halfway through my career at Google, I finally paid off my student loans (that seemed to take forever!) and was in a position to invest in local nonprofit efforts, but couldn’t figure out how to find the causes that inspired me.

So… I created Chai for Charity, which is a nonprofit that gathers private donors at a tea-party-like event (we serve Chai!), so they can learn about charities working locally to advocate, support and empower underserved members of our community. We delivered our first Chai for Charity at six locations across North America on the same day at the same time and collectively raised over $6K for survivors of domestic violence. The energy was *electric* and we had intended to amplify the Chai efforts, but soon found out that I was pregnant with our first son (then came a 2nd and 3rd son), so we put Chai on hold for seven years. Fast-forward to August 2018, and we relaunched Chai for Charity with the tenacity and electricity that drew me to the work years before.

Today, I work part-time at Google and full-time as the Founder of Chai for Charity, which aims to inspire people to give in creative ways.

Has it been a smooth road?


Beautiful, glorious, unpredictable *life* has delayed the momentum of Chai for Charity; first, with my pregnancies and now, with balancing my parallel and demanding roles: mom, wife, daughter, friend, founder, Googler.

Advice to someone starting their journey:

*Be patient with yourself*: That’s still hard for me! In retrospect, during the 7 years that it took to restart Chai, I had been building skills, knowledge, and advocates that informed how today’s Chai model could be the best version of itself. I am so proud of what Chai does today, and it’s the delay that allowed our rich and comprehensive model to emerge.

*Ask for help*: Chai’s success relies on the kindness and generosity of strangers (soon to be family!). We have an incredible volunteer staff and board who actively engage in the growth, development, and innovation of the Chai model; without their eagerness, energy and generosity, Chai could not operate.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Chai for Charity story. Tell us more about it.


Chai for Charity’s mission is to inspire people to give in creative ways. Our three goals are to: 1) gather private donors eager to invest in their community, 2) draw awareness to local nonprofit efforts working to advocate, support and empower the underserved, and 3) expand the way we think about giving to include: money, goods, time and talent.

The last goal is what makes us unique (and proud!). We are committed to making sure that donors of varied socioeconomic backgrounds and generations feel like they can give in meaningful ways; for instance, 20-year-old me had lots of time, but no money or talent, and 40-year-old me has some money and talent, but no time. The Chai model invites donors to give in any way that honors where they are in life.

Another thing that makes us unique is that we customize each Chai to the interests of the host and guests; for instance, we work with each host to identify causes they are passionate about and then curate a list of local charities to highlight at a given Chai.

I am proud that Chai exists. I am proud that we’re creating pockets of civic engagement all over the world. I am proud that we are a vehicle that mobilizes resources to nonprofits who work tirelessly to do good in the world, and that we can collectively amplify their efforts. I am proud to be modeling generosity to my sons, and my hope is that one day they use their gifts to do good.

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?


As women, I think we have a bad habit of undervaluing the power of (what are commonly referred to as) “soft skills”; I refer to them as superpowers. Our dazzle, commitment, connection, determination, and hunger to create, innovate and amplify is what makes us well-positioned to do all the things. All. The. Things.

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