Dinakar Desai founded Kanara Welfare Trust (KWT) in the year 1953 with headquarters at Ankola, with the objective of spreading education to the rural children by establishing educational institutions in Uttara Kannada District. The places chosen had no such facility for higher education previously. Initially High Schools were founded and the Pre-degree and Degree colleges followed at later stages. Besides educational institutions, the Trust (KWT) took care of the weaker section of the society by establishing Social Service Institutions like Tailoring Centres. The educational institutions were established by raising contributions from the philanthropists with whom Dinakar Desai had good contact.