P L made a fortune from all his creative performances, especially the writings, what with almost all his books seeing editions after editions. But he neither spent a lot on himself nor opted for an opulent lifestyle. He continued in the same simple way. And again wife Suneetabai was the guiding and tempering force. She was instrumental in setting up the P L Deshpande Foundation, which donated money to a number of social and cultural projects. The Foundation chose the projects meticulously, ensuring that the funds were put to good use.

The very first donation was for the cause of the blind _ for making available the best of Marathi books in the Braille script for their benefit.

P L has a special reverence for eminent social worker Baba Amte, whose work for the rehabilitation of leprosy patients is known the world-over. The Foundation donated Rs. 1 lakh to Amte's Anandvan. The money went into the construction of a closed-door auditorium and an open theatre for the blind students there. It was named `Muktangan.' Later, several Muktangans followed all over Maharashtra. Among them are the `Muktangan' deaddiction centre at Yerawada, Pune; Muktangan autonomous rural university centre at Sangamner in Ahmednagar district, and Muktangan centre for informal education at Bibavane in coastal Sindhudurg district.

It was through the Foundation's donation of Rs. 1 lakh that `Neehar,' a hostel for the children of prostitutes came up near Pune.

Very keen to encourage varied talent among children, the Foundation made a donation for a science laboratory at a village-school, which was started for the children of those displaced in the devastating earthquake at Koyna in western Maharashtra. And with the same objective, funds were made available to `Muktangan' recreation centre for children at a school in Pune.