FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 26, 2022
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AAPI Civic Engagement Fund Awards $3.6 Million in General Operating Support to Movement Building Groups Across the Country
Grantees span 30 ethnicities in 18 states; majority are led by women
Los Angeles – The AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, one of the largest funders of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) movement building groups, announced $3.6 million in general operating grants to 39 groups focused on building power in communities across the country to advance racial justice and solidarity.
“Our country and our democracy are at an inflection point and the need to fund the AAPI civic engagement infrastructure is greater than ever,” said EunSook Lee, Executive Director of the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund. “As AAPI groups accelerate their work to build political power, we are committed to matching the need. These grants strengthen our support for groups that represent the breadth of local AAPI social justice movement groups and, together, are forging a powerful and durable national movement.”
The Fund awarded $1.5 million in UPBUILD AAPI grants to eight high impact organizations. Each grantee will receive up to $200,000, along with customized technical assistance. Through this deeper investment, the Fund aims to support groups to enhance and expand their development, operations, communications capacity, and leadership, and invest in issues advocacy to continue winning critical policy fights and mobilize AAPI voters. This additional support also redefines what is considered substantive giving for AAPI civic engagement.
Through its Anti-Racism and Intersectional Justice Fund, the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund awarded $2,145,000 in one-year, general operating grants to 39 organizations. These groups span 18 states and represent 30 ethnic groups, including Southeast Asians, South Asians, Muslim Americans and Pacific Islanders. A majority of the grantees (36) are led by women. All grantees are part of the Shared Liberation Network, a grantee-led space aimed at peer learning exchanges and advocacy campaign exploration.
Launched in 2020, this grantmaking area supports groups as they respond to real-time needs, such as the global pandemic and rise in anti-Asian violence, and work in solidarity with other organizations. Through the Shared Liberation Network, grantees build with each other to boost local and state responses and push for long-term transformative change. Groups also integrate a racial justice lens in their advocacy and organizing on issues, such as ethnic studies, voting rights, language justice, criminal justice reform, immigration reform, health equity, and economic justice.
In addition, the Fund continued its support of 31 local- and state-based AAPI groups, providing $150,000 over two years beginning in 2021 to implement year-round civic engagement work, for a total of nearly $6 million in grants for 2022.
“In election cycles and beyond, the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund is committed to increasing investments in the leaders and groups that are mobilizing AAPIs year-round to be integral in shaping America’s democracy–resourcing them now and for the long haul,” said EunSook Lee.
The list of grantee organizations can be found here: https://aapifund.org.
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About AAPI Civic Engagement Fund:
The AAPI Civic Engagement Fund fosters a culture of civic participation within AAPI communities by supporting the growth of AAPI groups as organizational movement and power building leaders that achieve specific policy, systems, and transformational change. For more information about the Fund, visit https://aapifund.org.