Newsletter

November 2023: Unlocking Resources to Support our Communities

TAAF promotes Giving Tuesday by spotlighting AAPI nonprofits and hosting events for mental health, anti-hate advocacy, and AAPI leadership in corporate America.

Dear Friends,

We hope you have been able to gather with loved ones and family this holiday season. Earlier this month we celebrated Diwali, the festival of light over darkness and good over evil. In the spirit of celebrating the greater good that happens when we come together, TAAF wants to recognize the community organizations serving AAPI communities across the United States this Giving Tuesday. In 2021 TAAF was launched to combat the historic rise in anti-Asian hate, but to do this we needed to also address the long-standing underinvestment in AAPI communities and causes who were already doing this work.

With funding from The Walmart Foundation, TAAF launched The AAPI Nonprofit Database as an interactive tool to highlight the work of these and other AAPI organizations across the country. On Giving Tuesday, as you’re looking for a cause to support, use this database to find the AAPI organization that is right for you, from our Anti-hate partners such as Pacific Asian Counseling Services or Tahirih Justice Center, to supporting organizations in Hawaii that still need our help. Our hope is that by collectively lifting up the organizations and institutions that have been supporting our local communities for decades, we can encourage the movement of giving in our AANHPI communities and beyond.

In solidarity,

Norman Chen‍
CEO, The Asian American Foundation

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ANTI-HATE

Supporting communities to Unite Against Hate

Left to right: Swati Narayan, Houston Director of AAPI Community Safety and Belonging (Daya); Theo Williams, Supervisory Special Agent; Sharad Khandelwal, Assistant US Attorney; Jannette Diep, Executive Director of BPSOS; Maricarmen Garza, Interim Executive Director of Tahirih Justice Center Houston; Rachna Khare, Executive Director of Daya. (TAAF).

TAAF’s United Against Hate roundtables are centered on crafting community-based solutions to safeguard residents and communities from harm.

These gatherings play a pivotal role in forging essential relationships between the Department of Justice agencies and our local community-based organizations that provide direct support on the ground.

On November 2, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California (USAO), in collaboration with TAAF, organized a roundtable to explored how federal law enforcement can assist local communities address hate crimes and similar incidents in San Jose. And a few weeks ago, our Houston City Partners—BPSOS, DAYA, and the Tahirih Justice Center—convened with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the FBI to facilitate meaningful dialogue among organizations offering direct services to the AAPI community.

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ANTI-HATE & BELONGING

Creating space to talk about AANHPI mental health

Lisa Ling at Creating Space in Los Angeles with moderator Dr. Jenny Wang and guest speakers Nik Dodani; actor and comedian, and Molly Kawahata; former Obama White House climate advisor. (Jeremy Jude Lee)

On November 3rd in Los Angeles, Phillip Lim, Lisa Ling, and Melvin Mar co-hosted Creating Space, a first-of-its-kind mental health event exclusively for the AAPI community.

The event included a keynote speech by Dean Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life at USC, a panel discussion with actor and comedian Nik Dodani and former Obama White House Climate Advisor Molly Kawahata, and breakout sessions guiding therapeutic modalities. Esteemed psychologist Dr. Jenny T. Wang, PhD moderated the panel and an interactive audience Q&A that lasted an hour.

Thank you to the Creating Space team, 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Rideback Rise for your partnership in creating this transformative event. To see the full livestream, please visit the Creating Space Instagram page.

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REPRESENTATION AND RESOURCES

Building community with AAPI employee resource groups

Norman Chen, TAAF CEO; Mya Win, KKR Managing Director & Head of Financial Planning & Analysis; Mandy Hsu, President of Asians@Amazon NYC; and Joe Bae, TAAF Board member & KKR Co-CEO at TAAF’s annual AAPI ERG Reception. (Winnie Lao)

Leveraging the power of ERGs can accelerate AAPI leadership across corporate America.

On October 25, TAAF held our second annual AAPI ERG Reception convening AAPI business leaders across all industries. We brought together NYC-based ERG leaders, AAPI corporate executives, and diversity professionals to increase the dialogue on empowering the AAPI community and building a network of AAPI leaders in corporate America.

We’re grateful to TAAF Board Member and KKR Co-CEO Joseph Bae and the KKR team for hosting; our partners Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Kirkland & Ellis; and Chef Helen Nguyen of Saigon Social and Chef Monica Ng for the incredible culinary program.

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Partner Spotlight

TAAF is honored to build with incredible community partners with the support of our AAPI Giving Challenge partners.

Each month we highlight the impact of their work and support of our grantees.

Meet our partners by clicking the image below to learn more about their work.

Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC) (link)

KKR (link)

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Convenings

TAAF in Community

From left to right: TAAF board member Sheila Marcelo with guests at the New York Diwali Gala 2023 (LR Photography); Curtis Chin’s Oakland book tour event for Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant; New York Regional Director Eugena Oh, Anti Hate DIrector Andy Kang, and TAAF CEO Norman Chen at Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s AAPI Summit; TAAF at Here Lies Love with activist, author, and producer Jose Antonio Vargas; TAAF and Goldhouse ring in Diwali at NASDAQ.

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