2017-18 Grant Recipients

Capacity Building & Civic Engagement Initiative

Capacity building and civic engagement efforts continue to be among the toughest areas to secure funding. Asian Pacific Fund decided to fund a second cycle of grants to address these needs. The capacity building efforts included leadership development, strategic planning, strengthening fundraising and building technology infrastructure. The Fund also supported civic engagement strategies designed to move grantees’ constituents one step further along the path toward increasing their civic participation.

Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) – $60,000 to hire consultants to develop a 5-year strategic plan elevating CAAMFest as the nation’s premiere AAPI cultural celebration during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and will utilize social media and feature films accompanied by panel discussions to encourage dialogue on various subjects about the AAPI community.

Chinese for Affirmative Action – $35,000 to fully evaluate and develop a strategic plan for their 10-year-old Parent Advocates Leadership Development Program which teaches new immigrant parents to advocate for their children’s education. They will teach civic engagement to Chinatown YMCA’s immigrant families by providing workshop trainings on various topics including “Know your Rights” and API civil rights history.

Chinatown YMCA – $25,000 to work with consultants to build, populate and maintain a customized computerized volunteer database, allowing for easier feedback, automated communication, background checks, and volunteer recruitment. They will collaborate with Chinese for Affirmative Action to coordinate staff trainings and immigrant family trainings on “Know Your Rights,” API civil rights history, and immigrant family emergency planning.

Chinese Newcomers Service Center – $60,000 to arrange leadership development and fundraising training classes for their new executive director and increase their current civic engagement activities for naturalization and voter engagement.

Donaldina Cameron House – $60,000 to consolidate various department databases and unify them under Salesforce and evaluate, purchase, and install a scalable Wi-Fi system in their building that will provide stable internet connection for their service programs and classes. They will hold workshops and field trips on civic engagement and leadership building for their 8-12th grade student summer programs.

Friends of Children with Special Needs – $60,000 to focus on succession planning by promoting and training six current employees for newly established mid-level management leadership positions. They will increase efforts on voter engagement, leadership skill building and teaching parents how to advocate for increased funding for the API special needs community.

Gum Moon – $40,000 to double the hours per week for their development consultant/grant writer and focus on increasing awareness in the API community on human trafficking through trainings on recognizing signs of abuse, reporting crimes and prevention.

J-Sei – $60,000 to support the expansion phase of their new building by funding efforts to increase fee-based senior programs, classes and services being offered as a result of more building space for additional revenue. Their civic engagement program will bring the LGBTQQ and Japanese communities together for dialogue, support and acceptance. They will also teach leadership and advocacy to the LGBTQQ community.

Kimochi – $45,000 to focus on the transition of their new executive director, leadership training for their board, and strategic planning to address the needs of retiring baby boomers. They will organize San Francisco API seniors and retiring baby boomers to advocate on their behalf for funding during the needs assessment and allocation implementation phase of the Dignity Fund, a San Francisco proposition passed in 2016.

Korean American Community Services – $40,000 to build their leadership development, strategic planning and implement an electronic database system for volunteers and clients. They will also work on increasing citizenship classes and voter engagement activities.

Korean Community Center of the East Bay – $40,000 to implement trainings and workshops to create an organizational culture of fundraising responsibilities among their staff, board, volunteers, and clients. They will host “Know Your Rights” trainings and outreach efforts, identifying key issues facing low-income immigrant Koreans and non-citizen Koreans, and communicating these needs to key stakeholders.

Narika – $60,000 to hire an outside consultant to work with staff to develop and implement a fundraising and marketing plan and incorporate basic civic engagement modules/topics into their Self-Empowerment and Economic Development classes.

Oakland Asian Cultural Center – $40,000 to hire a part-time development staff person along with planning and  implementing a multi-ethnic Peace Lantern Ceremony that encourages racial dialogue, cultural awareness and civic engagement.

Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay – $50,000 to focus on succession planning by promoting internally and training the staff member to become an associate director. They will expand their existing citizenship classes, voter education and voter registration efforts.

Funded in partnership with:
Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation and PG&E