OVERVIEW: The Asian American Foundation supports the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community through grantmaking as well as its own signature initiatives, partnerships, and intermediary work in the areas of anti-hate, violence prevention, education, narrative change, data and research, and economic equity.
IP TAKE: The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) is a newer organization that has transformed the AAPI funding space. Soon after its founding in 2021, IP reporter Philip Rojc wrote that TAAF is a “game changer… a potent new force in an advocacy space that institutional philanthropy has neglected for too long.” TAAF functions as both a grantmaker and a fundraiser, as well as an intermediary that uses its growing network to pool funds and build new programs and initiatives. “Some people are used to a funder model or an operating model, but we’re a bit of a hybrid of both,” TAAF’s CEO, Norman Chen, told IP in an interview. TAAF’s grantmaking portfolio is evolving, and currently includes programs for narrative change, education, anti-hate and violence prevention, data and research, and economic equity. Across all areas, grantseekers are currently advised that TAAF is “not accepting new proposal submissions. Please subscribe to our newsletter to hear about upcoming funding opportunities.”
TAAF’s website includes detailed information about many of its grantees but doesn’t include a grants database. While TAAF is not a particularly accessible funder at this time, it’s still ramping up, and is a great ally to have in the AAPI funding space. TAAF invites grantseekers and potential partners to reach out with questions through its contact page.
PROFILE: The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) was founded in Washington, D.C., in 2021 in response to rising hate and racial violence directed at the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Joe Tsai is a founding board member and its advisory council includes Daniel Dae Kim, Lisa Ling, Amanda Nguyen, Condoleezza Rice, Jeremy Lin and Fareed Zakaria. TAAF, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and many other partners, created the AAPI Giving Challenge to support AAPI communities and causes, which raised $1.1 billion in donations and in-kind contributions from more than 130 funders.
The foundation’s mission is to “serve the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in their pursuit of belonging and prosperity that is free from discrimination, slander and violence.” TAAF conducts grantmaking primarily through four issue areas: promoting safety, advancing prosperity, building belonging, and Research + Resources. Its grantmaking approach centers on creating partnerships to harness collective power in addressing systemic change. Guiding principles for this work include
- Leveraging data and research for impact;
- Using a “portfolio strategy” to garner support for high impact projects and organizations;
- “Unlocking” less conventional giving including corporate and government sources;
- “Intersectional solidarity” that works towards justice for all communities;
- Forging connections between AAPI people and organizations across sectors; and
- Building “exceptional teams that deliver impact.”
Grants for Racial Justice, Community Safety, and Violence Prevention
TAAF was created in response to the rise in anti-Asian hate and violence during the coronavirus pandemic, during which hate crimes against Asian Americans rose 339% nationally in just one year, between 2020 and 2021.
- The foundation established the Anti-Hate National Network, which is made up of national, regional and local organizations that can work together to respond to AAPI hate.
- The foundation’s promoting safety program works to support communities affected by AAPI-targeted hate and violence nationwide by helping to strengthen prevention and response, galvanizing public-private partnerships, providing resources to community organizations, centralizing data collection and increasing awareness and support.
- Grants through this initiative tend to support local groups, which include Homecrest Community Services, Korean American Family Service Center, Tahirih Justice Center, Asian Health Services, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
Grants for Economic Opportunity and Equity
TAAF’s advancing prosperity initiative focuses on increasing access to fair and equitable economic opportunities and expanding the availability of financial resources available to the AAPI community. This is done through education, developing talent pipelines for decision-makers and creatives, and combatting misconceptions about the community.
- Previous funding through this initiative has gone to the Jeremy Lin Foundation for its Stronger Together Collaborative, which supports community-based AAPI youth groups as they forge partnerships and collaborations with other communities of color.
- Other grantees include the Urban Institute and Interfaith America. Partnering with the Sundance Institute, the foundation launched a fellowship and scholarship to develop “the skills and careers of rising AAPI storytellers.”
- Other supported programs include AAPI nonprofit database and the Asian Leadership Initiative.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
Working from the position that AAPI “histories have largely been erased in schools,” the foundation works to promote “the state-level adoption of legislation or standards to ensure AAPI history is meaningfully taught in K-12 classrooms.” Its education initiative, part of its Building Belonging Program, seeks to do just this and focuses on securing a place for the teaching of AAPI history to students nationwide.
- Additionally, the initiative supports efforts to train educators and provide K-12 teachers with the tools necessary to teach an AAPI-inclusive curriculum and increase the number of courses, programs and faculty in higher education.
- Previous grantees here include UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, Make Us Visible, Asian American Voices for Education, and the Asian American Education Project.
Grants for Journalism and Arts and Culture
Accurate and diverse representation, free from stereotypes, is one of the foundation’s primary funding priorities. The foundation’s Building Belonging initiative works to increase visibility of AAPI characters and voices across all types of media, including entertainment and news media. It advocates for increased AAPI representation among the top executives of major entertainment studios and news journalists, and supports talent pipelines in education and entertainment.
- The initiative also supports “amplifying narrative-shifting stories and projects about AAPIs that promote authentic stories with an educational purpose.”
- Grantees working in these areas include Diversify Our Narrative, Asian American Futures, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, the Asian American Journalists Association and the Center for Asian American Media.
Important Grant Details:
Tax filings indicate that grants range from $10,000 to $750,000. This funder works collaboratively, partnering with other nonprofit and cultural groups in areas of interest.
- In addition to its collaborative engagements, the foundation shares data and research relevant to its mission on its website.
TAAF does not currently accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.
It does, however, provide a way for groups interested in partnering with the foundation to get in touch at partnerships@taaf.org. Sign up for newsletters at the bottom of the website.
Submit general inquiries to the foundation at info@taaf.org. The foundation’s phone number is (212) 558-1621.
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