The Asian Community Fund
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The Asian Community Fund (ACF) at the Boston Foundation is the first and only philanthropic fund in Massachusetts dedicated to activating, convening, and supporting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Launched in 2020, ACF is a permanent resource designed to galvanize and unite the diverse ethnicities within the AAPI community, incubate new partnerships, and build a stronger advocacy voice.
THE HISTORY: Asian Americans have lived, worked, and raised families across the Commonwealth for more than a century and a half, and this community now represents the fastest growing—and arguably the least understood—group in our region. Aggregated data masks many disparities and community needs, including poverty and a need for improved language resources. There is a clear need for the ACF to step forward as an organizing platform to support and advance AAPI interests.
THE GOAL: The Asian Community Fund at the Boston Foundation was established to increase the visibility of the Asian American community and expand resources for nonprofits and businesses.
To learn more, please contact Danielle Kim, Executive Director of the Asian Community Fund, at danielle.kim@tbf.org.
Key Facts
- Mobilized $6 million to date in gifts and pledges for the AAPI community across Massachusetts.
- Distributed over $1 million in grants to 81 Asian-led and serving organizations throughout the region.
- Launched vital community coalitions and programs including the Asian Business Empowerment Council, the AAPI Arts and Culture Network, and the AAPI Mental Health Collaborative.
ACF Grantmaking
ACF’s next grantmaking cycle will open in Spring 2025. Read past grant announcements:
THE ASIAN COMMUNITY FUND APPROACH
Research shows that in the past 30 years, just 0.2% of philanthropic funding has gone to the AAPI community, during a time when AAPI residents have grown to 7.2% of the national population and 9.7% of the Greater Boston population. ACF’s work is focusing on three initial strategies to fill in these gaps and build much-needed community infrastructure and capabilities across the region:
Small business technical assistance and advocacy to create a vibrant community for existing providers of advice and assistance to Asian-owned businesses and to build a strong collective voice for advocacy. This entity, called the Asian Business Empowerment Council (ABEC), will work in coalition with counterpart organizations in the Black, Latinx and other underserved communities which are dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap.
Community leadership to develop Asian American nonprofit professionals through talent identification and development, mentoring, training, and networking to build and strengthen the capacity of Asian-led nonprofits to serve the AAPI community.
Community advocacy to amplify the AAPI community’s voice in addressing injustice and anti-Asian racism and to overcome historic invisibility. This will give the AAPI community a voice to speak out forcefully against anti-Asian hate and racism, and to educate the public about the AAPI community.
News from the Asian Community Fund
The Asian Community Fund 2024 Inaugural Gala
The Asian Community Fund’s Inaugural Gala was a night of celebration for AAPI leaders and supporters in Massachusetts. Thank you for joining us on October 3rd to celebrate the region's most prominent AAPI leaders and allies and help amplify AAPI visibility, representation, and narrative change.
Read more about the GalaAsian Community Fund announces $450,000 in funding to 52 AAPI-serving nonprofits
This year’s grants bring the fund’s cumulative grantmaking to more than $1M, which has been dispersed to 81 nonprofits since 2022. As the only philanthropic fund in Massachusetts dedicated to developing, strengthening and supporting AAPI community power, ACF’s grantmaking aims to expand the capacity of the local AAPI nonprofit and business sectors while responding to emerging community needs. This year’s grant recipients were selected for their work in advancing AAPI community empowerment through convening, catalyzing, and capacity building.
Read more about the grants
Setting Roots in Rocky Soil: The State of AAPI-owned Businesses in Massachusetts
Read the Asian Business Empowerment Council (ABEC) at the Asian Community Fund's multi-year study examining the complex and diverse challenges and opportunities experienced by AAPI entrepreneurs.
We Rise Together: Town Hall on Asian Resilience, Power, & Solidarity
On March 24, 2022, ACF commemorated the one-year anniversary of the murders of eight people, including six Asian women, with an event to honor the resilience, strength, and power of Asian American communities. A series of speakers, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and national leaders Ai-Jen Poo and John Yang, reflected on the progress fighting anti-Asian racism to date, celebrated the leadership and contributions of local AAPI leaders, highlighted the importance of multiethnic and multiracial coalition building, and discussed strategies to continue advancing equity and solidarity throughout our region.
Building AAPI Power: Representation, Voice and Advocacy in Local AAPI Communities
The Asian Community Fund and Boston Indicators presented this opportunity to learn about the growing Asian American population in Greater Boston, explore recent successes and shortcomings in Asian representation, and discuss the opportunities and challenges facing this diverse community, with the goal of increasing visibility for all AAPI people.
Meeting the Challenge of a Highly Diverse Community
“Asian American” suggests a degree of homogeneity that obscures the complexity of our community. Made up of many ethnic groups, Greater Boston’s Asian Americans include large populations of Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Nepalese and Pakistani Americans, all speaking different languages. This diversity extends to educational attainment and income levels.
This is a critical moment in the Asian American community nationally and locally. ACF with the Advisory committee is beginning to explore the challenges and opportunities exposed by COVID, the rise in Anti-Asian violence, and the limited public understanding of and resources devoted to the diverse needs of AAPI communities.
ACF and ABEC Research
Asian Community Fund Advisory Committee
Steering Committee
Paul W. Lee (Chair)
Retired Partner, Goodwin Proctor LLP
Director, The Boston Foundation
Stephen Chan
Senior Advisor for Partnerships
City of Boston
Helen Chin Schlichte
Co-Founder, President Emeritus,
South Cove Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility
Anu Chitrapu
Senior Vice President
Bank of America
Renee Inomata
Partner
Casner & Edwards, LLP
Raj Melville
Retired Executive Director
Deshpande Foundation
Daniel Park
General Counsel
TScan Therapeutics
Edward D. Sevilla
Consulting Director
Huron
Members
Kimberly Blakemore
Director, Environmental Sustainability
Analog Devices, Inc.
Shu (Nick) Chau
Founder and President
Tai Tung Realty, Inc
Bobby Chen
Principal
Abry Partners
Ada Chu
Head of Risk Strategy
MassMutual
Pam Y. Eddinger, Ph.D.
President
Bunker Hill Community College
Jeffrey D. Hsi, Ph.D.
Shareholder
Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
Imari Paris Jeffries, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Embrace Boston
Peter Nien-chu Kiang, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of the Asian American Studies Program
College of Education & Human Development, UMass Boston
Sarah G. Kim
Deputy Treasurer and General Counsel
Office of the Massachusetts State Treasurer & Receiver General
Elaine Ng
Executive Director
TSNE MissionWorks
Sophan Smith
Executive Director, Lowell
EforAll (Entrepreneurship for All)