AAPIP Blog

(Theo Yang Copley works as a philanthropic and fundraising consultant.  Some of her other writing can be found on the Astraea Foundation and Resource Generation blogs.)

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It’s probably no surprise that there is a long-standing need for funding for organizations that support Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBTQ communities, but I was surprised by just how little funding these organizations get. The numbers tell the beginning of the story: in 2009 the amount of foundation funding to all LGBTQ organizations was 0.2 percent, and the amount of those resources going to LGBTQ AAPI organizations was 0.7 percent. Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) has produced a new report, Missed Opportunities: How Organized Philanthropy Can Help Meet the Needs of LGBTQ Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander Communities by Alice Y. Hom, Director of the Queer Justice Fund (QJF). It is the first of its kind to summarize key issues facing LGBTQ API communities, document the current lack of philanthropic investment, and make funding recommendations that will benefit individual lives and strengthen AAPI communities.

Missed Opportunities is a major milestone for the Queer Justice Fund, an incubation project of AAPIP that stemmed from the National Gender & Equity Campaign. The QJF report puts into practice AAPIP’s principle of “democratic philanthropy,” which “calls on both organized philanthropy and individuals to support the development of practices that begin with the vision of communities first, and that draws on the assets of those communities as the starting place for any blueprint to maximize their potential.”  In addition to being a roadmap for foundation funding, the report also serves as a useful tool for individual giving though a collective vehicle such as LGBTQ AAPI giving circles, which the Queer Justice Fund is helping develop.

Click to read more. »

Missed Opportunities provides a crisp, accessible topography of the issues and trends facing LGBTQ Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and offers pragmatic strategies.  It is an invaluable resource for any funder committed to advancing equity in the United States.

- Daniel Lee, Executive Director, Levi Strauss Foundation

Missed Opportunities: How Organized Philanthropy Can Help Meet the Needs of LGBTQ AAPI Communities, a new report from the Queer Justice Fund, finds deep disparities in funding to LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) AAPI (Asian American/Pacific Islanders), despite rapid growth of both communities. The report is being released on the eve of Creating Change 2012: The National Conference on LGBT Equality, the nation’s largest annual gathering of LGBT advocates, convened by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and will be presented as part of the conference’s institute, AAPI Focus: Building a Queer AAPI Movement.

Download: Missed Opportunities (Full Report) Download: Missed Opportunities (Executive Summary)

Missed Opportunities found that funding in 2009 to LGBTQ AAPI communities amounted to barely 0.7 percent of the total amounted granted to all LGBTQ communities and organizations that year. In 2009 funding to all LGBTQ organizations in 2009 amounted to barely 0.2 percent of all foundation giving in the United States.

Click to read more. »

By Alice Y. Hom, Director, Queer Justice Fund

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender folks typically celebrate Pride Month with marches, parades, and celebrations and one of those celebrations took place on a hot and humid day of June 29 at the White House.  As the Director of the Queer Justice Fund, I was invited to attend the LGBT Pride Month Policy Briefing and Reception.

The day kicked off in the morning with a LGBT Pride Month Policy Briefing where 100 invited LGBT community leaders heard progress reports on LGBT issues from various federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, Housing, and Housing and Urban Development.  We also had an opportunity to ask questions and to share more about the issues that our communities face.  One example of this comes from the Department of Health and Human Services which will begin collecting data on LGBT populations as well as drafting new standards for reporting and collecting data on race, ethnicity, sex, disability status, and primary language.  This piece of news gives me hope that the efforts of LGBT community organizations and allies are having some impact on federal policies.

President Barack Obama who officially proclaimed the month of June 2011 as LGBT Pride Month hosted an afternoon LGBT Pride Reception where over 200 leaders and community members listened to his remarks about the progress made so far for LGBT rights and how much more needs to be done.

“Alice Y. Hom, Doreena Wong, Ben DeGuzman”

President Obama also applauded those in attendance who are the advocates, community organizers and leaders working on the ground to lift up and address the challenges, issues, and needs of the diverse LGBT communities.  I was happy to see a couple of QJF grantee partners at the event.  Doreena Wong of API Equality Los Angeles and Ben de Guzman and Glenn Magpantay of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance attended this reception.

It was a wonderful experience to meet others from all around the United States who are engaged in LGBT activist work.  I was excited to share more about the Queer Justice Fund and how AAPIP’s mission of building democratic philanthropy includes addressing the disparity of funding to LGBTQ AAPI communities and issues.

By Alice Y. Hom, Director, Queer Justice Fund

Alice Y. Hom; Director, AAPIP Queer Justice Fund

On October 1979 in Washington DC, a number of “firsts” and historic moments happened—lesbian and gay Asian American activists formed a Gay Asian Collective at the Third World Lesbian and Gay conference that happened at the same time as the first March on Washington for Gay Rights. These historic moments organized by people who brought together their politics and the full gamut of their identities of gender, race, sexuality, and class helped build the foundation of queer people of color organizing, movement building, and coalition work. LGBT Asian American and Pacific Islander activists have played a role and were a part of these historic LGBT people of color moments.

As a newly minted historian with a Ph.D., I’ve documented and written about the activism and community building by queer people of color, specifically lesbians of color and LGBT AAPI communities and issues. Given how little is known and publicized about LGBT AAPI histories and organizing, it was amazing that nearly 32 years after the 1979 March on Washington, we witness another first: the first AAPI LGBT Pride and Heritage event, hosted at the White House by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the Office of Public Engagement. On May 23rd, 2011 instead of being on the streets of DC, LGBT Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were in the halls of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building where youth spoke about their experiences of homophobia and racism, and advocates provided policy recommendations to representatives from various federal agencies.

Hector Vargas, who serves on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, gave opening comments that focused on the need to integrate LGBT and AAPI issues and move away from the silos. He expressed how far we have come and how we have a long way still to go in raising the visibility and issues of LGBT AAPI communities and issues. This event that bought nearly 40 LGBT AAPI youth and advocates together was made possible by a collaboration between WHIAAPIs, community organizations such as the National Queer API Alliance (NQAPIA) and API Wellness Center, and with funding by AAPIP’s Queer Justice Fund. It’s partnerships like this one that brings philanthropy, government, and community organizations together that highlight the importance of collaborating and utilizing all the resources that are available to better build the capacity and strengthen diverse AAPI communities.

For additional perspectives on this historic event that focused on LGBT AAPI Youth and Advocates, see the following links:

The White House blog: Celebrating LGBT Pride
-Hector Vargas, President’s Advisory Committee on Asian and Pacific Islanders

Bilerico.com: Going to the White House for AAPI Heritage Month
-Ben de Guzman, Co-Director of NQAPIA

Heart to Heart: White House Roundtable
-Marsha Aizumi, parent and advocate

White House blog: Reflecting on the Month of May
-Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders