- Our Mission
We’re a group of individuals committed to building the strength of organizations serving lesbian, gay, transgender, and queer Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (LGBTQ AAPIs) at a national level by leveraging our individual philanthropy into a cooperative giving effort.
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The Problem
Funding for LGBT issues/causes totaled $202.3 million in 2015, but only 1% supported LGBT AAPI programs. One percent equals $1,153,582 dollars. Yet, as one of the fastest growing ethnic groups, we believe it is critical to support AAPI communities, especially as they have come under increasing targeting and assault in the current political climate. -
Our Approach
We do this by engaging community members and allies to contribute to the Circle. Led by LGBTQ AAPIs, the Circle then determines the most strategic use of funds to support key organizations and programs serving LGBTQ AAPIs, with an emphasis on building sustainability, expanding capacity, and developing leadership. -
Our Grantees
In March 2018, the Giving Circle awarded $18,000 in grants to five LGBTQ AAPIs organizations: -
API Equality Los Angeles (APIELA)
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API Equality Northern California (APIENC)
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National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)
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Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD)
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Korean Queer and Trans Conference (KQTcon)
We’re excited to support this cohort of grantees who are doing critical work to serve LGBTQ AAPIs at a regional and national level. The Circle was able to award these grants through a fast-track process (without requiring an extensive application), to provide unrestricted funds that each organization can determine the best use of, and to support a range of LGBTQ AAPI organizations from staffed organizations to volunteer-led organizations.