Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)
On Friday, September 25th, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, AAPIP-Metro DC brought funders together for lunch at a local business in Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia. We organized At the Table in Eden Center to hear from groups doing grassroots organizing and advocacy in Northern Virginia and to ask what it would take for philanthropy to fund that work consistently.
Our speakers were Jade Nguyen of Viet Place Collective, Jimmy Le of Hamkae Center, and Luis Aguilar of We Are CASA. Here is some of what they shared.
The funding gap is large, and the community is diverse
There is no single Asian American experience in our region. The AAPI community in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia region (DMV) comes from more than 20 countries and speaks more than 100 languages. Building and keeping relationships across that range takes sustained funding, and that is especially true for all-volunteer groups like Viet Place Collective.
Services, organizing, and advocacy depend on each other
Communities need places where people can get what they need through culturally specific services. When an organization meets someone’s material needs, it earns trust. That trust opens the door to conversations about policy and systems, and those conversations lead to organizing and civic participation.
Funders who support services and organizing together will have more impact than funders who choose just one. Luis shared, “We cannot operate in silos of services, organization and advocacy… and we cannot operate in silos of nonprofit and foundation.”
Fund the relationships between movements
Jimmy said he wishes philanthropy would look beyond outputs like the number of meetings held, and fund the infrastructure that strengthens relationships and movements over time.
Jade described how Viet Place Collective has learned from other communities, including Tinner Hill (home of an early NAACP branch), La Colaborativa, and No Arena PHL. Groups that learn from each other and stand together get stronger.
A walk through Eden Center
After the panel, Minh Pham, founder of Together We Thrive and PSK Creative, led a walking tour that covered the history of Eden Center and stopped at some of our favorite businesses. We also followed a rule we both grew up with: nobody leaves hungry, and food does not go to waste. Attendees went home with plenty of leftovers, the sign of a successful meal together.
What you can do
- Fund advocacy and organizing led by and rooted in the AANHPI community. Give directly to Viet Place Collective, Hamkae Center, and We Are CASA.
- Join the Cherry Blossom Giving Circle. Members who give $250 or more help select this year’s grantees, and it is a good way to learn about other AAPI organizations in the area. Individuals and institutions can both give.
- Stay in touch. Sign up for the AAPIP-Metro DC mailing list, follow our LinkedIn page, and find the resources from the event on our link tree.
Thank you
AAPIP’s local chapters are volunteer-led. As co-chairs, we and our steering committee members plan events in the evenings and on weekends. This event is a good example of why we keep doing it.
Thank you to Jade, Jimmy, and Luis for sharing their work and their time. Thank you to Minh Pham for leading the tour and for the logistical help. Thank you to the AAPIP-Metro DC steering committee for planning, and to AAPIP for supporting chapters in convening locally. And thank you to everyone who came and listened.
At the end of the afternoon, one of our speakers asked everyone to think about what we want to build over the next 50 years. We are still thinking about it, and we would like to work on it with you.
Stephanie Chan and Joshua Tobing
Co-Chairs, AAPIP-Metro DC Chapter