U.S. Institutional Giving for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities in the District of Columbia

For every $100 awarded by funders in the District of Columbia, AANHPI communities receive 36 cents.

The District of Columbia is home to more than 45,000 Asian Americans and nearly 1,500 Native Hawaiiers and Pacific Islanders, representing 7% of the region’s population. Between 2019-2023, these communities received $157.8 million of the $43.3 billion (or 0.36%) awarded by institutional funders in the region.

Important note on geographic scope: This snapshot focuses exclusively on the District of Columbia and does not include surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia where significant AANHPI populations live. The broader DMV area is home to substantially larger AANHPI communities, meaning the full scope of regional underfunding extends beyond what this data captures.

While this rate slightly exceeds the national average (0.34%), it still represents profound structural underinvestment. In a region where AANHPI residents comprise 7% of the population, receiving 0.36% of philanthropic dollars means systemic exclusion from resources.

Key Findings

• Funding peaked in 2021 then declined sharply: AANHPI funding grew from $25.0 million (2019) to $46.1 million (2021), then dropped to $24.9 million by 2023. This 46% decline from peak suggests that increased visibility during the 2020-2021 period did not translate into sustained investment.
• DC reflects but does not transcend national patterns: At 0.36%, DC funds AANHPI communities at marginally better rates than the national average, but this modest difference means little when the baseline is severe underfunding.
• Issue areas reflect DC’s policy role—and reveal service gaps: Unlike national patterns where Human Rights leads at 29%, DC concentrates heavily in Human Rights (54%) and Public Affairs (34%). This reflects DC’s position as a policy and advocacy hub but may also indicate gaps in direct service areas. Health received just 2.36% of DC AANHPI funding compared to 14.72% nationally, and Human Services received 7.33% compared to 25.42% nationally.
• Funding remains moderately concentrated: The top 5 funders account for 35% of all AANHPI funding, with the top 20 providing 66%. This concentration creates clear advocacy targets while indicating that broader ecosystem engagement is essential.
• Infrastructure exists across 1,379 grants: Over five years, funders awarded 1,379 grants to AANHPI-serving organizations, demonstrating established pathways that simply need to be used at scale.
• The 2023 decline raises questions: The drop from $46.1 million (2021) to $24.9 million (2023) occurred during a period of continued need and visibility. Whether this represents temporary retreat or permanent retrenchment depends on whether funders recommit to sustained investment.

The Representation Gap

1 in 14 DC residents is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. Yet philanthropic investment treats these communities as marginal. Funders investing in regional priorities, education equity, civic engagement, immigrant integration, health access, often overlook how these issues affect AANHPI communities or miss opportunities to support AANHPI-led approaches to problems these communities experience directly.

Why This Data Matters

For DC-based funders: You operate in a region with substantial AANHPI populations and established AANHPI-serving organizations. The infrastructure exists for you to dramatically increase investment. The question is whether your funding strategy reflects the communities in your region.

For national funders investing in DC: If you fund policy advocacy, civic engagement, immigrant rights, or education equity in DC, you’re funding issues that affect AANHPI communities. Explicitly including AANHPI-serving organizations means funding the full scope of communities already experiencing the issues you address.

For advocates and organizers: This report provides evidence for internal advocacy and funder accountability. Use these findings to demonstrate structural gaps, make the case for proportional investment, and challenge funders to match resources to rhetoric about equity.

For AAPIP DC Chapter members: This data equips you to shift conversations within your institutions, connect funders to AANHPI-serving organizations, and build the case for sustainable increases, particularly in service delivery areas where DC lags behind national investment patterns.

If your institution doesn’t yet track grants to AANHPI communities and would like strategies for doing so, reach out to AAPIP. Improving how you collect and categorize demographic and community data is essential to closing the visibility gap.

The Opportunity

The decline from 2021 to 2023 demonstrates that visibility alone does not create sustainable investment. Funders must choose whether temporary increases become permanent shifts. For a region where total philanthropy exceeds $8 billion annually, closing the gap requires intentional redistribution of existing resources toward communities that have been structurally excluded.

Questions or want to discuss these findings? Contact us at aapip@aapip.org

Ready to increase investment in DC AANHPI communities? Email us at aapip@aapip.org to explore funding strategies, or learn about AAPIP membership.