CONTACT INFORMATION: Dorothy He
dorothy@ncapaonline.org
[***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***]
RELEASE DATE
October 5, 2023
Washington, D.C. — Today, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) announced $340,000 in grant funding to 15 organizations for racial equity and civic education programming. These organizations are members of NCAPA and the Asian American Disinformation Table (AADT) and are doing critical work across the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. They will use this funding to support a broad spectrum of work that includes combating disinformation, fighting for racial equity in higher education, increasing civic participation in AAPI communities, advancing substance abuse support and education for AAPIs, and more.
“NCAPA is proud to support these AAPI organizations that are doing crucial work to uplift our communities. The work these organizations do has never been more important as we continue to face the reality of attacks on affirmative action, anti-Asian violence, the persistent spread of disinformation in our communities, and continued educational inequities for Southeast Asian and Pacific Islanders,” said Gregg Orton, National Director of NCAPA. “NCAPA is grateful to collaborate with such a wonderful and diverse set of partners who are deeply committed to ensuring that our communities not only heal, but thrive and lift each other up as we go. Together, we can create a brighter future for all AAPI communities.”
“With the recent rollback on affirmative action, our voices have become more crucial than ever in shedding light on the challenges faced by our communities. As a resilient community hailing from the most heavily bombed country in world history, composed of both survivors and descendants of war, the needs of Lao and Laotian Americans have endured decades of neglect, resulting in our communities being underrepresented and under-resourced,” said LANA Board Chair Vimala Phongsavanh. “This funding represents a substantial investment in ensuring that our narratives are acknowledged and honored. We look forward to continuing our steadfast commitment to advancing racial equity, including the upcoming release of a new and original report on Laotian Americans.”
“Xīn Shēng | 心声 Project is a youth-driven, volunteer-run organization fighting mis- and disinformation, encouraging intergenerational dialogue, and providing political education to the Chinese diaspora. Toward these ends, this grant will support a yearlong expansion of our teach-in series on issues related to racial equity in higher education,” said the Xīn Shēng | 心声 Project staff. “XSP’s community education programming advances our organizational mission by contributing to lifelong learning and nurturing critical thinking. We are grateful for the support of funders who share our commitment to progressive and culturally sensitive narrative change work in ethnic media.”
“We thank NCAPA and Tides for their commitment to racial equity and the education and health of our youth communities. Young folks understand the challenges and urgency in today’s sociopolitical environment,” said Marielle Reataza, Executive Director of National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse (NAPAFASA). “We must all work together to help our youth adapt the tools needed to achieve a more equitable, sustainable, and healthy future. We are grateful to NCAPA and Tides for this opportunity to contribute and for their support.”
“We are excited to be able to continue our work in combating misinformation on topics that are often not easy to discuss in our community,” said Leezel Tanglao, President of Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO). “Having this funding just helps us continue our work in an international and meaningful way.”
“The Council of Korean Americans (CKA) is pleased and grateful to receive this generous Racial Equity Grant to continue its research, education, and outreach work on data disaggregation of the AANHPI community. Although our communities share many commonalities, each individual ethnic group do have important differences that range from socio-economic conditions and political views to immigration history and cultural traditions. These unique characteristics shape community needs, challenges, and opportunities,” said Abraham Kim, Executive Director of the Council of Korean Americans. “Through this grant, CKA can examine and share the factors and trends that shape the national Korean American community and its contribution to various locales across this country. We express deep appreciation to NCAPA for this grant.”
Based in Washington, D.C., the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans is a coalition of forty-seven national Asian Pacific American organizations that represent the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities and to provide a national voice for our communities’ concerns.