Spotlight on the Asian Pacific Community Fund
By Phill Weber
 
The Asian American and Pacific Islander communities have a long and intertwined history in the United States, with many shared experiences between them, and many differences as well. Though the points of origin of these communities are sometimes geographically distant and their histories distinct, they share many cultural similarities such as an emphasis on tradition and the family. The term “Asian American” emerged in 1968, with the establishment of the Asian American Political Alliance, a student group founded at UC Berkeley. The term “Asian Pacific” was introduced in the 1980s to include Pacific Islanders. The term gained household status with George Bush Sr’s pronouncement of May as Asian American Heritage Month in 1990.
 
The Asian Pacific Community Fund, or APCF, was founded in that same year by Asian and Pacific Islander community leaders in Los Angeles. APCF was created with the goal of increasing philanthropy among Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the LA area. APCF has been extremely effective in achieving this goal, with a recent tally of 4.3 million dollars distributed to over 150 nonprofits since its creation in 1990. The nonprofits that APCF assists span a broad spectrum, with 60% of funding going to Asian and Pacific Islander nonprofits, 15% going to Hispanic/Latino groups, and the remaining funds going to nonprofits that help African American and other communities.
 
Front and center amongst the grants that APCF offers is their annual Giving Circle Grant. This grant is intended to assist Asian and Pacific Islander communities, specifically, in Los Angeles and Orange County. The recipients of the Giving Circle Grant change from year to year, with past recipients using the grant to make progress in promoting mental health, youth leadership development, language access, bullying prevention, environmental justice, and financial literacy.
 
APCF also offers the annual Firecracker Fund. Created in collaboration with the Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker Run Committee, the Firecracker Fund is intended to help nonprofits that promote healthy lifestyles, nutrition, and fitness among Asian and Pacific Islanders in LA and Orange Counties.
 
These grants offered by the Asian Pacific Community Fund are just two examples of the sort of opportunities available to nonprofits that serve the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, in this case in the LA area. If you would like assistance applying for one of these grants, or with researching additional grants, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at:
 
Phone: (775) 237-8667
 
Email: [email protected]

​Grants for Pacific Islander Nonprofits
By Phill Weber

Pacific Islanders are a fast growing, but underserved, community in the United States. It is no surprise then that community members are creating nonprofits to gather resources and share knowledge. Searching for grants that fund Pacific Islander nonprofits is a daunting task because there are very few designated “Pacific Islander grants.” In addition, the Pacific Islander demographic is actually made up of different groups - those who are descendants of Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian heritages - and the current state of grant funding hasn’t yet addressed that reality.

In a global context, Pacific Islanders are recognized for their unique identity and shared customs and culture, especially in places where the West meets the Pacific, such as Australia and New Zealand. In the United States, however, Pacific Islanders are currently grouped into a category called “Asian American Pacific Islander” (AAPI). This is noteworthy when it comes to researching relevant grants. Another point worth noting is that because the Pacific Islander community is marginalized, one should perform a broad search as well as narrow search for nonprofit grants.

After using the search terms “grants for pacific islander nonprofits”, “AAPI grants”, and “nonprofit grants for underserved communities”, I found these 5 grants and funding: Asian Pacific Community Giving Circle; Local Community Grants; Covid-19 relief and support funds; Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grant; PIC Media Fund for Pacific Islanders. These grants vary in location and award amounts, but are beneficial for the nonprofit who makes the best case for funding.

1. Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) offers the “Asian Pacific Community Giving Circle” grant to organizations that serve underserved Asian and Pacific Islander communities in Orange County and/or Los Angeles County. The focus of this fund changes from year to year, with past recipients using the funding to make progress in promoting mental health, youth leadership development, and financial literacy. The award is $5,000.
Deadline: December 4, 2020 at 5pm.
https://www.apcf.org/2020-apc-giving-circle-grant

2. Walmart offers “Local Community Grants” that are available to local organizations in the U.S. that directly benefit the service area of the Walmart and/or Sam’s Club facility. The award ranges from $250 to $5,000.
Deadline: December 31, 2020.
https://walmart.org/how-we-give/local-community-grants

3. Pacific Power Foundation offers “COVID-19 relief and support funds” to organizations that provide critical far-reaching services to most at-risk community members in the states of
Oregon, Washington, and California. The award can be determined by applying through the
online grant management system.
Deadline: Rolling. Your application will be considered in the next grant cycle.
https://www.pacificpower.net/community/foundation/covid-19-relief-support.html

4. The Bush Foundation offers a “Community Innovation Grant,” which has been awarded to Pacific Islander nonprofits in the past, such as AAPIP (Asian American Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.) The grant’s stated goal is to “solve problems and create opportunity” for
indigenous people, people of color, and people of rural communities in Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Dakota, and Native Nations that share the same geography.
Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.
https://www.bushfoundation.org/community-innovation-grants

5. PIC (Pacific Islanders in Communications), a media arts organization based in Hawaii, offers a “Media Fund” for Pacific Islanders who are working on “single non-fiction projects” about the Pacific Islander experience. The stipulations are that the funding be used for 3 phases of the project: the research and development phase, production, and post production. The final product must be geared for public television broadcast.
Deadline: July 2, 2021
https://www.piccom.org/pages/media-fund

These 5 grants represent some of the funding opportunities currently available for enterprising Pacific Islanders. I expect the funding landscape to broaden considerably in the coming years, as Pacific Islanders become a greater political force in the US and a more evident reservoir of talent and ideas. Though there is certainly room for more funding, the opportunities are out there, for those who take the time to search for them. If you would like assistance applying for one of these grants, or with researching additional grants, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I can be reached at:

Phone: (775) 237-8667
Email: [email protected]