The National Asian American Community Foundation (NAACF) is a Groundbreaking Initiative to Harness the Power of Collective Philanthropy in Order to Empower Our Communities
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WHERE WE ARE GOING

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MISSION

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WHAT WE CARE ABOUT

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WHO WE ARE

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ABOUT NAACF

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Asian Americans have been an integral part of building this nation and, as the fastest growing population in the United States, we will continue to make substantive contributions. However, our diverse communities face a unique set of challenges. Our communities are underserved, often given a proportionately smaller share of charitable funds. Our philanthropic efforts, both regionally and nationally, are fragmented, and as a result, we are underrepresented in important dialogues and decisions. A groundbreaking philanthropic initiative to unify Asian American donors across the nation, the National Asian American Community Foundation (NAACF) plays a strategic role in growing and leveraging our community’s resources. NAACF aims to create innovative collaborations and to make sustainable investments to empower our communities and to positively impact all of American society.

OUR VISION

An inclusive and unified community of Asian American philanthropists who empower communities across the country by harnessing the power of collective philanthropy.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the NAACF is to cultivate and inspire philanthropy that creates innovative collaborations and sustainable investments to amplify our assets, strategically respond to our needs, encourage civic participation, and strengthen Asian American communities across the country.

CORE VALUES

  • Embracing Diversity, Inclusion & Equity: We embrace the incredible strengths and diversity of Asian American communities and acknowledge the need to be inclusive of the wide range of voices within our communities.
  • A Culture of Integrity & Collaboration: We operate on a shared principle of utmost integrity and strive to build trust and collaborative bridges between individuals, leaders, and organizations to strategically expand our capacity and strengthen our communities.
  • A Commitment to Innovation: We recognize the need to stay attuned to transformations within society as we pursue our mission and we consider innovative solutions as an integral component of our work.
  • Investing in Our Future: We believe that investing in our communities will benefit the future of all Americans.

The NAACF Advisory Board

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Joanna Kong, Founding Board Member and Advisory Board Co-Chair

Director of Programs, The Sun Family Foundation

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Susan Lew, Founding Board Member and Advisory Board Co-Chair

Officer, Hsu Hwa Chao Foundation

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Nithin Jilla, Founding Board Member and Advisory Board Vice Chair

Executive Director, Dreams for Schools

Vivian-Long

Vivian Long, Founding Board Member

Executive Director, Long Family Foundation

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Jack Toan, Founding Board Member & Past Chair

Vice President, Philanthropy & Community Relations at Wells Fargo

Emeritus Board Members and Directors

  • Carol Choi, Founding Board Member Emeritus
  • Ruchi Warrier, Founder and President at Strategy & Seva
  • Johanna Kim, Founding Board Member Emeritus
  • Kenneth Kim, Founding Board Member Emeritus
  • Sylvia Kim, Founding Director Emeritus
  • Ginger Sun, Founding Board Member Emeritus
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Founding Donors

Special thanks to our founding donors who have made the NAACF possible!

The Legacy Circle

  • The Carol & Eugene Choi Family Foundation
  • Long Family Foundation
  • The Hsia Family
  • Anita Pramoda
  • Dr. Kenneth & Johanna Kim
  • Tokita Family Foundation
  • The Kong Family
  • Yang-Uk Kim
  • Susan & Canyon Lew
  • Charlie and Ling Zhang

The Gold Circle

  • Asian Pacific Community Fund
  • Arthur & Ginger Ong
  • Wells Fargo

The Silver Circle

  • Daniel Hsia
  • South Coast Plaza
  • June Lee
  • Vietnamese in Philanthropy Fund
  • Helen & Jonathan Min
  • Magi Yang
  • Linda Trinh Vo & John Kamei
  • Linda Young
  • Zion Enterprises LLC

The Bronze Circle

  • Advance Beauty College
  • Orange County Community Foundation
  • GATI Global
  • Tarsadia Family Foundation
  • Frank Quevedo
  • Vizio
  • Gloria Lee & Calista Wu
  • UCI
  • Scott Seigel
  • US Bank

The Community Circle

  • 7 Leaves Cafe
  • Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center
  • Ray Chen
  • Dr. Kenneth Chang
  • Sohrab Charna
  • Tony Chou
  • Henry Chow
  • Pat Hwang
  • The Jilla Family
  • Christine Kim
  • Ted Kim
  • Linh Kochan
  • Albert Kong
  • Micki Kwon
  • Jeene Lee Um
  • Jack Lew
  • Kai Liang
  • Bob Mah
  • Goren Matijasevic
  • Meg McComb
  • Song Richardson
  • Chiyo Rowe
  • Anne Shih
  • Hye-Won Shin
  • Susan Song
  • Josie Tong
  • Tyler Tsay
  • William Um
  • Ruchi Warrier
  • Susie Yoon
  • Burton Young
  • Teddy Zee
  • John and Michele Forsyte

Additional Founding Supporters

  • Jason Ahn
  • Amy Chen
  • Deth Im
  • Elaine Quach
  • Mark Percy
  • Yumiko Whitaker

News

October 4, 2019
October 4, 2019
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NAACF Featured in The Coast Magazine – Game Changers

COAST Magazine 2019 Game Changer Sylvia Kim believes "instead of focusing on what we don't have we should be focusing on what we should be striving to have."
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August 31, 2019
August 31, 2019
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​#GoldOpen Premiere of MS. PURPLE

This event has passed, but please check out https://us20.campaign-archive.com/?u=9a4a11c7d38cd8fc7ce8ba76d&id=e182a7b4bd to see pictures and learn more! ​CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), Gold House, NAACF (National Asian American Community Foundation), Eric Chan, David Yeom, Rich Jun and BAM Ventures cordially invite you and a guest to a special #​​GoldOpen Premiere of MS. PURPLE followed […]
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August 31, 2019
August 31, 2019
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ASPIRE Awards Gala Featured in Modern Luxury Magazine

The Inaugural ASPIRE Awards Gala was a huge success and attracted the attention of Modern Luxury magazine who featured the event in the Society & Culture section of their September 2019 publication.
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August 29, 2019
August 29, 2019
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NAACF Impact Night is October 3rd, 2019

Please save the date on October 3rd 2019 for our inaugural "NAACF Impact Night". We have big plans and are excited to share with you so please mark you calendar and check back soon for more information!
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August 29, 2019
August 29, 2019
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September 5th – End of Summer Mixer

We hope you will join us at our End-of-Summer Mixer on Thursday, September 5th at 6pm. We look forward to sharing some exciting updates with all of you including how you can get involved with NAACF's efforts to empower and strengthen our community!
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June 17, 2019
June 17, 2019
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The Inaugural Aspire Awards Gala – Photo Gallery

The Inaugural ASPIRE Awards Gala is a celebration of excellence in Asian American representation and philanthropy. The gala is being presented by the National Asian American Community Foundation – a ground-breaking national initiative to unify Asian American philanthropists and increase their collective impact.
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May 19, 2019
May 19, 2019
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The Inaugural Aspire Awards Gala

The Inaugural ASPIRE Awards Gala is a celebration of excellence in Asian American representation and philanthropy. The gala is being presented by the National Asian American Community Foundation – a ground-breaking national initiative to unify Asian American philanthropists and increase their collective impact.
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May 13, 2019
May 13, 2019
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California’s future depends on Asian American philanthropy

This May, as in years past, we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. There has been a lot to celebrate in the past year, as AAPIs have made significant headway in representation and civic engagement. Movies like Crazy Rich Asians dominated the summer box office while actors like Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and John Cho (Searching) garnered attention in leading Hollywood roles.
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May 9, 2019
May 9, 2019
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VIP Reception

Last Thursday, we were honored to host, alongside of South Coast Plaza and Asian Pacific Community Fund, a VIP Reception honoring the trailblazing founders of Yogurtland (Phillip Chang), 7 Leaves Cafe (Sonny Nguyen), Kingston Technology (David Sun) and Tarsadia Foundation (B.U. Patel) as part of the first county-wide #APAHM celebration in #OrangeCounty 🍊We are so thankful that the #OC is home to such amazing businesses and incredible leaders within our community!
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May 3, 2019
May 3, 2019
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South Coast Plaza joins Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the Asian Pacific Community Fund and the National Asian American Community Foundation, in partnership with South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, are organizing the first countywide celebration of its kind this month.
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Nithin Jilla, Founding Board Member

Executive Director, Dreams for Schools

Nithin has an interest in technology, education and enjoys working collectively with leaders to bring about positive impact. He aspires to build models and systems that are sustainable and empower the next generation of youth to become leaders in their local community. He is a passionate educator and social entrepreneur who champions educating and empowering the next generation of innovators. He serves as the Executive Director of Dreams for Schools, whose mission is to make STEM approachable and accessible for all. Empowering Students & Cultivating Curiosity by providing the right tools and experience, Dreams for Schools helps kids program the future training them to be STEM literate with hard and soft skills needed to become the critical thinkers, creative leaders and technologists of tomorrow.

In addition, Nithin is also a community leader and serves as a member on several non-profit and advisory boards which include Harbor Day School in Corona Del Mar, UC Irvine Young Alumni Council, and OC Grantmakers. Nithin obtained his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine.

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Johanna Kim, Founding Board Member

Managing Partner, Kerymen LLC

​Johanna Lee Kim started her career as a real estate attorney out of UCLA Law School and transitioned into an entrepreneur, business owner, and investor. The five companies she has started have had numerous successful exits to private equity. She is currently the founder and managing director of Kerymen, LLC, a company specializing in commercial real estate and investing in opportunistic and alternative investments in Southern California.

Her philanthropic focus has been on addressing issues of racial inequity, fostering youth, and promoting women’s issues. She has served on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim and the Orange County board of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice. She is currently serving on the Newport Beach Library Foundation Board and is a founding advisory board member of the NAACF.

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Joanna Kong, Founding Board Member

Director of Programs, The Sun Family Foundation

Joanna Kong is the Director of Programs for the Sun Family Foundation, a private nonprofit organization that supports education for disadvantaged youth and other charitable endeavors.

Prior to this role, she worked as a corporate attorney at various law firms, including Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. As a lawyer, she specialized in counseling business owners from formation through various stages of corporate growth, including exits. Joanna received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law and B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine.

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Susan Lew, Founding Board Member

Officer, Hsu Hwa Chao Foundation

Susan Lew, MS, is an Officer of the Hsu Hwa Chao Foundation, which has a 25-year history in Orange County philanthropy. She is also a public health professional, health and science writer, musician, and community activist. Her writing has appeared in Brown Medicine Magazine, the Journal of RiskResearch, and the publications of many for-profit and non-profit healthcare organizations. Susan has a BA from Brown University and a MS from Harvard School of Public Health, where she specialized in social determinants of health, behavior change, and health communication. She served on the board of Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles from 2010-2018 and has been a singer in Pacific Chorale since 2010. Susan currently serves on the board of Planned Parenthood Community Action Fund of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, and was a member of the planning committees for the Orange County Women’s March 2018 and 2019.
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Dr. Linda Vo, Founding Board Member

Dr. Linda Trinh Vo is a professor and former chair of the Dept of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego and was a UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow and UC Irvine Chancellor’s Fellow. She was an equity advisor for the UCI School of Humanities focusing on equal opportunity and equity practices in hiring, mentoring, and retention. Dr. Vo is the author of Mobilizing an Asian American Community, co-author of Vietnamese in Orange County, and co-editor of Keywords for Asian American Studies; Labor Versus Empire: Race, Gender, and Migration; Asian American Women: The “Frontiers” Reader; and Contemporary Asian American Communities: Intersections and Divergences. She also co-authored the report, Transforming Orange County: Assets and Needs of Asian Americans & Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. She was president of the national Association for Asian American Studies and series editor for the Asian American History and Culture series at Temple University Press. She is director of Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project and an ambassador for the UCI Libraries Southeast Asian Archive at UCI. She served on advisory boards for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-OC; Orange County Asian & Pacific Islander Community Alliance; Project MotiVATe; Viet Film Fest; Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association, and South Coast Repertory. She received the Public Image Award from Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA and from her campus was given the Pedagogical Innovation: Civic Engagement Teaching Award and the Community Service Award. She was also selected as “Most Influential” by the Orange County Register; 20 Women To Watch” in OC Metro Business Magazine; and “25 to Watch” in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine.
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Ginger Sun, Founding Board Member

Ginger Sun is an active community leader who currently serves on the Advisory Board of the National Asian American Community Foundation. In the past, Ginger has also served on the Advisory Board and Inaugural Gala Committee of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Orange County, the Parent Association Boards of St Mary’s School and Sage Hill School. She and her husband, Arthur Ong, are active supporters of the Wooden Floor, a dance-based, youth development not-for-profit that is transforming the lives of young people in low-income communities.

Ginger was born in Hong Kong and moved to the United States at the age of 3 but retains a strong Chinese cultural identity. She has always believed in being a liaison between newer immigrants and community institutions. In expressing why she stays so active in the community, Ginger states “It took me a long time to realize how important it is for Asian Americans to have a stronger voice in our society. I want to give back to our community and make sure future generations know they have a voice and can make a difference.

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Jack Toan, Founding Board Member

Vice President, Philanthropy & Community Relations at Wells Fargo

Jack Toan is Vice President and Community Relations Manager for Wells Fargo. He joined Wells Fargo 2002.

As part of Wells Fargo’s Corporate Responsibility team, Jack is responsible for managing over $7 MM of the company’s charitable giving and volunteerism programs in the Southern California Region including Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Imperial counties. He previously led the company’s Military Affairs program for the West Region.

Jack is a dedicated leader who is committed to responsible philanthropic and reputation management practices. Having worked in the field for the last 15 years, he has a proven background in community development and corporate philanthropy. He speaks at various forums and conferences on the topics of philanthropy, volunteerism, branding and cause marketing.

Jack believes in creating social changes through action. His commitment to the community includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Illumination Foundation, Union of Pan Asian Communities and OC Human Relations Council Community Partners among others. He is the past Chairman of the OC Grantmakers, member of Southern California Grantmakers, San Diego Grantmakers, Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals and advisory member of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-OC. He also volunteers weekly to teach martial arts to underserved children in Santa Ana.

Jack holds an MBA from the UCI Paul Merage School of Business and is a graduate of the Southern California Leadership Network. Most importantly, he is a proud father of four beautiful children!

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Vivian Long, Founding Board Member

Executive Director, Long Family Foundation

Vivian Long is the Executive Director for the Long Family Foundation (LFF), an intergenerational, private nonprofit organization that funds religious, educational, cultural, and research endeavors. Prior to her current role, she led domestic policy and advocacy efforts at the Joyful Heart Foundation, where she worked to address the national issue of untested sexual assault evidence kits and assisted in the passage of rape kit reform legislation in over 15 states. Vivian received her MPA from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and graduated with a BA in International Human Rights from New York University with honors. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for China Institute, NAACF, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles and is a past Trustee for the Pi Beta Phi Foundation.