Asian American Advocacy Fund Inc

THE ASIAN AMERICAN ADVOCACY FUNDS MISSION IS TO ADVOCATE FOR THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF ASIAN AMERICANS, PACIFIC ISLANDERS, AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS IN GA THROUGH A COMBINATION OF POLICY ADVOCACY AND BY SUPPORTING CANDIDATES WHO ADVOCATE FOR POLICIES THAT SUPPORT OUR VALUES.

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY: IN 2021, OUR FOCUS WAS ON OPPOSING ANTI-VOTING BILLS, PREPARING FOR REDISTRICTING, AND ORGANIZING FOR A MUNICIPAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN. OUR ORGANIZING EFFORTS HAVE CENTERED AROUND ENSURING ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN GEORGIA HAVE A GROWING VOICE AND POWER, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 2020/2021 ELECTION CYCLE. OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS LED THE CHARGE IN VOTER OUTREACH, WRITING OP-EDS SPECIFIC TO SB 202, ACTIVATING DIGITAL ACTIONS, DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ABOUT THE DAMAGES OF SB 202, AND MOBILIZING COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO APPLY PRESSURE ON THEIR REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING SB 202.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: IN 2021, WE DEVELOPED A NEW MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM COMPRISED OF APPROXIMATELY 30 MEMBERS AND BEGAN FURTHERING OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING EFFORTS THROUGH OUR NEW PROGRAM. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND BEFORE LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM IN LATE 2021, WE FOCUSED ON RESEARCHING AND IDENTIFYING NEEDS FOR MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS.

POLITICAL EDUCATION: ONE OF OUR KEY FINDINGS THIS YEAR INVOLVED THE EDUCATION OF OUR ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ABOUT WHAT WAS MOST AT STAKE AFTER THE PASSAGE OF SB 202. AS WE ASSESSED OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PROGRAMS, WE LEARNED THAT OUR COMMUNITIES WERE AT VERY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF POLITICAL EDUCATION. AFTER IDENTIFYING GAPS IN POLITICAL EDUCATION ALONG LINES OF DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS, WE FOUND IT NECESSARY TO INCREASE OUR POLITICAL EDUCATION EFFORTS, INCLUDING EXPLAINING BOTH THE BASIC ELECTORAL PROCESS AND WHY SOME OF OUR ISSUES ARE IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITIES. TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE DEVELOPED A SERIES OF OP-ED PUBLICATIONS TO BREAK DOWN POLICY ISSUES AND EXPLAIN WHY PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL/STATE-LEVEL POLITICS WAS SOMETIMES EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN PARTICIPATION AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. WE ALSO INVESTED MORE TIME IN ENSURING OUR ORGANIZERS WERE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND BE ACCESSIBLE TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY: IN 2021, OUR FOCUS WAS ON OPPOSING ANTI-VOTING BILLS, PREPARING FOR REDISTRICTING, AND ORGANIZING FOR A MUNICIPAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN. OUR ORGANIZING EFFORTS HAVE CENTERED AROUND ENSURING ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN GEORGIA HAVE A GROWING VOICE AND POWER, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 2020/2021 ELECTION CYCLE. OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS LED THE CHARGE IN VOTER OUTREACH, WRITING OP-EDS SPECIFIC TO SB 202, ACTIVATING DIGITAL ACTIONS, DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ABOUT THE DAMAGES OF SB 202, AND MOBILIZING COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO APPLY PRESSURE ON THEIR REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING SB 202.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: IN 2021, WE DEVELOPED A NEW MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM COMPRISED OF APPROXIMATELY 30 MEMBERS AND BEGAN FURTHERING OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING EFFORTS THROUGH OUR NEW PROGRAM. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND BEFORE LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM IN LATE 2021, WE FOCUSED ON RESEARCHING AND IDENTIFYING NEEDS FOR MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS.

POLITICAL EDUCATION: ONE OF OUR KEY FINDINGS THIS YEAR INVOLVED THE EDUCATION OF OUR ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ABOUT WHAT WAS MOST AT STAKE AFTER THE PASSAGE OF SB 202. AS WE ASSESSED OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PROGRAMS, WE LEARNED THAT OUR COMMUNITIES WERE AT VERY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF POLITICAL EDUCATION. AFTER IDENTIFYING GAPS IN POLITICAL EDUCATION ALONG LINES OF DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS, WE FOUND IT NECESSARY TO INCREASE OUR POLITICAL EDUCATION EFFORTS, INCLUDING EXPLAINING BOTH THE BASIC ELECTORAL PROCESS AND WHY SOME OF OUR ISSUES ARE IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITIES. TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE DEVELOPED A SERIES OF OP-ED PUBLICATIONS TO BREAK DOWN POLICY ISSUES AND EXPLAIN WHY PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL/STATE-LEVEL POLITICS WAS SOMETIMES EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN PARTICIPATION AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. WE ALSO INVESTED MORE TIME IN ENSURING OUR ORGANIZERS WERE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND BE ACCESSIBLE TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.