Yappie Inc

THE YAPPIE, INC. IS A DELAWARE NONPROFIT CORPORATION THAT OPERATES AS AN ONLINE NEWS SERVICE DESIGNED TO SERVE AANHPI COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE U.S. THE YAPPIES CONTENT IS PRODUCED BY AN EDITORIAL TEAM CONSISTING OF 12 ACTIVE EDITORS AND WRITERS, ALL OF WHOM ARE STUDENTS OR RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES WITH JOURNALISM BACKGROUNDS. THE CORPORATIONS FOUNDERS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND OFFICERS HAVE ALSO WORKED AT PROMINENT NEWS OUTLETS (E.G., POLITICO, AXIOS), AANHPI ADVOCACY GROUPS (E.G., OCA-ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN ADVOCATES), THINK TANKS (E.G., COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, CSIS), AND VARIOUS GOVERNMENT BODIES. THE YAPPIES NEWSROOM PRODUCES THREE CATEGORIES OF CONTENT: NEWSLETTER BRIEFINGS, BREAKING NEWS ALERTS, AND FEATURE-LENGTH ARTICLES. NEWSLETTER BRIEFINGS COLLATE AND ANALYZE RECENT POLICY DEVELOPMENTS AFFECTING AANHPI COMMUNITIES. BREAKING NEWS ALERTS COVER EVENTS WITH MAJOR POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR AANHPIS AND ARE PUBLISHED IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF SAID EVENTS. LASTLY, FEATURE-LENGTH ARTICLES ARE IN-DEPTH EXAMINATIONS OF LARGER, LONGER-TERM POLICY ISSUES RELEVANT TO AANHPI COMMUNITIESESPECIALLY THOSE THAT HAVE YET TO RECEIVE SIGNIFICANT ATTENTION. 2022 HAS BEEN AN EXCITING YEAR FOR THE YAPPIE IN TERMS OF ITS FUNDRAISING, LEGAL, AND OPERATIONAL OUTCOMES. AFTER BECOMING FISCALLY SPONSORED BY THE ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION IN NOVEMBER 2021, ENSURING THAT THE YAPPIE HAD THE LEGAL CAPACITY TO FUNDRAISE BECAME A PRIORITY. THE YAPPIE DEVELOPED BYLAWS AND WAS INCORPORATED IN APRIL 2022, OPENED ITS FIRST BANK ACCOUNT IN MAY, AND AFTER FILING IN OCTOBER, RECEIVED ITS 501(C)(3) STATUS IN DECEMBER. THE YAPPIES FIRST GRANT$7,000 FROM THE SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM NETWORK (SJN)WAS DEPOSITED IN EARLY 2022. THIS WAS FOLLOWED IN SUCCESSION BY SIZABLE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE GLEN NELSON CENTER, LION PUBLISHERS, AND THE EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATIONFUNDS THAT CAME WITH MENTORSHIP AND LEARNING (E.G., ABOUT NONPROFIT BOOKKEEPING) OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH HAVE ENABLED THE YAPPIE TO BUILD OUT ITS NETWORK OF POTENTIAL PARTNERS. IN NOVEMBER, THE YAPPIE CAME IN SECOND PLACE IN THE 2022 GOLD FUTURES CHALLENGE (ORGANIZED BY ASIAN AMERICAN FUTURES AND GOLD HOUSE) AND WAS AWARDED A $76,000 GRANT, AFTER HAVING GARNERED 4,600+ VOTES OVER THE COURSE OF A FINAL FIVE-WEEK PUBLIC VOTING PERIOD. THIS MEANT THAT THE YAPPIE ENDED ITS FIRST YEAR OF EXISTENCE AS A NONPROFIT CORPORATION WITH $128,000+ IN AWARDED FUNDS. ENSURING THAT THESE RESOURCES WERE DIRECTED TOWARD SUPPORTING OUR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT WAS TOP-OF-MIND. IN SEPTEMBER, THE YAPPIE IMPLEMENTED A PAYMENT AND CONTRACTING SYSTEM FOR ITS EDITORIAL STAFF, WHICH HELPED INCENTIVIZE MORE CONSISTENT CONTENT OUTPUT: FOR EXAMPLE, NEWSLETTER BRIEFINGSWHICH PREVIOUSLY WERE PUBLISHED INCONSISTENTLY, DESPITE A BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION SCHEDULEARE NOW PUBLISHED WEEKLY. THESE FUNDS ALSO HELPED SUBSIDIZE TRAVEL AND LOGISTICAL EXPENSES FOR EDITORIAL STAFF MEMBERS, ALLOWING THEM TO ATTEND RELEVANT JOURNALISM CONFERENCES AND AANHPI EVENTSUSEFUL FOR THEIR COVERAGE AND THEIR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH. CONVERSELY, NON-EDITORIAL TEAM MEMBERS, INCLUDING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, CURRENTLY ONLY OPERATE ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS, SO THAT VIRTUALLY EVERY DOLLAR OF CONTRIBUTED FUNDS IS REINVESTED IN THE YAPPIES CORE PURPOSE OF EDUCATING THE PUBLIC THROUGH ITS CONTENT. IN TERMS OF EDITORIAL OUTPUT, THE YAPPIE DELIVERED 50 EMAILS TO ITS 1,200+ NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS 1 AND POSTED 64 ARTICLES TO ITS WEBSITE IN 2022. MAJOR STORIES INCLUDED INTERVIEWS WITH AANHPI TRAILBLAZERS (E.G., U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE KATHERINE TAI), AND FEATURES ON UNDER-COVERED ISSUES LIKE MENTAL HEALTHCARE FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN AMERICANS AND HOW NEW STADIUM PLANS IN PHILADELPHIA ARE THREATENING TO GENTRIFY THE CITYS CHINATOWN DISTRICT. NOTABLY, THE YAPPIE UNDERTOOK THREE MAJOR PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF ITS GENERAL PROGRAMMING: THE FIRST WAS THREE LONG-FORM PIECES, FUNDED BY THE YAPPIES SJN GRANT, FOCUSED, RESPECTIVELY, ON DIGITAL MISINFORMATION AMONG AANHPI COMMUNITIES, THE CHALLENGES FACING THE MARSHALLESE PEOPLE, AND CALIFORNIAS PRISON-TO-DEPORTATION PIPELINE. THESE ARTICLES WERE DEVELOPED OVER THE COURSE OF MONTHS AND CROSS-PROMOTED WITH CONTENT FROM OUR PARTNERS AT TWO OTHER AANHPI-FOCUSED MEDIA OUTLETS. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE YAPPIE HAD UNDERTAKEN SUCH A TIME AND RESOURCE-INTENSIVE PROJECT AND PARTNERSHIP. THE SECOND WAS DEDICATED COVERAGE OF THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS, WHERE THE YAPPIES WRITERS TRACKED AND PROVIDED BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS FOR EVERY AANHPI CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE ACROSS THE U.S. VIA WRITTEN ARTICLES AND SOCIAL MEDIA. FINALLY, THE YAPPIE, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HARVARD ASIAN AMERICAN POLICY REVIEW, PUBLISHED A DEEP DIVE ON THE DECADES-LONG ADVOCACY AROUND DATA DISAGGREGATION, WITH INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED WITH POLICY EXPERTS, LAWMAKERS, AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ACROSS VARIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS. IN SUM, 2022 MARKED MANY FIRSTS FOR THE YAPPIE, AND IT WILL BUILD ON THIS STRONG FOUNDATION IN 2023.