Wikipedia Draft:The Asian American Foundation

The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) is a Charitable organization that was founded on May 3, 2021 to solve for the longstanding lack of investment in Asian American and Pacific Islander (“AAPI”) communities — particularly as anti-AAPI hate and violence persist at alarming rates. The organization raised $125 million among its board members to support AAPI organizations and causes over the next five years — the largest philanthropic commitment in history by Asian Americans fully focused on supporting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. At the same time, TAAF is launching the “AAPI Giving Challenge” to galvanize even more resources to meet the needs of AAPI communities. TAAF seeks to bring AAPI communities together to more effectively mobilize action against hate and violence and to build the infrastructure needed to improve AAPI advocacy, power, and representation across American society.

Board and Oversight
TAAF’s Board of Directors is led by Board Chair Li Lu, Founder and Chairman of Himalaya Capital. The board is composed of business leaders who have coalesced around the need to bring investments and resources to AAPI communities through a unified, well-funded platform. TAAF will also receive support from an Advisory Council of over 30 leading AAPI leaders and allies of the community working in public policy, business, philanthropy, media, and the arts who will act as ambassadors of TAAF and support the advancement of its work. Founding Advisory Council members include CNN hosts Lisa Ling and Fareed Zakaria, CEO of the George W. Bush Center Ken Hersh, actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim, basketball player Jeremy Lin, former President of The World Bank Jim Yong Kim, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Direct Actions

 * 1) Anti-Hate: TAAF will support organizations and leaders building long-term solutions for measuring and defending against anti-AAPI violence.
 * 2) Data & Research: TAAF will work to develop the common data standards to better track incidents of hate and violence targeting AAPI communities, while investing in data-driven research that identify the needs of AAPI communities to inform future policymaking, advocacy, and philanthropy.
 * 3) Education: TAAF will help create K-12 and higher education curricula that reflect the history of Asian American and Pacific Islanders as part of the American story. TAAF will also fund storytelling across the arts, media and film to include the AAPI experience and AAPI contributions to the tapestry of American history.

Charitable Donations
In addition to its initial commitment of $125 million, TAAF is inviting leaders from business and philanthropy to participate in its AAPI Giving Challenge, a 5 year commitment to bringing sorely needed resources to under-funded AAPI communities and causes. TAAF will work with the partners who join the AAPI Giving Challenge to develop programs and help bring TAAF’s mission and vision to life. TAAF has already made several critical investments in AAPI communities in order to ensure organizations can address anti-AAPI hate and violence. In the aftermath of the tragic Atlanta-area shooting that took place in March 2021, TAAF distributed $1 million to Asian Americans Advancing Justice (“AAJC”) coalition, $1 million to Stop AAPI Hate, and $1 million to the National Asian American Women’s Forum (“NAPAWF”). These grants will offer ongoing support as these organizations monitor anti-AAPI hate incidents and build systems to measure and defend hate against the community for the long-term.