Contents
Background
Asian American Advocacy Fund is a 501(c)(4) that aims to organize left-progressive Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians in Georgia. It advocates for “progressive” policies at local, state, and federal levels and supports left-progressive political candidates. 1
Activities
Asian American Advocacy Fund supports lenient immigration laws, lenient voting laws, redistricting in favor of Democratic candidates, and welfare and educational systems that allow people access “regardless of their immigration status.” 2
More specifically, AAAF supports immigrant “family reunification” and “family-based immigration,” endorses “pathways to citizenship for all immigrants,” opposes law enforcement checking suspects’ immigration statuses, advocates that Georgia refrain from “cooperating with ICE” by detaining immigrants, and seeks to end of the so-called “mass detention of immigrants at the U.S. border.” 3
AAAF also seeks to expand the ability to register to vote online, create same-day voter registration, create “independent” redistricting commissions, and make “absentee and provisional ballots” more widely available. Other items AAAF advocates for include raising the minimum wage, getting rid of E-Verify, having Census takers be “members of the communities they canvass,” and allowing illegal immigrants to attend colleges and receive financial aid. 3
Starting in August 2019, AAAF began seeking the services of consulting firm SwashLabs. From this relationship came several collaborative projects such as Asians for Ossoff & Warnock, a campaign of Asian Americans affiliated with AAAF showing support for U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA). SwashLabs helped AAAF with brand identity, email actions, digital campaigns, social media consultations, motion graphic videos, video scriptwriting, and digital risk assessment. 4
Funding
According to its 2019 filings with the IRS, the Asian American Advocacy Fund had a total revenue of $337,400, total expenses of $152,922, and net assets of $221,062. 5
Asian American Advocacy Fund has received funding from America Votes, Georgia Investor Action Fund, Groundswell Action Fund, See Forward Fund, State Engagement Fund, Tides Foundation, and Way to Win Action Fund. 6
AAAF, through its 527 political action committee (PAC), committed over $1 million in funds to Democratic candidates in the 2020 election cycle. At least $30,147 went to then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, $467,918 to Senate candidate Jon Ossoff, and $600,587 to Senate candidate Raphael Warnock. 7
Leadership
AAAF is led by executive director Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, political director Vyanti Joseph, and communications director Chany Chea. 8
Financial Statistics
Total Assets
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
| Year | Total Assets | Total Revenue | Total Expenses | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,689,866 | $3,494,456 | $3,463,755 | View |
| 2023 | $1,703,566 | $3,011,414 | $2,537,735 | View |
| 2022 | $961,273 | $2,938,558 | $3,448,409 | View |
| 2021 | $1,352,497 | $1,499,948 | $1,331,597 | View |
| 2020 | $1,220,549 | $2,641,627 | $1,700,737 | View |
Prior year filings: 2019
Revenue Detail
Expenses Detail
Employee Compensation
- Number of Employees: 72
Highest Earning Employees
| Employee | Title | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Aisha Yaqoob | Executive Director | $120,378 |
| Ashna Khanna | Deputy Director | $113,750 |
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $7,658,109
- Number of Grants: 62
- Number of Funders: 26
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years: