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Non-profit

Asian American Federation (AAF)

Website:

aafederation.org
Location:

New York, NY
Tax ID:

13-3572287
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $10,790,109
Expenses: $3,319,388
Assets: $9,841,196
Type:

Asian American Advocacy Group
Formation:

1989
Executive Director:

Jo-Ann Yoo

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The Asian American Federation (AAF) advocates for the Asian community, focusing its efforts in New York City and the tri-state area (where New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut meet) on issues related to immigrant services, research, policy advocacy, and grantmaking to third-party nonprofits. 1

Programs and Policy Positions

The Asian American Federation created the Hope Against Hate Campaign, a multifaceted program consisting of community safety volunteers in Asian enclaves around New York City, creating “safe zones” for Asians in businesses and faith centers, victim support services, and more. 2 The Asian American Federation claims to have helped over 15,000 people with incident reports, safety trainings, and victim services through the Hope Against Hate Campaign. 3

The Asian American Federation seeks to increase civic engagement of the Asian community in the tri-state area. AAF has partnered with a group of third-party allies and advocacy groups to create the AAPI Power Coalition. 4 AAF has created voter guides and reached 275,000 individuals in the tri-state area with its voter drive and civic engagement efforts. 5

Opposition to Immigration Enforcement

The Asian American Federation’s Florida branch was a signatory to a letter organized by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, which called for the curtailment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities, including demands to “stop issuing ICE detainer requests to local law enforcement.” 6 The letter also called for promoting “the unity of LGBTIQ families by amending immigration laws,” establishing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, establishing full labor rights for migrant workers regardless of their legal status, and restricting the use of verification services such as E-Verify. 7

Opposition to TikTok Ban

The Asian American Federation was listed among the supporters of a letter opposing recent efforts to ban TikTok in the United States. 8 Executive director Jo-Ann Yoo spoke against the ban, writing in an article entitled, “The Cost of Anti-Asian Rhetoric: Asian Americans are the Victims,” claiming that policies such as the proposed TikTok ban would “put forth a dangerous assumption” that individuals with ancestry from a nation such as China “can only be dangerous and disloyal” to the United States. 9

Funding

In 2022, the Asian American Federation reported revenues of $12.3 million and total assets of $17.8 million. 10

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation donated $850,000 to the Asian American Federation in 2022. 11 The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation, with revenues exceeding $70 million and assets over $3.5 billion in 2022. 12

Surdna Foundation donated $200,000 to the Asian American Federation in 2022. The Surdna Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaking foundation with revenues of $50 million and assets of $1.2 billion in 2022. 13

Grants

The Asian American Federation donated $538,890 to the Hamilton-Madison House in 2022. Hamilton-Madison House, based in New York, operates a behavioral health clinic which is, outside of Los Angeles, the “largest out-patient service for Asians in the United States.” 14

The Asian American Federation donated $396,386 to Asian Americans for Equality in 2022. Asian Americans for Equality advocates for Asian Americans by working on issues related to the Asian community such as affordable housing, civil rights, and immigrant services. Asian Americans for Equality has either developed or preserved more than 1,200 affordable housing apartments in the New York City area for immigrants and low-income individuals over the past three decades. 15

People

The executive director for the Asian American Federation is Jo-Ann Yoo. 16 Before coming to the Asian American Federation, Yoo worked as the director for Asian Americans for Equality, and as the director for the New York Immigration Coalition before that. 17

References

  1.  “About Us.” Asian American Federation, May 15, 2024. https://www.aafederation.org/about-us/.
  2. “Hope against Hate.” Asian American Federation, November 20, 2023. https://www.aafederation.org/hope-against-hate/.
  3. “About Us.” Asian American Federation, May 15, 2024. https://www.aafederation.org/about-us/.
  4. “Building AAPI Power.” Asian American Federation, July 14, 2023. https://www.aafederation.org/building-aapi-power/.
  5. “Civic Engagement.” Asian American Federation, October 20, 2023. https://www.aafederation.org/our-work/civic-engagement/.
  6. “Advancing Justice Principles on Immigration Reform.” Asian Americans Advancing Justice, December 7, 2018. https://www.advancingjustice-chicago.org/advancing-justice-principles-immigration-reform/.
  7. “Advancing Justice Principles on Immigration Reform.” Asian Americans Advancing Justice, December 7, 2018. https://www.advancingjustice-chicago.org/advancing-justice-principles-immigration-reform/.
  8. “A TikTok Ban Violates the First Amendment.” X (formerly Twitter). Accessed June 17, 2024. https://x.com/TikTokPolicy/status/1769836841451024741.
  9. Yoo, Jo-Ann. “The Cost of Anti-China Rhetoric: Chinese-Americans Are the Victims.” New York Daily News, September 17, 2023. https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/09/17/the-cost-of-anti-china-rhetoric/.
  10. “Asian American Federation.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/asian-american-federation,133572287/.
  11. “Asian American Federation.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/asian-american-federation,133572287/.
  12. “Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/mother-cabrini-health-foundation,830590263/.
  13. “Surdna Foundation.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/surdna-foundation,136108163/.
  14. “Hamilton-Madison House.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/hamilton-madison-house,135562412/.
  15. “Asian Americans for Equality.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/asian-americans-for-equality,133187792/.
  16. “About Us.” Asian American Federation, May 15, 2024. https://www.aafederation.org/about-us/.
  17. “Jo-Ann Yoo – Asian American Federation.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 17, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-ann-yoo-48b73a38/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: June - May
  • Tax Exemption Received: March 1, 1991

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Jun Form 990 $10,790,109 $3,319,388 $9,841,196 $945,320 N $10,548,325 $0 $45,486 $172,950
    2020 Jun Form 990 $3,254,417 $2,165,986 $2,433,891 $914,167 N $3,041,776 $0 $18,382 $164,760 PDF
    2019 Jun Form 990 $1,965,169 $1,681,039 $1,230,808 $793,966 N $1,750,975 $0 $22,666 $155,792 PDF
    2018 Jun Form 990 $1,926,068 $1,716,460 $1,365,280 $1,170,995 Y $1,745,443 $0 $12,853 $155,138 PDF
    2017 Jun Form 990 $1,070,937 $1,168,430 $436,336 $336,263 N $869,831 $0 $10,674 $102,000 PDF
    2016 Jun Form 990 $767,047 $1,046,506 $445,351 $262,615 N $637,151 $0 $17,108 $100,800 PDF
    2015 Jun Form 990 $553,151 $1,112,030 $485,119 $7,316 N $482,849 $0 $-9,592 $100,860 PDF
    2014 Jun Form 990 $1,615,141 $1,470,005 $1,028,509 $8,790 N $1,399,635 $0 $17,395 $247,126 PDF
    2013 Jun Form 990 $1,832,484 $1,688,021 $903,745 $59,406 N $1,557,284 $0 $7,734 $127,495 PDF
    2012 Jun Form 990 $1,279,232 $1,146,437 $1,222,225 $546,687 N $1,236,387 $0 $12,312 $124,956 PDF
    2011 Jun Form 990 $1,343,950 $1,351,480 $1,046,280 $497,324 N $1,233,485 $104,908 $5,557 $305,926 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Asian American Federation (AAF)

    120 WALL STREET 9TH FLOOR
    New York, NY 10005-3911