The Asian Pacific Fund (“Fund”) is a San Francisco-based grantmaking organization. ¹ The Fund supports left-of-center causes, including restrictions on speech activity, weakening of voting integrity laws, and liberal expansionist immigration policies.

History

The Fund was created in 1993 with the intent to increase philanthropy and support organizations that serve vulnerable members of society in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. ² However, today the Fund engages in a variety of initiatives that seek to influence election and immigration law in the United States at the national level.

Finances

In 2019, the Fund received $1,359,198 in contributions, $525,479 in investing income, and $1,884,677 in total revenue. ³ The same year, the Fund incurred $2,657,052 in expenses and possessed $15,468,244 in net assets. ^{4 5}

Grantmaking

Immigration

In 2019, the Fund supported Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach ($20,467), an organization that provides legal services to asylum seekers and individuals eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration amnesty. ⁶

The organization opposed the Trump administration’s Public Charge rule, which required that immigrants demonstrate that they would not depend on welfare services if admitted to the United States. ⁷ The Fund has also supported AAAJ-Asian Law Caucus ($21,000), which engages in a host of immigration activities, including defending immigrants subject to deportation proceedings for engaging in criminal conduct. ⁸

The Fund has also supported Chinese for Affirmative Action ($31,500) and Filipino Advocates for Justice ($21,804), which engage in similar immigration-related advocacy and litigation. ⁹

Health Care and Housing for Indigent

In 2019, the Fund supported organizations that provide healthcare and housing services for the indigent. Those organizations include: Gum Moon Women’s Residence ($60,167), North East Medical Services ($30,238), Friends of Children with Special Needs ($26,117), Asian Health Services ($25,000), Asian Women’s Shelter ($21,794), and Maitri ($20,000). ¹⁰

Community Services

In 2019, the Fund supported organizations that provide community and cultural services to immigrant families. Many of these organizations provide basic services such as resume workshops and English language courses. However, some of the organizations supported by the Fund are highly political in nature, such as the Chinese Progressive Association  ($55,337), which engages in rent control advocacy and has allegedly in the past had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. ^{11 12}

Other community service organizations supported by the fund include: Salud Para La Gente ($200,000), Chinatown Community Development Center ($76,600), Korean American Community Services ($30,000), Korean Community Center of the East Bay ($25,416), Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) ($30,000), Chinese Newcomers Service Center ($10,899), Community Health for Asian Americans ($20,000). Community Youth Center of San Francisco ($71,433), Southeast Asian Community Center ($20,000), and the Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay ($20,229). ¹³

Leadership

Audrey Yamamoto is the president and executive director of the Asian Pacific Fund. ¹⁴ Prior to leading the organization, she was the executive director of the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco. ¹⁵

1. “About Us” Asian Pacific Fund. https://asianpacificfund.org/who-we-are/mission/
2. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Asian Pacific Fund. Part I, line 1. 2019.
3. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Asian Pacific Fund. Part I, lines 8-12. 2019.
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Asian Pacific Fund. Part I, line 18. 2019.
5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Asian Pacific Fund. Part I, line 22. 2019.
6. “Immigration Project” API Legal Outreach. https://www.apilegaloutreach.org/programs/immigration-rights-projects/#immigrationremedies
7. “Immigration Project – Immigration” API Legal Outreach. https://www.apilegaloutreach.org/programs/immigration-rights-projects/#immigrationremedies
8. “Immigration Rights – Cases and Campaigns” AAAJ-Asian Law Caucus. https://www.advancingjustice-alc.org/programs/immigrant-rights/
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Asian Pacific Fund. Part II. 2019.
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Asian Pacific Fund. Part I, line 22. 2019.
11. “Tenant Worker Center” Chinese Progressive Association. https://cpasf.org/our-work/tenant-worker-center/
12. Tsukada, Kaori. “The Interaction Between Service and Organizing: Two Housing Campaigns By the Chinese Progressive Action.” Stanford University. May 26th, 2009. Accessed September 26, 2021. https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-1a/iwk-cpa.pdf
13. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Asian Pacific Fund. Part I, line 22. 2019.
14. “Audrey Yamamoto” Asian Pacific Fund. https://asianpacificfund.org/staff/audrey-yamamoto/
15. Audrey Yamamoto” Asian Pacific Fund. https://asianpacificfund.org/staff/audrey-yamamoto/