Filipino Advocates for Justice

FAJ is active in issues of immigration, race and ethnicity, housing, labor, voting, and gun control. The organization defends the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) immigration amnesty program; supports rent control and eviction restrictions; and has advocated for California Assembly Bill 2314, labor union-backed legislation that was vetoed by Democratic California Governor Jerry Brown (D) in 2018. ¹

Background

Formerly called Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Filipino Advocates for Justice was established in 1973 to represent the interests of immigrants from the Philippines. ² Today, FAJ carries out advocacy and organizing efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout California.

FAJ is most active on racial justice, housing, and labor issues. FAJ also conducts trainings on political canvassing and hosts voter registration drives. ¹ In addition to its advocacy work, FAJ provides immigration services for Filipino immigrants and sponsors youth education programs. ³

In 2018, FAJ celebrated its 45^th anniversary and hosted a homecoming-style event entitled, “We Are Home,” in Berkeley, California. ⁴ The event highlighted the organization’s work over the years and featured a keynote speaker from the Million Voters Project, a California-based, left-of-center voter mobilization and political advocacy group. ⁵

A number of government officials sponsored the FAJ event, including Richard Valle of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and California Assemblymen Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and Bill Quirk (D-Hayward). ¹ During a 2017 government meeting, Supervisor Richard Valle publicly commended FAJ executive director Lillian Galedo,⁶ and Assemblyman Bonta sits on the FAJ board of directors and is board president of the Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus of Alameda County. ⁷

Other Work

During the coronavirus pandemic, FAJ established the Bayanihan COVID-19 Relief Fund to help support members of the Bay Area Filipino community, offering grants up to $500 per individual or $1000 per household. ⁸

FAJ also offers a $5,000 scholarship to high school students who are of at least 50 percent Filipino descent. ⁹

Financial Struggles and Government Support

For many years, the local government of Alameda Country provided FAJ with most of its funding from taxpayer dollars. According a 2012 article in the Union City Patch, Alameda County provided almost $60,000 per year to FAJ for 15 years, nearly 60% of FAJ’s overall budget. Grants from Kaiser Permanente and the Union City government made up the remainder of FAJ’s budget. ¹⁰

In 2011, FAJ publicly announced that it was facing financial struggles and launched a fundraising campaign to help alleviate its budgetary constraints. That same year, FAJ asked Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services Agency for a three-year, $250,000 grant. ¹¹

In 2012, facing further financial struggles, FAJ executive director Lillian Galedo sent a letter to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors requesting a $25,000 bridge loan for general operating funds to cover the organization’s payroll, rent, and health insurance. ¹² Soon after, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors granted the loan. ¹³

FAJ’s financial struggles continued through at least 2014. That year, FAJ started a fundraiser on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo to help cover the cost of new phones and computers. FAJ sought $5,000 in donations but only raised $730. ¹⁴

Funding

In the years since its well-documented period of financial struggle, FAJ has seen increasing revenue, reporting $622,295 in 2018. ¹⁵ FAJ continues to receive thousands for dollars from the Alameda County government. ¹⁶ Colleen Chawla, director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, requested that the agency provide FAJ with $290,000 for fiscal year 2019¹⁷ and over $338,000 for fiscal year 2021. ¹⁸

During fiscal year 2017, FAJ received funding from a number of left-of-center foundations, including the Left Tilt Fund, California Wellness Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Marguerite Casey Foundation¹

FAJ is also funded by SEIU Local 1021, the Northern California-based chapter of the left-leaning and politically-involved Service Employees International Union. The organization is also funded by Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo, Union Bank, and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. ¹⁹

Individual financial supporters of FAJ who hold public office include Alameda County Supervisors Keith Carson and Wilma Chan. ²⁰

Affiliations with Other Organizations

Filipino Advocates for Justice is affiliated with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Civic Engagement Fund. ¹ AAPI is a left-of-center issue advocacy group and project of NEO Philanthropy, a prominent center-left fiscal clearinghouse. AAPI also funds FAJ and has given general support grants to the organization since 2014. ²¹

FAJ is also affiliated with the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), a left-of-center and labor-union aligned organizing and advocacy group that focuses on “alt-labor” employees such as child caregivers, household cleaners, elder caretakers, and similar workers. FAJ worked with NDWA to help found the California Domestic Workers Coalition to push for new labor regulations in the state of California. ¹