The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) is a coalition of left-of-center community organizing groups founded in 1999. The coalition is funded by left-of-center foundations including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Open Society Foundations, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, and the Levi Strauss Foundation. ¹

The coalition classifies itself as a “progressive coalition”² and, in a public statement on the subject of the 2020 Presidential election, congratulated “progressive wins on the national level,” adding that it looks forward to working with the incoming Biden administration on “progressive solutions.” ³

Background

The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) is a coalition of nearly 100 left-of-center community organizing groups across 21 states that focuses on organizing within Asian-Pacific American demographic groups. ⁴

The coalition was formed in June 1999 when representatives of 16 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community organizations met in Seattle to create National CAPACD. The coalition held its first convention in 2000. ⁵

National CAPACD organizes low-income AAPI neighborhoods, communities,⁶ and leaders to advocate for left-of-center federal policies on economics, race, and social issues. ⁷

Members of the coalition include the left-of-center Asian American-interest advocacy organization Asian Americans for Equality, and Freedom, Inc., radical-left advocacy group based on “activism campaigning for Gender Justice, Queer Justice, and Black and Southeast Asian Liberation.” ⁸ Freedom, Inc has been criticized even by left-of-center critics for its “in-your-face” aggressive and threatening approach at public meetings. ⁹

Funding

The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development receives the majority of its annual revenue from contributions and grants, and a slight amount from product services. National CAPACD received approximately $3.7 million in grants and contributions in 2015 and spent around $3.35 million in total expenses for the same year. ¹⁰

The coalition reported just over $4.64 million in total revenue in 2016,¹¹ around $2.7 million in 2017,¹² and slightly less than $2.6 million in 2018. ¹³

The coalition reported approximately $4.44 million in total expenses in 2016,¹⁴ just over $3.23 million in 2017,¹⁵ and just under $3.6 million in 2018. ¹⁶

The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development received multiple grants of large sums from the Kresge Foundation, which funds left-of-center and liberal organizations that support causes such as expansionist immigration policy and aggressive environmentalism. The Foundation granted National CAPACD $250,000 in 2016 to “support its member organizations” with developing “displacement mitigation policies,” and to advance a “national anti-displacement policy agenda,” supporting policy advocacy towards expansionist immigration. The Foundation also confirmed National CAPACD another $500,000 grant for 2017 for the same reason,¹⁷ however; the Foundation’s 2017 tax return states that National CAPACD only received an extra $250,000. ¹⁸

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the seventh-largest private foundation in the United States which focuses its funding on race-based causes, also granted a large sum to National CAPACD. The foundation granted the coalition $750,000 between 2016 and 2019 to “Improve the financial health of Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs and their families” by creating financial education, lending circles, and asset development products with a multi-generational focus. ¹⁹

National CACAPD received another large amount of money in contributions from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations when the coalition partnered with the left-of-center Women’s March. According to the Media Research Center, National CAPACD received $525,000 from the Foundation. ²⁰

Although it does not list the specific amount received by Open Society Foundations, National CAPACD does list it as an “institutional donor” between 2016 and 2017. Other donors from the same time-period include Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation, the Levi Strauss Foundation, Neighborworks America, and Union Bank. The United States Housing and Urban Development (HUD) division is also listed as a donor on the same “supporters” page. ²¹

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a lobbying group that describes itself as “a champion for social change” with an “ambitious social agenda.” ²² National CAPACD received $15,000 from the group in 2015, as it sponsored the coalition’s 2015 convention. ²³

National CAPACD received a “coronavirus-related” Paycheck Protection Program loan of between $150,000 to $350,000 from the First National Bank of Pennsylvania. The loan was approved in April 2020 and was accepted due to its total 2019 payroll expenses, which “were between $720,000 and $1.68 million,” enabling National CAPACD to qualify for the amount received. ²⁴

Political Activities

In a public statement regarding the United States Supreme Court ruling to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that granted legal status to certain classes of illegal immigrants, National CAPACD referred to the Trump administration’s attempt to stop the program as a “xenophobic agenda.” ²⁵

National CAPACD executive director Seema Agnani claimed in the statement that the American system was “broken” and is “intentionally designed to fail Black communities,” adding that the coalition will continue to “advocate for comprehensive and humane immigration reform.” ²⁶ At the end of the statement, National CAPACD called on Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for all illegal immigrants living in the United States. ²⁷

The coalition wrote another public statement entitled “National CAPACD Demands Housing Aid for All Regardless of Immigration Status,” but removed the content from its page. ²⁸

In another public statement on the subject of “economic loss” in the Asian American community, National CAPACD claimed the loss of income for small businesses was “fueled by xenophobia, in response to the coronavirus epidemic,” and claimed that the Asian American community was experiencing “Yellow Peril.” ²⁹

National CAPACD congratulated President-Elect Joe Biden after his win in the 2020 Presidential election. The coalition thanked its member organizations and partners in working “tirelessly to organize in communities around the country,” while claiming that there were “deliberate efforts to undermine political participation” in the election. ³⁰

National CAPACD continued by congratulating “progressive wins on the national level” and expressed its excitement for working with the Biden administration to implement left-of-center policy, claiming that the Trump administration had “stripped” the “rights” of ethnic minorities and “endangered” their “very existence.” ³¹

1. “Our Supporters,” National CAPACD, August 22, 2017, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/our-supporters/.
2. “About,” National CAPACD, July 13, 2019, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/about-2/.
3. “National CAPACD Celebrates Historic Elections As the Country Calls for New Leadership Determined by the People,” National CAPACD, November 20, 2020, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/national-capacd-celebrates-historic-elections-as-the-country-calls-for-new-leadership-determined-by-the-people/.
4. “About,” National CAPACD, July 13, 2019, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/about-2/.
5. “Our History,” National CAPACD, August 22, 2017, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/our-history/.
6. “About,” National CAPACD, July 13, 2019, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/about-2/.
7. “Our Work,” National CAPACD, August 7, 2017, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/our-work-2/.
8. “Celebrating 15 Years of Freedom, Inc.,” Asian American Studies, January 1, 2199, https://asianamerican.wisc.edu/2019/10/29/celebrating-15-years-of-freedom-inc/.
9. Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal et al., “Freedom Inc. Challenges Liberal Madison with in-Your-Face Approach to Racial Justice,” madison.com, June 27, 2019, https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/freedom-inc-challenges-liberal-madison-with-in-your-face-approach/article_277a9238-3c9b-5c41-8c79-fa3eeb3a539c.html.
10. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “National Coalition For Asian Pacific American Community Dev – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/912121566.
11. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEV – Form Form 990 for Period Ending Dec 2016 – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/912121566/01_2018_prefixes_88-91/912121566_201612_990_2018012615150152.
12. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEV – Form Form 990 for Period Ending Dec 2017 – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/912121566/12_2018_prefixes_90-94/912121566_201712_990_2018120615979285.
13. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEV – Form Form 990 for Period Ending Dec 2018 – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/912121566/09_2019_prefixes_91-95/912121566_201812_990_2019092616693542.
14. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEV – Form Form 990 for Period Ending Dec 2016 – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/912121566/01_2018_prefixes_88-91/912121566_201612_990_2018012615150152.
15. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEV – Form Form 990 for Period Ending Dec 2017 – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/912121566/12_2018_prefixes_90-94/912121566_201712_990_2018120615979285.
16. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEV – Form Form 990 for Period Ending Dec 2018 – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/912121566/09_2019_prefixes_91-95/912121566_201812_990_2019092616693542.
17. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “Kresge Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/381359217/201733189349100203/full.
18. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “Kresge Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/381359217/201823169349101227/full.
19. “Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Asset Building Across Generations,” W.K. Kellogg Foundation, accessed December 6, 2020, https://www.wkkf.org/grants/grant/2016/06/asian-american-pacific-islander-aapi-asset-building-across-generations-p3034404.
20. “Marching to Soros’ Tune,” lust-for-life.org, accessed December 6, 2020, http://lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/MediaResearchCenter_MarchingToSorosTune-100WomensMarchPartnersFundedByLeftwingBillionaire_2017_20pp/MediaResearchCenter_MarchingToSorosTune-100WomensMarchPartnersFundedByLeftwingBillionaire_2017_20pp.pdf.
21. “Our Supporters,” National CAPACD, August 22, 2017, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/our-supporters/.
22. “AARP’s Mission, Vision, Advocacy, Community Service & Products,” AARP, accessed December 6, 2020, https://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/.
23. Sisi Wei Mike Tigas, “Aarp, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 9, 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/951985500/201622429349300037/full.
24. “NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – SBA PPP Loan Data (Paycheck Protection Program),” FederalPay, accessed December 6, 2020, https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/137061-national-coalition-for-asian-pacific-american-community-development-washington-dc.
25. “National CAPACD Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Uphold DACA & Protect Immigrants,” National CAPACD, June 18, 2020, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/national-capacd-applauds-supreme-court-decision-to-uphold-daca-protect-immigrants/.
26. “National CAPACD Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Uphold DACA & Protect Immigrants,” National CAPACD, June 18, 2020, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/national-capacd-applauds-supreme-court-decision-to-uphold-daca-protect-immigrants/.
27. “National CAPACD Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Uphold DACA & Protect Immigrants,” National CAPACD, June 18, 2020, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/national-capacd-applauds-supreme-court-decision-to-uphold-daca-protect-immigrants/.
28. “Public Statements,” National CAPACD, July 25, 2017, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/public-statements/.
29. “In Response to Xenophobia Fueled by Coronavirus Epidemic, National CAPACD Stands with Chinatown Businesses,” National CAPACD, June 8, 2020, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/in-response-to-xenophobia-fueled-by-coronavirus-epidemic-national-capacd-stands-with-chinatown-businesses/.
30. “National CAPACD Celebrates Historic Elections As the Country Calls for New Leadership Determined by the People,” National CAPACD, November 20, 2020, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/national-capacd-celebrates-historic-elections-as-the-country-calls-for-new-leadership-determined-by-the-people/.
31. “National CAPACD Celebrates Historic Elections As the Country Calls for New Leadership Determined by the People,” National CAPACD, November 20, 2020, https://www.nationalcapacd.org/newsroom/national-capacd-celebrates-historic-elections-as-the-country-calls-for-new-leadership-determined-by-the-people/.