Hate is a Virus is a fiscally sponsored project of the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation devoted to combatting anti-Asian prejudice inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic. The group gives grants to Asian-American organizations, and has given out nearly $1 million since its founding.

Founding

Hate is a Virus originated as a Twitter hashtag to combat a perceived rise in racism against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Twitter users posted the hashtag with a picture of themselves in a mask. ¹

In March 2020, ² Hate is a Virus was founded by Tammy Cho and Michelle Hanabusa to organize efforts to combat anti-Asian racism. Other sources have attributed an increase in racism and hate crimes to anti-Chinese rhetoric from then-President Donald Trump. ³ Cho stated:

“Not only have we experienced racism growing up and in recent times, but we were seeing story after story about the hate crimes against our Asian American community fueled by the fears and misinformation around Coronavirus… We were seeing 6, 7, 8-year-olds getting bullied by their peers and the elderly getting brutally attacked in broad daylight.” ⁴

Hate is a Virus began fundraising among local businesses in Los Angeles and generated $15,000. Within less than a year of operations, the group had raised $400,000, and set the goal of raising $1 million. ⁵

The group gained significant national attention through Instagram posts made by Cho and Hanabusa. ⁶

Activities

By December 2021, Hate is a Virus had disbursed $650,000 in grants, ranging in value from $5,000 to $30,000 to 37 grantees. ⁷ Recipients included the AAPI Women Lead, Nikkei Progressives, VietLead, Vigilant Love, and the Hmong American Women’s Association. ⁸ As of January 2024, HV’s website lists over 60 grant recipients. ⁹

In April 2021, Hate is a Virus hosted a panel on combating prejudice with U.S. Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA); Yawei Liu, director of the China Program at The Carter Center; and Clayton Dube, director of the University of Southern California’s U.S.-China Institute. ¹⁰

In Summer 2022, Hate is a Virus co-hosted the Changemakers Summit with the AAPI Youth Conference and Act to Change. ¹¹

The group hosts the podcast Real Talk: Unfiltered. ¹²

Leadership

Tammy Cho is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Hate is a Virus. In 2017, Cho co-founded BetterBrave, a platform that supports victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. ¹³ Cho’s husband, Steven Lim, is the co-founder of Watcher Entertainment, an online television production company, and was previously an executive producer of television content for Buzzfeed. Both Cho and Lim have discussed experiencing anti-Asian racism since they were children. ^{14 15}

Michelle Hanabusa is the chief operating officer and co-founder of Hate is a Virus. She is also the creative director and a co-founder of UPRISERS, “a community-driven streetwear brand” that amplifies social issues. The brand has released clothing as part of a #HATEISAVIRUS campaign to raise awareness of anti-Asian discrimination. ¹⁶ Hanabusa was previously a figure skater who trained with U.S. Olympians. Hanabusa’s mother is an immigrant from Japan, and her father is a third-generation American of Japanese ancestry. ¹⁷

Bryan Pham was also involved in the founding of Hate is a Virus. ¹⁸ Pham is the chief executive officer and founder of the Asian Hustle Network, a network for Asian entrepreneurs. ¹⁹

Funding

Hate is a Virus’s Community Action Fund has raised $1 million, 90 percent of which was disbursed through grants. ²⁰

Left-wing tap-dancing company Dorrance Dance encourages donations to Hate is a Virus. ²¹

An anime expo hosted by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation raised $1,300 for Hate is a Virus. ²²

In 2022, HV received $5,000 from the Los Angeles Rams Foundation. ²³

1. Yu, Caroline. “Hate Is A Virus Creators Are Going Beyond Hashtags.” Character Media. January 21, 2022. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://charactermedia.com/hate-is-a-virus-creators-are-going-beyond-hashtags/
2. “Tammy Cho.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammywcho/.
3. Cadwalader, Zac. “Donate To Hate Is A Virus, A Non-Profit Fighting AAPI Discrimination.” Sprudge. March 17, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://sprudge.com/donate-to-hate-is-a-virus-a-non-profit-fighting-aapi-discrimination-176185.html.
4. Zaccardi, Nick. “A championship figure skater’s new pursuit: fighting racism.” NBC Sports. April 9, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/hate-is-a-virus-michelle-k-hanabusa-figure-skating.
5. Zaccardi, Nick. “A championship figure skater’s new pursuit: fighting racism.” NBC Sports. April 9, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/hate-is-a-virus-michelle-k-hanabusa-figure-skating.
6. Yu, Caroline. “Hate Is A Virus Creators Are Going Beyond Hashtags.” Character Media. January 21, 2022. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://charactermedia.com/hate-is-a-virus-creators-are-going-beyond-hashtags/.
7. “mkhanabusa.” Instagram. December 11, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.instagram.com/p/CXVMGMxrIRq/.
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9. “Community Action Fund.” Hate is a Virus. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://hateisavirus.org/community-action-fund.
10. “Panel Looks at Ways to Combat Prejudice.” YouTube. April 2, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7wx9VoZBSA.
11. “Changemakers Summit 2022.” Hate Is A Virus. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://hateisavirus.org/changemakers-summit.
12. Lim, Steven; Cho, Tammy. “Watcher’s Steven Lim: ‘Fighting racism is about tackling problems at its root instead of bandaging when things go wrong’.” May 26, 2022. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://blog.youtube/creator-and-artist-stories/steven-lim-tammy-cho-hate-is-a-virus-discussion/.
13. “Tammy Cho.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammywcho/.
14. “Steven Lim.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenkwlim/.
15. Lim, Steven; Cho, Tammy. “Watcher’s Steven Lim: ‘Fighting racism is about tackling problems at its root instead of bandaging when things go wrong’.” May 26, 2022. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://blog.youtube/creator-and-artist-stories/steven-lim-tammy-cho-hate-is-a-virus-discussion/.
16. “Michelle K. Hanabusa.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammywcho/.
17. Zaccardi, Nick. “A championship figure skater’s new pursuit: fighting racism.” NBC Sports. April 9, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/hate-is-a-virus-michelle-k-hanabusa-figure-skating.
18. Zaccardi, Nick. “A championship figure skater’s new pursuit: fighting racism.” NBC Sports. April 9, 2021. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/hate-is-a-virus-michelle-k-hanabusa-figure-skating.
19. “Bryan Pham.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bvpham28/.
20. “Community Action Fund.” Hate is a Virus. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://hateisavirus.org/community-action-fund.
21. “Where to Donate Money.” Hate is a Virus. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.dorrancedance.com/antiracism-donate.
22. Anime Expo Lite Benefitting Hate Is A Virus.” Give Lively. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://secure.givelively.org/donate/new-spja/anime-expo-lite-benefitting-hate-is-a-virus.
23. “May 2022: Michelle Hanabusa and Tammy Cho.” LA Rams. May 2022. Accessed January 30, 2024. https://www.therams.com/news/hate-is-a-virus-michelle-hanabusa-tammy-cho-rams-third-playmaker-honorees.