South Asian American Voter Empowerment of Texas (SAAVETX) Education Fund

The SAAVETX Education Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of the left-of-center NEO Philanthropy. ¹ It has received financial support from National Partnership for New Americans as a part of the Houston Endowment-affiliated ³ Naturalize NOW! campaign in 2023. ²

History and Leadership

South Asian American Voter Empowerment of Texas (SAAVETX) Education Fund was founded in 2016 by Chanda Parbhoo. ^{4 5} As of October 2024, Parbhoo is the executive director of the SAAVETX Education Fund. She is also the founder of left-of-center Texas Deserves Better. ⁶ The organization is governed by an advisory board and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. ^{7 8}

Activities

The South Asian American Voter Empowerment of Texas (SAAVETX) Education Fund is a left-of-center get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activist organization that targets South Asian voters in Texas. ¹ As of October 2024, the organization has chapters in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. These local chapters serve as hubs of activism, voter registration drives, and other activities for the organization. ⁹

The SAAVETX Education Fund supports the critical race theory-influenced concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion. ^{9 2 10} The organization’s activities include outreach initiatives, voter registration, voter turnout, and political awareness for members of the South Asian community in Texas. ⁹

Political Activism

The South Asian American Voter Empowerment of Texas (SAAVETX) Education Fund has advocated for increasing the number of registered voters that are part of the South Asian community within the state. In 2022, its goal was to register roughly 100,000 new voters while achieving around 60 percent of those new voters. The group has also promoted redistricting campaigns, advocacy in city council and school board elections, promoting vaccination drives, and hosting cultural events to engage with potential voters. ^{11 12}

In 2023, the SAAVETX Education Fund partnered with the National Partnership for New Americans to participate in the Naturalize NOW! Houston campaign, a community program that supported roughly 300,000 migrants towards becoming U.S citizens. ² That same year, the SAAVETX Education Fund was a partner of National Voter Registration Day. ¹³

The SAAVETX Education Fund is a member of the left-of-center Texas Asian American Pacific Islander Advocacy Collective (TAAC) and an alumni organization of the left-of-center BRIDGE Collective network of left-of-center nonprofits in Texas. ^{14 2} It is a community partner of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote. ¹⁵

Funding

The South Asian American Voter Empowerment of Texas (SAAVETX) Education Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of the left-of-center NEO Philanthropy. ¹ The organization reportedly has a budget between $500,000 and $1,000,000. ¹¹

In 2024, the SAAVETX Education Fund received financial support from the Southern Leadership for Voter Engagement Network (SOLVE), a project of the left-of-center Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ). ¹⁶

The SAAVETX Education Fund received $200,000 from the left-of-center National Partnership for New Americans as a part of the Houston Endowment-affiliated ³ Naturalize NOW! campaign in 2023. ² That same year, the SAAVETX Education fund also received support from left-of-center Stop AAPI Hate. ¹⁷

In 2022, the SAAVETX Education Fund also received support from Gold Futures Challenge. ¹¹