Stand With Asian Americans is a campaign that works to advance the interests of Asian Americans in the United States. The campaign was launched in 2021 in response to suspected hate crime attacks targeting Asian Americans.

The organization, which was founded by Asian American businessmen, raises money for several left-of-center organizations involved with Asian American communities. It also criticizes the use of the term “China virus,” used by former President Donald Trump to describe the SARS-COV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. ¹

The campaign has morphed into a full-fledged organization. It has chapters in New York City and the San Francisco Bay area. It also has a grantmaking fund. ²

History and Activities

Stand With Asian Americans is a campaign that opposes hate crimes against Asian Americans. The campaign was launched by Asian American businessmen with a paid advertisement in the Wall Street Journal in 2021. ³

The campaign started when venture capitalist Eric Kim reached out to his fellow venture capitalists Chi-Hua Chien, Hans Tung, and Jeremy Liew. The men raised $5 million to donate to Asian American organizations. They then expanded their campaign to the broader business community. ⁴

Nearly 1,000 Asian American business executives and public officials signed the letter that launched the campaign. Among the signatories were Doordash founder and CEO Tony Xu, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, and Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. ⁵ In addition, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Wang, Stitch Fix co-founder and CEO Katrina Lake, and former governor of Washington and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (D) signed the letter. The letter called for an end to violence against Asian Americans. ⁶

The signatories to the letter pledged $10 million to Asian American organizations, which are largely left-of-center in viewpoint. Among the organizations that received money were StopAAPIHate, AAPI Women Lead, NAPAWF, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and the Association for Asian American Studies. ⁷ The San Francisco Bay area left-of-center nonprofit Asian Pacific Fund also received money. ⁸

Many of the organizations that to which Stand With Asian Americans has donated have a left-of-center viewpoint. The letter announced the organization’s formation also includes reference to left-wing identity politics such as the use of the word “Latinx,” which is used by very few Latinos and is more used by far-left activists. The letter also criticizes the use of the phrase “China virus,” used by former President Donald Trump to describe the SARS-COV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also refers to the far-left concept of intersectionality in describing the work of some of the organizations that it supports. ⁹

Organization

Stand With Asian Americans has two chapters, one in the San Francisco Bay area and one in New York City. The New York City chapter was founded in October 2021. The goal was to launch 10 chapters by the end of 2022. ¹⁰

The organization also has a grant making arm, the Catalyst Fund for Justice. The fund will initially support hate crime victims, work to reduce workplace discrimination and the lack of Asian American representation in politics, and support underfunded nonprofits. In addition, the fund plans to advocate for increased Asian American history in educational curriculum and Asian American representation in the workplace and civic organizations. ¹¹

Leadership

Eric Kim is most often identified as the leader and spokesperson for Stand With Asian Americans. He is a venture capitalist who co-founded and manages the firm Goodwater Capital. ¹²

Finances

As of September 2022, it is unclear if the organization is an independent nonprofit registered with the IRS. Since the organization is so new, tax returns would not be expected to be publicly available if it were.

In May 2021, artist Drue Kataoka auctioned off her first “non fungible token” with all proceeds benefiting the Catalyst Fund for Justice. ¹³

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2. “Stand With Asian Americans NYC Chapter Launch Event – Oct 3Rd, 2021.” NYC EVENT PRO. Accessed August 29, 2022. https://nyceventpro.com/swaa-oct3/3/.
3. Stand With Asian Americans.” Stand With Asian Americans. Accessed August 29, 2022. https://standwithasianamericans.com/
4. Shu, Catherine. “Artist Drue Kataoka Will Auction Her First NFT, With All Proceeds Going To Asian American Causes.” Tech Crunch. May 12, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/12/artist-drue-kataoka-will-auction-her-first-nft-with-all-proceeds-going-to-asian-american-causes/.
5. Akhtar, Allana. “Asian American Executives At Doordash, Youtube, Facebook Donated $10 Million To Support The AAPI Community.” Business Insider. Mar 31, 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-youtube-facebook-execs-donate-10-million-to-aapi-2021-3.
6.  Shu, Catherine. “Artist Drue Kataoka Will Auction Her First NFT, With All Proceeds Going To Asian American Causes.” Tech Crunch. May 12, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/12/artist-drue-kataoka-will-auction-her-first-nft-with-all-proceeds-going-to-asian-american-causes/
7. “Stand With Asian Americans.” Stand With Asian Americans. Accessed August 29, 2022. https://standwithasianamericans.com/.
8. Shu, Catherine. “Artist Drue Kataoka Will Auction Her First NFT, With All Proceeds Going To Asian American Causes.” Tech Crunch. May 12, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/12/artist-drue-kataoka-will-auction-her-first-nft-with-all-proceeds-going-to-asian-american-causes/.
9. “Stand With Asian Americans.” Stand With Asian Americans. Accessed August 29, 2022. https://standwithasianamericans.com/.
10. “Stand With Asian Americans NYC Chapter Launch Event – Oct 3Rd, 2021.” NYC EVENT PRO. Accessed August 29, 2022. https://nyceventpro.com/swaa-oct3/3/.
11. Shu, Catherine. “Artist Drue Kataoka Will Auction Her First NFT, With All Proceeds Going To Asian American Causes.” Tech Crunch. May 12, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/12/artist-drue-kataoka-will-auction-her-first-nft-with-all-proceeds-going-to-asian-american-causes/
12. Shu, Catherine. “Artist Drue Kataoka Will Auction Her First NFT, With All Proceeds Going To Asian American Causes.” Tech Crunch. May 12, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/12/artist-drue-kataoka-will-auction-her-first-nft-with-all-proceeds-going-to-asian-american-causes/.
13. Shu, Catherine. “Artist Drue Kataoka Will Auction Her First NFT, With All Proceeds Going To Asian American Causes.” Tech Crunch. May 12, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/12/artist-drue-kataoka-will-auction-her-first-nft-with-all-proceeds-going-to-asian-american-causes/.