A Year of Building Together for the AAPI Community

Dear Friends,

What an incredible year this has been! Thank you to each of you who has played a part in getting us to this moment. With your help TAAF has launched exciting initiatives aimed at meaningful change and measurable impact—from creating a campaign that celebrates our unique identities, to investing in the safety and revitalization of our local communities, to building brighter futures for our young people. Your continued commitment to this shared purpose is what makes our progress possible. As we reflect on 2025 and look forward to working together in 2026, here are a few highlights from this year: 

• We launched our TAAF Cities initiative—advancing safety and opportunity in cities with large AAPI populations—in Seattle. In partnership with the City of Seattle, Amazon, and the Chinatown-International Business District Improvement Area (CIDBIA), and with a $1 million investment from the City of Seattle and TAAF, the CID Ambassador Program serves Chinatown, Japantown, and Little Saigon—assisting small businesses, welcoming visitors, and fostering safer, more vibrant neighborhoods.

• We launched our Asian+American campaign, encouraging the community to reclaim our narratives and celebrate the duality of being both Asian and American. The campaign came to life with a cinematic short film, Beyond, Together, narrated by award-winning actor/producer Sandra Oh and directed by award winner Sean Wang. This PSA was watched over a million times in the first month! At the heart of Asian+American is the personal narrative—we invite all of you to join us and share your #AsianPlusAmerican stories.

• We launched TALA, a program supporting economic mobility and holistic wellbeing for underrepresented AAPI college students. In NYC and San Francisco, 80+ TALA Fellows, attending over 35 colleges and representing more than 15 AAPI ethnicities, are building community and receiving career leadership training and mentorship that honors AAPI identity.

• Our leadership initiatives are strengthening career pipelines for AAPIs. TAAF’s ERG Network (TEN) is a powerful community of AAPI leaders working to build the management-to-C-suite pipeline, and our annual Asian Corporate Directors Conference is focused on increasing Asian representation on corporate boards. 

• We have grown the impact of TAAF’s Safety National Network through our support of 56 local and national organizations in 14 regions. Together, we have strengthened rapid response infrastructure for over 50% of the AAPI community in the U.S. 

• To support AAPI representation in K-12 education, we expanded our AAPI History Hub, to now house over 320 high-quality lesson plans, educational guides, and classroom tools, as well as additional new features to support educators. And TAAF and Third State Books released Fighting to Belong! Volume 2, the second in a three-part graphic novel series that brings AAPI history to life for readers aged 8-13.

• In keeping with our commitment to providing much-needed data and research about the AAPI community, we developed and released research on our communities most urgent needs:
  
  
  •  STAATUS (Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the United States) Index
  • Horizon of Opportunities: Asian American Studies Programs at Research Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges
  • Reframing Representation: The Case for More Asian and Asian American Narratives in Hollywood
  • Analysis of AAPI-Targeted Robberies: Patterns, Trends, and Implications
    
    
• TAAF convened the community to celebrate our rich heritage and for impactful dialogue and collaboration on our most pressing issues. We gathered for TAAF’s fourth annual Heritage Month Summit at Chelsea Piers in New York City, bringing together over 1,500 attendees, 33 chefs, and 65 speakers for 2 days of powerful conversations, celebrations, and community-building moments. We turned our research into action at the AAPI Youth Mental Health Summit. Over 200 guests and panelists joined us to start brave conversations and share innovative strategies to support the well-being of our young people.

I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together––and there is so much more work to be done. Your support will help ensure TAAF can continue to drive real, meaningful change. Please join us in advancing safety, belonging, and prosperity for the AAPI community. When you support TAAF, 100% of your gift goes directly to programs, research, and partnerships that address our community's most pressing needs. Donate today!

From all of us at TAAF, we would like to wish you a joyous holiday season and New Year. We look forward to continuing our work together in 2026.

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In solidarity,

Norman Chen

CEO, The Asian American Foundation

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