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Formation | 1999 |
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Legal status | Political action committee |
Purpose | Asian American political participation |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Location |
|
Main organ | board of directors |
Affiliations | Hyphen Magazine , CAPAC, Angry Asian Man , 18 Million Rising, APIAVote, NCAPA, AALDEF, Ready PAC, WHAAPI, ASPIRE PAC |
Staff | 1 |
Volunteers | 100+ |
Website | AAAFund.org |
The Asian American Action Fund (AAAFund) is an American Democratic political action committee founded in 1999. AAAFund's goal is to increase the voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in every level of local, state and federal government in the United States. Specifically, AAAFund addresses the under-representation of AAPIs by organizing campaign volunteers, campaign contributions, technical support, and logistics for both endorsed and un-endorsed candidates running for political office. AAAFund has regional chapters in Northern California, Chicago, Northern Virginia/Maryland/District of Columbia, Southern Ohio, Georgia, and New York City as well as a young professional chapter.
AAAFund receives financial support from foundations, corporations, individuals, and fundraisers. AAAF receives no government funds. [1]
In October 2007, AAAF Board members Gautam Dutta and Caroline Fan started its blog.
On May 31, 2008, the DNC awarded the AAAF blog team press credentials, one of only two Asian-American blogs, along with Sepia Mutiny, to receive them. [2]
On June 10, 2008, Kelly Hu was the emcee of the AAAF's annual fundraiser. [3] [4] [5]
On August 8, 2008, the Library of Congress recognized the AAAF Blog as an "outstanding" source of information on the internet during the 2008 Presidential election [6] and added the AAAF Blog to its Election 2008 Web Archive Collection. [7]
On May 5, 2010, the AAAF and Hyphen Magazine announced a cross-posting partnership. [8]
On November 17, 2011, the Philadelphia chapter held its inaugural event. [9]
Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee.
Deborah Wasserman Schultz is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 25th congressional district, first elected to Congress in 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a former chair of the Democratic National Committee.
The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy, sometimes referred to as Chinagate, was an effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration and also involved the fundraising practices of the administration itself.
James Joseph Zogby is the founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington, D.C.–based organization that serves as a political and policy research arm of the Arab-American community. He is Managing Director of Zogby Research Services, LLC, specializing in research and communications and undertaking polling across the Arab world. In September 2013 President Obama appointed Zogby to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Zogby is a lecturer and scholar on Middle East issues and a Visiting Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at New York University Abu Dhabi. From 2001 to 2017 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee.
OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is a non-profit organization founded in 1973, whose stated mission is to advance the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the United States.
Hyphen is an American print and online magazine, founded in 2002 by a group of San Francisco Bay Area journalists, activists, and artists including Melissa Hung, a former reporter for the Houston Press and East Bay Express; Claire Light, former executive director at Kearny Street Workshop; Yuki Tessitore, of Mother Jones; Mia Nakano, photojournalist; filmmaker Jennifer Huang; Stefanie Liang, a graphic designer from Red Herring magazine; journalist Bernice Yeung; and Christopher Fan, now a professor of English and Asian American Studies. Its advisory board included notable Asian American journalists such as Helen Zia and Nguyen Qui Duc, the host of Pacific Time. The first issue was released in June 2003. Hyphen was one of several Asian American media ventures created in the wake of A Magazine's demise.
Deborah Ann Dingell is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has been the U.S. representative for Michigan's 6th congressional district since 2015. She is the widow of John Dingell, her predecessor in the seat, who holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history. She worked as a consultant to the American Automobile Policy Council. She was a superdelegate for the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Kelly Ann Hu is an American actress, former fashion model and beauty queen who was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993. Hu starred as Dr. Rae Chang on the American television soap opera Sunset Beach and as Michelle Chan on the American television police drama series Nash Bridges. She has starred in numerous films including The Scorpion King (2002) as Cassandra, Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) as Sona, X2 as Yuriko Oyama / Lady Deathstrike (2003), The Tournament (2009) as Lai Lai Zhen, and White Frog (2012).
Asian Americans represent a growing share of the national population and of the electorate. The lower political participation of Asian Americans has been raised as a concern, especially as it relates to their influence on politics in the United States. In the 21st century, Asian Americans have become a key Democratic Party constituency.
NGP VAN, Inc. is an American privately owned voter database and web hosting service provider used by the Democratic Party, Democratic campaigns, and other non-profit organizations authorized by the Democratic Party. The platform or service is used by political and social campaigns for fundraising, campaign finance compliance, field organizing, and digital organizing. NGP VAN, Inc. was formerly known as Voter Activation Network, Inc. and changed its name to NGP VAN, Inc. in January 2011. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Washington, D.C., with an additional location in Somerville, Massachusetts.
The Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Research Consortium (AAPIPRC) focuses on critical policy issues facing the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Conceived of as part of the White House Executive Order 13515 (2009) the consortium supports, promotes, and conducts applied social science and policy research. In addition, Professor Paul M. Ong proposed two courses of action for AAPIPRC, one which formalizes working relationships among university-based AAPI research institutions and the other which would include publishing the proceedings of the briefs to inform policy.
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The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) is an American federation of Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian. and Pacific Islander LGBTQ organizations. NQAPIA was formed in 2007, as an outgrowth of the LGBT APA Roundtable working groups at the 2005 National Gay Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Conference in Oakland, California. NQAPIA seeks to build the capacity of local LGBT AAPI organizations, invigorate grassroots organizing, develop leadership, and challenge homophobia, racism, and anti-immigrant bias. The organization "focuses on grass-roots organizing and leadership development."
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