Committed to denying Donald Trump another term in the White House, Asian Americans for Democracy (AA4D), a project of the CAPA21 political action committee, announced $500,000 in grants to 10 state-based organizations in seven key states where there are enough Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) voters to swing state electoral college results.

The grants underscore the importance of AANHPI voters who are the fastest-growing group of eligible voters in the U.S., rising by 15 percent or about 2 million eligible voters since 2020. There will be 15 million AANHPIs eligible to vote in 2024.

Funding from AA4D will ensure grantee organizations have the resources they need in key states to mobilize AANHPI voters in record numbers this November. Grantees are located in seven battleground states that could decide the next Presidential election, namely Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Funds will help train volunteers, deploy door-knocking teams and staff up multilingual phone banks.

The $500,000 worth of grants will be distributed as follows:

• $100,000 to Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance (Pennsylvania)\
• $75,000 to Freedom Action Now (Wisconsin)
• $55,000 to PIVOT, The Progressive Vietnamese American Organization (National)
• $50,000 to APIA Vote – MI Action (Michigan)
• $50,000 to North Carolina Asian American Together in Action (NCAAT in Action)
• $50,000 to One APIA Nevada
• $50,000 to Rising Voices (Michigan)
• $50,000 to Southeast Asian Action (Wisconsin)
• $10,000 to AZ AANHPI Advocates (Arizona)
• $10,000 to Asian American Advocacy Fund (Georgia)
  

AA4D, a volunteer-run effort initiated by veteran Asian American activists and community leaders, formed in March with the goal of raising $2 million to bolster voter turnout and defeat Trump. Statewide efforts will be supported by a multilingual digital campaign to reach AANHPI voters whose primary language is not English, including reaching voters through tailored social media platforms and ethnic news media.

“There is no greater threat to democracy than Trump,” said Tamlyn Tomita, chair of CAPA21. “We must act now and mobilize Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voters who can be the margin of victory in the close elections anticipated in the swing states.”
Eddie Wong, an AA4D Organizing Committee member, said early funding will enable grantee organizations to hire and train staff needed well before the fall get out the vote (GOTV) push.
“These groups work year-round and are trusted voices in the community which is why we’re funding local efforts,” Wong added.

Helen Zia, the renowned author and an AA4D Organizing Committee member, praised the early response to AA4D efforts.\

“Raising $500,000 in a few weeks showed us how much Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voters want to prevent Trump from declaring himself dictator and plunging our country and the world into chaos,” Zia said.

Early donations to AA4D included $100,000 from Tamlyn Tomita and Daniel Blinkoff and $100,000 from Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. and Sandra O. Ocampo.

To learn more about how AANHPI voters can be the deciding factor in the 2024 presidential election, visit http://www.AsianAmericans4Democracy.org and follow @AA4Democracy on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X.

About AA4D and CAPA21. Asian Americans for Democracy (AA4D) is a project of the CAPA21 Asian American political action committee. AA4D’s organizing committee includes civil rights activists, artists and writers, and community, including Kathy Ko Chin, Dianne Fukami, Carole Hayashino, Dale Minami, Debra Nakatomi, Dan Nguyen-Tan, Vincent Pan, Lia Shigemura, Eddie Wong, Helen Zia and Hoyt Zia. CAPA21 is led by board members Tamlyn Tomita (Chair), Dale Minami, Maeley Tom, and Ginger Lew.

Media Contacts:
For AA4D: NakatomiPR, media@nakatomipr.com, (310) 914-5000
For CAPA21: team@capa21.com