Dear Members of the Korean American Social Work Educators Association (KASWEA),

Greetings! It is our sincere pleasure to reconnect with you and introduce a pivotal initiative that calls for our collective support: the 2026-2027 KASWEA Junior Faculty Seed Grant and Doctoral Scholarship Awards (Outstanding Dissertation Award & Outstanding Dissertation Proposal Award), as well as the KASWEA professional networking activities.

Last year, thanks to your generous support, we successfully combined the spring and fall fundraising phases into a single campaign. Building on that success, we are continuing with this unified approach again this year.

In 2025, we are excited to broaden our support to include gatherings at key events, particularly the KASWEA Annual Meeting at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference. These gatherings foster networking, mentoring, professional development, and the exchange of ideas, creating a nurturing and empowering environment for the KASWEA community.

Our shared commitment to excellence and to supporting emerging talent continues to drive us forward. This year, we aim to raise $4,500 to support our Junior Faculty Seed Grant and Doctoral Scholarship Awards, and our community-building events. Your contribution will have a direct impact on the careers of our junior faculty and doctoral students, helping them to achieve their full potential and advance innovation within our field.

Previous Year Award Recipients

Junior Faculty Seed Grant

Keunhye Park, Ph.D., Michigan State University

Outstanding Dissertation Award

Not awarded

Outstanding Dissertation Proposal Award

Juyoung Park (Doctoral Candidate, University of Southern California) Dissertation Title: The Mental Health Impact of Financial Mistreatment in Later Life: The Role of Stress Appraisals and Psychosocial Vulnerabilities

Cho Rong Claudia Won (Doctoral Candidate, The University of Alabama) Dissertation Title: Mixed Methods Approach to the Korean-Youth Mental Health First Aid (K-YMHFA): A Pilot Study

How You Can Support

We seek your invaluable support to achieve our fundraising goal. Your kind contribution will go a long way in helping our doctoral students and junior faculty members achieve their career goals.

How to donate?

Contributions of any amount are deeply appreciated. If you are unsure of how much to give, we suggest $20 or more.

Note. GoFundMe automatically adds a 15% tip to support their platform. This amount does not go to KASWEA, and you are not required to pay it.

When to donate?

Please make your contributions by October 19, 2025

How the funds will be administered

▪ The KASWEA Fundraising Committee will maintain the funds.

▪ Grant and scholarship recipient selection will be overseen by the KASWEA Award Review Committee.

▪ Funds will be used to support

Doctoral students and junior faculty in the United States or Canada

The KASWEA Annual Meeting at CSWE and the SSWR Conferences.

• Award amounts:

Junior Faculty Seed Grant: $2,000 per project

Doctoral Scholarship: $500 per recipient.

▪ No more than 10% of the funds raised each year will be allocated to community networking opportunities.

Tax-deductible contribution

• KASWEA is a federally incorporated nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)). Your donation is tax-deductible

We sincerely thank you for your steadfast support and commitment to the growth of emerging young scholars. For questions or more information, please contact Dr. Heehyul Moon at [email redacted].

Together, let’s empower the future of Korean scholars in academia and make a lasting impact.

Your contribution matters!

Warm regards,

Fundraising Committee, KASWEA