chinese adoptee collective (cac) is proud to present, "FAMILY" - first, found, and future - the 2nd closed* conference for people adopted from china on may 22 - 25 2026 at the asian arts initiative (aai) in downtown chinatown, philadelphia, pa.

cac is a growing group of people adopted from china organizing events, sharing resources, and working towards liberation for our community. we are a 100% volunteer and donation based collective seeking to break even on the cost of this 2nd conference in order to be able to continue to serve our community with pay-what-you-can (pwcyc) and no-one-turned-away-for-lack-of-funds (notaflof) opportunities. this first goal is the total amount it costs to rent the venue. for over 30 years aai has served chinatown philadelphia as a multidisciplinary arts center working towards building community through the power of art. learn more about the venue here :: asianartsinitiative.org

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cac is super stoked to be taking over the aai building again in 2026. we will have access to the event hall and three additional studios from friday to monday. here are some "FAMILY" - first, found, and future, program highlights** ::

**grouped by subdivision, scheduling/confirmations in progress, all subject to change

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if somebody you know could benefit from this effort please consider donating and sharing! too many adoptees have never had the opportunity to be in a safer, braver, closed* space with folks like them. by donating today you are helping chinese adoptees create this space as a service to our community.

a note to fellow community members, bipoc adoptees, and marginalized folks :: please consider sharing this fundraiser with your trusted circles before donating yourself. we as a community-based collective understand firsthand the exhausting and unsustainable nature of 100% community funded effort.

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our 2nd goal will cover micro grants and stipends. attending a conference can get expensive fast - flight costs and multi-night hotel stays plus food and emergency/last minute expenses. cac is proud to offer pay-what-you-can (pwyc) conference registration again in 2026 (registration opens soon). this means no one will be turned away for lack of funds (notaflof) in order to attend the “FAMILY” conference. in removing as many barriers to entry as possible cac is also allocating the entirety of this 2nd goal - $6000 - directly to community members (ie. conference attendees, program workshop leads, panelists, photo/video and av tech support, etc.) in order to offset their flight and lodgings costs in order to attend the conference.

our 3rd goal will offset program and miscellaneous costs. lanyards, print programs, workshop supplies, free water, and masks and rapid tests are just some of the program and miscellaneous costs to be covered in this goal. the small details of a conference that make it great come at a cost and we hope donors will see the value in supporting this 3rd and final goal - $5000 - in order to make this second conference just as special as the first.

updates from us can be found here, on our website (chineseadopteecollective.com), or our instagram (@chineseadopteecollective)!

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cac hosted the inaugural closed* conference for people adopted from china, "CONTEXT", at aai on june 27-29 2025.

see more about the 2025 conference here :: https://chineseadopteecollective.com/2025-conference-all

*closed means only for people (adults 18+) adopted from china. no adoptive parents, partners, or the general public.

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chineseadopteecollective.com | @chineseadopteecollective