TAAF AAPI Emergency Relief Fund

When the murders in Atlanta and Indianapolis happened in Spring 2021, communities on the ground were suffering and a protection and response infrastructure had to be built on-the-spot. We want to avoid that need, so that we are prepared to engage and provide relief as quickly as possible. The Asian American Foundation (“TAAF”) is proud to partner with GoFundMe.org to focus on preparing our communities for when hate happens.

We want to make sure that survivors, their families, and their communities get the support they need, to heal, to recover, and to stay safe especially if there are long-term impacts and effects. 

TAAF is seeding $500,000 for this GoFundMe x TAAF AAPI Emergency Relief Fund and asking for support from the broader community and allies to also pitch in to help victims of violent crimes aimed at the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. It’s imperative they receive the fast, safe care that they need.

This fund is one aspect of the TAAF's Anti-Hate National Network, which includes AAPI Action Centers in Chicago, New York City, and Oakland, and is working toward creating a broader sense of belonging for the 23 million AAPIs living across the nation.

What we do:

The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit which provides funding and resources to build the infrastructure to improve AAPI advocacy, power, and representation.

Read more about TAAF here

Read more about the TAAF partners here

The processing fee charged to each donation up to $1M in funds raised on the GoFundMe Platform will be paid through a generous donation by TAAF and all costs and expenses incurred by GoFundMe.org will be covered through a generous anonymous donation, so that 100% of every dollar will go to help the victims and/or their families, or to the Action Centers.

GoFundMe x TAAF Q&A

Q: There are a lot of GoFundMe fundraisers for Asian American causes, why should I donate to this one?

A: The Asian American Foundation’s (“TAAF's”) AAPI Emergency Relief Fund is focused on providing fast, flexible support to individuals and their families who have been the subject of violent crime stemming from anti-AAPI sentiment. This fund is part of TAAF's Anti-Hate National Network, so it benefits from having the support of TAAF and the Network it is building which includes AAPI Action Centers (collectively “Action Centers”). Ultimately, survivors and their families will receive all funds donated through TAAF’s AAPI Emergency Relief Fund, either directly from GoFundMe.org grants or through Action Centers. The transaction fee charged to each donation on the GoFundMe Platform will be paid through a generous donation by TAAF, and all costs and expenses incurred by GoFundMe.org will be covered through a generous anonymous donation, so that 100% of every dollar donated will go to help the victims and/or their families, or to the Action Centers.

Q: Who is allocating the funds that are raised?

A: GoFundMe.org is the benefiting organization for this fundraiser. It is a tax exempt public entity and all donations, to the extent permitted, are tax deductible. Working very closely with The Asian American Foundation (“TAAF”), GoFundMe.org will identify, vet and distribute grants to ensure that resources are delivered to victims of the violent crime, or their families, as quickly as possible.

Q: What is The Asian American Foundation’s role in the fund? 

A: The Asian American Foundation (“TAAF”) is a convener, incubator and funder committed to accelerating opportunity and prosperity for Asian and Pacific Islander communities throughout the United States. TAAF strives to be a catalyzing force for belonging for the 23 million people in the Asian Pacific Islander community. TAAF is seeding its AAPI Emergency Relief Fund with $500,000, and proudly partnering with the GoFundMe Platform to help grow the fund from community donations and GoFundMe.org to help distribute the grants. GoFundMe is the go-to expert for crowdsourced fundraising, and so TAAF wanted to work with GoFundMe to create a way for more people to support AAPI communities facing an onslaught of hate and violence.

Q: Why should I donate now?

A: This is about preparation. After violence occurs, many survivors and their families do not have the ability to set up a GoFundMe fundraiser in time for major life decisions for all those affected. As such, TAAF created this Fund to provide a baseline of resources ready to support community needs. So that when a fundraiser is created, GoFundMe.org can quickly identify the beneficiary as being part of the charitable class and make a grant to help them through difficult times.

Q: How does the TAAF AAPI Emergency Relief Fund differ from the AAPI Community Fund?

A: TAAF’s AAPI Emergency Relief Fund supports the survivors and families of violent crimes against Asian and Pacific Islanders. Grants will be delivered either directly to survivors and/or their families, or they will pass through one of TAAF’s AAPI Action Centers before going to survivors and/or their families. In contrast, the AAPI Community Fund has the purpose of uplifting, empowering, and protecting the AAPI community more generally by giving to a wide variety of charities. These charities address urgent local issues as well as push to create systemic change. TAAF’s focus is more narrowly to support victims and their families.

GoFundMe.org is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81-2279757). Its mission is to provide fast and effective relief to victims of disaster, and to fund education and other charitable initiatives. In its first 5 years of operation, GoFundMe.org raised over $140 million, for distribution to vetted nonprofit organizations serving the same mission, and to verified individuals who are part of the charitable class. GoFundMe.org eliminates the paradox of choice for donors by providing one centralized place to give, knowing that those dollars are efficiently dispersed to the right organizations and people. Donations to this fund are tax-deductible to the extent permissible by law.