Philanthropic response to anti-Asian hate spurs creation of new foundation

Wealthy Asian American business leaders and organizations such as Walmart and the Ford Foundation have collectively dedicated $250 million to the new Asian American Foundation – the single largest philanthropic commitment ever to Asian Americans – The New York Times reports. 

The new national foundation is being created after a surge of anti-Asian hate crimes and bias incidents across the United States. So far, it has backed initiatives to track data related to anti-Asian hate and to promote civil rights for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. 

Other foundations and philanthropists have begun to commit to setting aside more funding specifically for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – a March report found that just 0.2% of all grantmaking was dedicated to those communities. The Asian American Foundation aims to fill in some of those gaps in funding to combat anti-Asian discrimination and promote education showing the importance of Asian Americans in history. 

The latest efforts mirror similar announcements from last year, after nationwide Black Lives Matter protests led foundations in New York and beyond to announce new investments in racial justice programs.