Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN): 2021 Annual Report
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN): 2021 Annual Report
A message from Vivian Yi Huang,
Incoming Director
In 2021, we showed up for each other.
When attacks on elders in the Bay Area’s Asian communities went viral earlier this year, we mobilized hundreds of people to Chinatown to build relationships, help people feel safe walking around the neighborhood, and reimagine what safety looks like. When six Asian women were murdered in Atlanta this March, thousands of you came out to our vigil in Chinatown or watched along online. When politicians tried to use the attacks on our elders as an excuse to further destabilize our communities, we chose solidarity instead — by working with other working-class communities of color to win city budgets in Oakland and Richmond that reinvest in real, community-led solutions to public safety like housing, good jobs, violence prevention programs and mental health services. When wildfires, extreme heat and smoke threatened our health, we distributed hundreds of multilingual wildfire safety kits to make sure our communities had the supplies and information they needed to stay safe.
All the while, we fought for policy changes that will invest in our communities for generations to come and worked to make sure that the communities on the frontlines of fighting climate change have what they need to weather climate disasters. Together with other working-class communities of color in Richmond and the leadership of Communities for a Better Environment, our members fought for (and won!) new regulations that will dramatically reduce the pollution from local refineries, which for too long have been poisoning the air our members breathe every day. At the same time, we led a coalition of urban and rural frontline communities across the state to secure $100 million in funding to invest in creating similar resilience hubs across California where our communities can access services before, during and after disasters hit.
In the coming years, we will deepen our roots and build power for working-class Asian immigrant and refugee communities. We will steward a just transition to decommission our fossil fuel infrastructure and repair the harm that the oil and gas industry has done to workers and communities. We’ll invest in building the climate resilient communities that our members imagine where everyone has what they need to thrive. We couldn’t do any of this without the deep commitment of our hundreds of members and thousands of supporters, donors, and allies. Thank you for standing with Asian immigrant and refugee communities this year.
When attacks on elders in the Bay Area’s Asian communities went viral earlier this year, we mobilized hundreds of people to Chinatown to build relationships, help people feel safe walking around the neighborhood, and reimagine what safety looks like. When six Asian women were murdered in Atlanta this March, thousands of you came out to our vigil in Chinatown or watched along online. When politicians tried to use the attacks on our elders as an excuse to further destabilize our communities, we chose solidarity instead — by working with other working-class communities of color to win city budgets in Oakland and Richmond that reinvest in real, community-led solutions to public safety like housing, good jobs, violence prevention programs and mental health services. When wildfires, extreme heat and smoke threatened our health, we distributed hundreds of multilingual wildfire safety kits to make sure our communities had the supplies and information they needed to stay safe.
All the while, we fought for policy changes that will invest in our communities for generations to come and worked to make sure that the communities on the frontlines of fighting climate change have what they need to weather climate disasters. Together with other working-class communities of color in Richmond and the leadership of Communities for a Better Environment, our members fought for (and won!) new regulations that will dramatically reduce the pollution from local refineries, which for too long have been poisoning the air our members breathe every day. At the same time, we led a coalition of urban and rural frontline communities across the state to secure $100 million in funding to invest in creating similar resilience hubs across California where our communities can access services before, during and after disasters hit.
In the coming years, we will deepen our roots and build power for working-class Asian immigrant and refugee communities. We will steward a just transition to decommission our fossil fuel infrastructure and repair the harm that the oil and gas industry has done to workers and communities. We’ll invest in building the climate resilient communities that our members imagine where everyone has what they need to thrive. We couldn’t do any of this without the deep commitment of our hundreds of members and thousands of supporters, donors, and allies. Thank you for standing with Asian immigrant and refugee communities this year.
Movement Victories
Led a statewide campaign to win investments in community resilience centers across California where our communities can access services and connect with each other before, during, and after disaster strikes
Worked with other communities of color in Oakland and Richmond to win city budgets that reinvest in community-led solutions to violence
Launched campaign to pass legislation in Oakland that will help working-class residents stay in their homes by giving them the first chance to purchase a property when a landlord puts it up for sale.
Together with the leadership of Communities for a Better Environment, helped win regulations that will reduce emissions at Bay Area refineries by up to 65%
Our Voices ————
“I envision a Richmond where we’re not anticipating the next refinery explosion or flare, where we invest in green energy and jobs, and where my community can breathe clean and healthy air.”
- Katherine Lee, Richmond Youth Organizer
By The Numbers
100 volunteers helped pick up trash and build community in Chinatown with our volunteer ambassador program
Over 2,000 people attended events we organized in response to anti-Asian violence, with 16,000+ more watching online
Distributed 120 wildfire safety kits to community members in Chinatown
Held 2 virtual lobby days, connecting frontline community leaders with 12 key state legislators
Oakland City Council reinvested $18 million into violence prevention programs and mental health services
Richmond City Council reallocated $3 million into youth programming, violence prevention and homelessness services
The California legislature invested $100 million into creating community resilience centers across the state
APEN gained 2,200 new donors, 150 new volunteers and our social media audiences grew by 64%
Our Voices ————
"Renters should have a voice. If we don’t speak out for ourselves, no one will understand what low income renters like us have to deal with."
- Huang Su Jiao, APEN Oakland member
Your Support Made APEN's Work Possible
Without the generosity of our donors and volunteers, none of this would have been possible. Just days after attacks on elders in our communities went viral in February, we were already receiving hundreds of messages from people across the country interested in volunteering and asking what they could do to help. As we focused on organizing and mobilizing our communities, we never asked for donations -- but thousands of people from Richmond to Singapore took action by donating to support our work advocating for real, community-led solutions to violence.
From the college students in North Carolina who held a fundraiser to support our work to the Asian American small businesses in Oakland and San Francisco who asked how they could partner with us -- we see you, and we deeply appreciate all the ways you have shown up for APEN and our members this year.
APEN board and staff members from throughout our 28-year history have gone above and beyond in working together to raise $40,000 for our Grassroots Asian Environmental Leadership Fund. The fund celebrates the legacy of our outgoing Executive Director Miya Yoshitani by investing in leadership development in Asian immigrant and refugee communities. Thank you!
Our Voices ————
"In 1993, we started an intergenerational grassroots movement -- and it has kept going strong thanks to many leaders including Miya and Vivian."
- Jack Chin, APEN Founding Board Member
Thank You to Our Supporters and Major Funders
Major Funders
- Satterberg Foundation
- Solutions Project
- Surdna Foundation
- The California Endowment
- Henry C. and Sylvia Y. Kao Fund
- James & Gretchen Sandler Philanthropic Fund
Supporters
- Andrea Pien
- Anna Lee
- Anne Wojcicki
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC
- Asian Pacific Fund Solidarity Fund
- AutoDesk Foundation
- Bay Rising
- Building Equity for Alignment and Impact
- California Environmental Justice Alliance
- Catarina Pien
- Climate Justice Alliance
- Crankstart
- David Schellhase
- DC Butterfield & AD Rubio Memorial Foundation
- Dieux
- FThree Foundation
- Ginkgo Fund
- GoFundMe.org
- Graduate Theological Union
- Hidden Leaf Foundation
- Highlands 3:23 Fund
- Judges Walk Family Fund
- Just Solutions Collective
- Justice40 Accelerator
- Laser Away
- Leveler Foundation
- Manzanita Foundation
- Marisla Foundation
- MidPen Housing Corporation
- Momentum Fund
- Mosaic
- Native
- New Breath Foundation
- Next Generation Fund
- Nutiva
- Patagonia
- Penney Family Fund
- Pisces Foundation
- Richard Li Charitable Fund
- Robert Kaspar
- Robert Kwok Fund
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Sandor and Faye Straus
- Scherman Foundation
- Shim Family Foundation
- Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund
- SPARCC
- Tina Burke
- Tyler Wagner
- Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock
- United Frontline Table
- Windward Fund to Build Grassroots Power
- Women's Foundation of CA
- Women’s Environmental Leadership Fund at Tides
2020 Audited Financial Report
Supporters and trusted partners like you have been critical to sustaining our work. Through COVID and the unprecedented uncertainty of these times, we were able to retain our entire staff. Coming into 2021, when our community of Asian immigrants and refugees were increasingly targeted and attacked, it was your generosity that positioned APEN to organize a community response, to heal and to coordinate a demand for action.
We are proud to have received Charity Navigator’s highest score of four stars for financial transparency as well as receiving a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar.
Feel free to take a look at our audited financial report below, or reach out at info@apen4ej.org if you have any questions.
State of Financial Position
| ASSETS | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $3,318,276 | $2,354,583 |
| Accounts receivable | $193,182 | $186,493 |
| Contributions receivable | $1,654,069 | $976,009 |
| Prepaid expenses | $66,793 | $64,336 |
| Property and equipment | $20,360 | $25,159 |
| Deposits | $47,754 | $46,712 |
| Total Assets | $5,300,434 | $3,653,292 |
| LIABILITIES | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $87,229 | $70,853 |
| Accrued vacation | $116,909 | $77,274 |
| Deferred revenue | - | $17,000 |
| Deferred lease obligation | $20,095 | - |
| Total Liabilities | $224,233 | $165,127 |
| NET ASSETS | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Without donor restrictions | $2,221,095 | $1,133,249 |
| With donor restrictions | $2,855,106 | $2,354,916 |
| Total Net Assets | $5,076,201 | $3,488,165 |
| Total Liabilities and Net Assets | $5,300,434 | $3,653,292 |
Statement of Activities
| SUPPORT | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation and corporate grants | $4,553,594 | $2,757,556 |
| Individual contributions | $110,566 | $24,886 |
| Government grants | $531,490 | $76,384 |
| Special event, net | - | $43,935 |
| Total Support | $5,195,650 | $2,902,761 |
| REVENUE | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting and contract revenue | $275,028 | $150,956 |
| Interest and dividends | $4,974 | $6,473 |
| Other | $9,516 | $4,871 |
| Total Revenue | $289,518 | $162,300 |
| Support provided by expiring time and purpose restrictions |
- | - |
| Total Support and Revenue | $5,485,168 | $3,065,061 |
| EXPENSES | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Program | $3,085,960 | $2,685,895 |
| Management and general | $364,487 | $372,770 |
| Fundraising | $446,685 | $370,727 |
| Total Expenses | $3,897,132 | $3,429,392 |
| Change in Net Assets | $1,588,036 | (364,331) |
| Net Assets, beginning of year | $3,488,165 | $3,852,496 |
| Net Assets, end of year | $5,076,201 | $3,488,165 |
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Foundation inquiries:
Reach out to pammei@apen4ej.org
Questions?
Reach out to clio@apen4ej.org
Thank you to our incredible volunteers at Medallia who helped create this report.