This decision has been years in the making.

Today, I am beyond excited to share with you a decision that has been years in the making:

✨ APEN is launching an organizing project in Los Angeles! ✨

For almost three decades, APEN has been building grassroots power in the Bay Area’s working-class Asian immigrant and refugee communities to realize their vision of a healthy and just world.

In Richmond, we’ve stood up against big polluters and fought to stop Chevron from expanding its massive oil refinery in the region. In Oakland’s Chinatown we’ve organized and won to protect tenants from being evicted and are continuing to fight for safe, stable and affordable housing.

Our members have always led with vision and heart while lifting up the importance of making connections with other frontline communities. Over time, it has become increasingly clear that our communities are impacted by decisions across the state – not just at the local level. We need to build statewide power.

Since 2012, we’ve been talking to Asian voters around the state about the issues that matter most to our communities. It’s working: from winning billions of dollars for solar on affordable housing in 2018 to fighting for a statewide commitment to a phaseout of fossil fuels in this year’s climate plan, we are seeing real results.

But we need to do more to win the world our communities deserve. The core of APEN’s work has always been deep organizing and leadership development. Through deep conversations with our members and partners, it has become clear that we need to invest in deep organizing outside of the Bay Area.

That is why we are launching a new organizing project in a third part of the state: the South Bay region of Los Angeles County!

In the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing more about this decision: why we decided on Los Angeles as the next place to expand our organizing, and how we are going to do it. Throughout 2022, we’ve been talking to partner organizations on the ground, knocking on doors and calling Asian residents to ask them about the issues their communities are facing – and we are excited to share back what we have learned and build on this knowledge in the years ahead.

But first, we need your help. Launching a new organizing base isn’t cheap. We need an office. We need organizers and canvassers who can hit the streets across the region. We need to invest in listening to the South Bay community before we can really build power there.

We need to raise $70,000 by the end of the year to power our organizing in Los Angeles in 2023.

Will you donate to APEN to stand with us on this next chapter of our journey?

We are so grateful for your support as we take this next step together. Thank you for making our work possible.