Help us raise $10,000 to fund a fellow's civic impact project and dreams to create change for our AAPI communities.
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women have long been underserved, undervalued, disproportionately targeted by violence, and underrepresented at all levels of government. The National Institute of Justice found that 52% of AAPI women reported having experienced sexual or physical assault, undoubtedly an underestimate, as AAPI women are the demographic group least likely to report these crimes. AAPIs have historically been and remain vulnerable to targeted hate, as we saw in response to xenaphobic propaganda during the Covid-19 pandemic, echoing systemic violence perpetrated throughout our history. From 2020-2021, 4,599 anti-Asian hate incidents were reported, 62% against women. In 2021, the Georgia mass shooting killing eight people - six AAPI women - brought the often invisible subjugation of AAPI women into the public conversation.
From the lowest voter registration to grossly inadequate electoral representation, AAPIs lack access to political power. AAPI women rarely see themselves reflected in public office. Just 0.9% of elected officials across the country are AAPIs. Over 7 times as many AAPIs would need to be elected for AAPIs to have equal representation.
The Asian American Women’s Political Initiative (AAWPI) is the only national-level political leadership organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women. Our mission is simple: we work to ensure that AAPI women have a voice in our democracy.
AAWPI’s National Civic Impact Fellowship & Incubator Program is a 6-month program that empowers individuals and ideas to create change for our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. We primarily support community-driven AAPI women, femme, and gender-expansive people with $10,000 to design and implement a civic impact project, and then provide them with training, mentorship, and deep community to help them bring their ideas to life. Fellows are part of a national cohort of changemakers from Georgia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The fellowship has both in-person and online components meant to build an intentional community where fellows learn from and uplift each other.
The ultimate goal of scaling our program is to develop the leadership of AAPI women in states where AAPIs are the fastest growing population and AAPI civic engagement and voter activation is critical.
Help us raise $10,000 to fund a fellow's civic impact project and dreams to create change for our AAPI communities.