National CAPACD Partners with Wells Fargo Foundation to Support the Financial Well-Being of Low income Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Washington, D.C. – The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) will continue to uplift and support the financial well-being of low-income Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) across the country, thanks to the recently awarded grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation.
Funds from Wells Fargo Foundation were passed through to 5 community-based organizations, with an average grant size of $25,000. Organizations were selected based on their demonstrated success in delivering culturally appropriate group financial education and one-on-one financial coaching. This funding will bring critical resources to the rapidly growing population of low-income AAPI communities in California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
AAPIs have the greatest income inequality of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States today. As documented by the Pew Research Center, from 1970 to 2016, the top income bracket of Asian Americans experienced tremendous economic growth while those in the lowest income bracket experienced highly concentrated poverty. Indeed, the top 10% of Asian Americans make 10.7 times more than the bottom 10%. Improving the financial well-being of low-income AAPIs is more important now than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened their need for culturally relevant resources and programs to help them regain financial stability lost during the pandemic.
As an intermediary, National CAPACD works closely with philanthropic partners, practitioners, researchers, and thought leaders to build a strong network of economic empowerment organizations that can deliver culturally and linguistically relevant services to those most in need. For 21 years, the organization has invested in building local capacity while also lifting up innovative, best practices for addressing poverty and racial wealth inequality.
Seema Agnani, National CAPACD’s Executive Director, said, “The lessons of the pandemic have only confirmed what we already knew: strong community-based organizations at the local level are critical to reaching, protecting, and supporting low-income AAPIs. We must set local organizations up for continued success in improving the economic conditions of low-income AAPIs through meaningful investments in their capacity and their leadership. We extend our thanks to philanthropic partners like the Wells Fargo Foundation for investing in this work locally and nationally.”
To learn more about National CAPACD’s Economic Empowerment programs, please visit our website.