How to Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month at Your Company

Since the pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination. Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month is your organization’s opportunity to support nonprofits responding to this crisis and addressing the needs of AAPI communities and families.

How your company can celebrate AAPI Heritage Month

The following initiatives were curated by our team of social impact experts that execute thoughtful social impact efforts for our customers every day. Some of these initiatives are easy enough to accomplish internally, but for others, you will need to lean on a social impact program or team. 

Don’t have a social impact program or team? Learn more about Percent Pledge powered customized social impact programs, a single source for donations, volunteering, charity vetting, & impact reports.

[1] Donations

Our Percent Pledge Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Cause Portfolio contains four highly-regarded, thoroughly vetted nonprofits that help take the guesswork out of choosing the right organization for your company and employees to donate to and partner with.

Stop AAPI Hate

The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, and child bullying against AAPI in the US. They offer multilingual resources for those impacted, provide technical assistance, support community-based safety measures and restorative justice efforts, and advocate for policies that reinforce human and civil rights protections.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC)

Rooted in the dreams of immigrants and inspired by the promise of opportunity, AAJC advocates for an America in which all Americans can benefit equally from, and contribute to, the American dream. AAJC’s mission is to advance the civil and human rights for Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all.

OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates

OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates is dedicated to advocating for the social, economic, and political well-being of all AAPIs. OCA has an extensive legacy of legislative and cultural wins for the AAPI community. And, continues to fight for language access, immigration reforms, and more, which OCA tackles at both national and grassroots levels.

Apex for Youth

Apex for Youth delivers possibilities to underserved Asian and immigrant youth from low-­income families in NYC. Apex recruits professionals to volunteer, becoming positive role models who inspire youth to expand their horizons and envision what is possible for their lives. Through mentoring and educational programs that serve students from 1st to 12th grade, Apex volunteers guide and support youth to become confident, college-bound and capable of giving back to the community.

Percent Pledge allows all companies and employees to donate to these nonprofits simultaneously through its Workplace Giving Platform.

[2] Volunteering

Time is invaluable, and volunteering your organization’s time, while inspiring your employees to do the same, is often the greatest gift you can give. It’s the perfect team building event and can have an incredibly positive impact on your employees and your organization. 

Support AAPI professionals

Invite your employees to learn how current events are impacting the advocacy work of Asian American Professional Association. A speaker associated with AAPA will discuss the impact of current events on the AAPI business community, and discuss how to respond with advocacy and education on both the local and national levels, as well as within your work environment.

Become an advocate

Host a panel discussion for your employees with OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates. The panel will be composed of people from local OCA chapters, who will explain the challenges, opportunities and accomplishments of AAPI people in their ethnic communities with a focus on current events.

Stop the hate

Organize an educational speaker from Stop AAPI Hate, where they will provide an overview of anti-AAPI hate including trends based on reported incidents, impacts of hate, how it connects to policies and histories of anti-Asian racism, and suggest ways people can advocate. Your employees will better understand the roots of AAPI hate and learn what they can do to support the community.

A single volunteer event takes 20-30 hours to plan and execute. Learn how Percent Pledge saves your company that time by organizing customized volunteer events.

[3] Other ways to support the AAPI community

Inspire your employees to get involved to spread support. No gesture is too small.

Shine a light on violence

If you or your employees have experienced or witnessed an incident of anti-AAPI hate, bigotry, bias, or discrimination, report the incident at Stop AAPI Hate.

Support Asian-owned businesses

The rise of anti-Asian sentiment during the pandemic has taken a financial toll on the community. There are many ways to help, and supporting Asian-owned companies is one of the easiest.

Find a breakdown of each of these efforts and more for your company to make a positive impact this May by downloading our Support AAPI Community Kit. Again, if you need help pursuing these initiatives, learn more about Percent Pledge’s proven social impact program and team of experts by requesting a demo.