Organization Spotlight: Jade Philanthropy Society

By Michelle Phipps-Evans

When Nina Un and Virginia Cheung connected about two years ago, they dreamed of revamping the DC Asian American nonprofit scene.

    “The nonprofits are homegrown in the area, and they’re duplicative,” said Un, a Chinese American who’s the founder of Care to Lunch, a charity-focused lunch series in Tyson’s Corner, Va. “They’re all trying to do the same thing, to address the same needs, going to the same donors.” Furthermore, most of these nonprofits tend to focus on improving the lives of only one ethnic group, which can impose limits on the demographic that they are able to serve, but can’t take advantage of economies of scale.

   “I’ve been involved in nonprofit work,” added Cheung, an attorney and native Washingtonian Chinese American. “But there was never that Asian voice, I was the only one.”

    That’s where Jade Philanthropy Society (JPS) stepped in. Besides offering a support system for the area’s many philanthropic organizations, it also recognizes, nurtures and promotes current and future Asian-American nonprofit leaders.

    The brainchild of Un and Cheung, JPS started late 2011. The women sought other Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders in philanthropy to join JPS. By the end of the year, 12 AAPI women—all leaders in their community and actively involved in nonprofits—began meeting to form a working group to increase AAPI participation and support.

    They emphasize that JPS is not a nonprofit. Its mission is more as a “facilitator” and as a bridge to bring groups and people together. It doesn’t produce direct-service programs but it partners with, and enhances existing programs to increase awareness of these programs, and increase their participation levels and overall reach.

    “We’re matchmakers, we bring together the major players,” said Herndon, Va., Council member Grace Han Wolf, a Korean American, and one of JPS’s founding members. “We’re opening a gateway for Asian Americans to enter. Nonprofits need more help with brand awareness and with marketing structure.” She said the players may be found in the corporate world, among legislators or in other branches of government.

    One event they were involved in recently was the reception with the Cherry Blossom Giving Circle and the Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy in October. Attendees learned about the needs of the underserved Asian-American populations and how individual and collective philanthropy can make a difference.

    Three of the co-founders discussed JPS’s mission one Friday afternoon in March after one of Un’s Care to Lunch gatherings at the Marriott in Tyson’s Corner, Va. These offer a forum to raise awareness with a portion of the lunch proceeds going to any individual nonprofit organization. JPS’s other members are well accomplished in the Asian-American community. They include Jenet Ahn, Leona Chan, Smita Dutta, Suzanne Kim Doud-Galli, Rosetta Lai, Rosemary Tran Lauer, Grace Lee, Jennifer Lee and Hong Pham.

    Together, they voted on the name.

    “We wanted the name to reflect the membership that included all Asians,” said Un. “Jade is recognized throughout the culture. We didn’t want ethnicity to be part of the mission as the mission is to raise the philanthropic profile (among Asians).” And so, Jade Philanthropy Society was born.

    The women say that they’ve noticed that Asian Americans don’t receive a lot of attention from the media or the government. Since Asians are considered model minorities, the assumption is they have are no economic, social or political needs, said Cheung. However, she highlighted Census data that stated that Montgomery County in Maryland is made up of 14 percent Asians but about 6,000 of them are low income. In the District of Columbia, the city is home to only 5 percent Asian Americans, but more than 13 percent of them are low income. According to White House data, 12.6 percent of Asians live below poverty in comparison to 12.4 percent for the rest of the country.

    The Jade Philanthropy Society helps Asian American nonprofits make a bigger impact on these Asian Americans in need by connecting organizations together. Many nonprofits depend on funding from outside sources in order to continue doing the work that they do. However, many funding sources don’t understand the need for Asian American nonprofits very well.

    “For us to get funding from the mainstream, we have to speak up and speak out,” Han Wolf said.

    Although the society is new, its members are already busy planning events for the coming year. JPS will be supporting the Touching Heart Golf Tournament at Landsdowne Resort and the Asian Chamber of Commerce’s gala.

    “We want to support and help those who’re out there,” said Un. “We want to lead by setting examples. We want to find other (Asian American and Pacific Islanders) rock stars.”

For more information, visit the website at www.jadephilanthropy.org.