Yield Giving—established by Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott—makes monumental gift
Asian Family Support Services of Austin (AFSSA) selected as a recipient to bolster efforts in ending cycles of violence, April Prevention Summit forthcoming as next big move
AUSTIN, Texas – As the Asian community is the fastest growing demographic in Central Texas while only 0.2% of philanthropic grant dollars go towards this community’s needs, the first and longest continuously operating culturally-specific family violence organization in the state has just received transformative funding from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The investment will help Asian Family Support Services of Austin (AFSSA) strengthen efforts in ending cycles of domestic violence, address the escalating needs of safety, culturally specific crisis response, and prevention education.
Asian Family Support Services of Austin (AFSSA) is a community-led, community-centered non-profit founded in 1992 and based in Austin, Texas, that serves Asian survivors of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking who find themselves in the organization’s 10-country area in Central Texas.
“This historic investment in the Asian community and our collective ongoing mission to disrupt cycles of violence is a validation of the work our founders, board, volunteers, staff, sponsors, clients, and partners have been doing daily for over three decades”, says Darlene Lanham, executive director of AFSSA. “This $2 Million grant will transform our confidence in how we approach this broad spectrum of issues, but it will by no means solve it. That is something we must continue doing together.”
“This is just the beginning of a new chapter for our survivor community members and all who advocate along with us and on our behalf. We’re grateful to each of you, our partners who got us here, and we’ll continue to rely on your support going forward,” continued Lanham.
The $2 Million award was the result of an Open Call by Yield Giving. The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each, but some awards were then doubled in an astonishing development.
In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at
https://www.leverforchange.org.
Why this matters, and to who
AFSSA was founded by community members who saw a need for culturally specific services as they realized Asian survivors were not seeking services at mainstream organizations. Since then, AFSSA created a 24-hour hotline, created technical assistance trainings and supported survivors in their journey towards autonomy, in up to 40 languages.
AFSSA served 415 clients in 2023, with a 71% increase in new clients in 2023 over 2022.
This award is a significant step to investing in the escalating needs of the Asian and Survivor Community at large, with Asians being the fastest growing demographic in Central Texas. It is just the beginning of a new chapter following AFSSA’s 32 years of serving Austin and the 10-county area in Central Texas.
Scott has donated billions following her divorce from Jeff Bezos, with whom she co-founded Amazon. The funding is timely, as anti-Asian discrimination has been heightened in recent years. Nationally, Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 339% in 2021 over 2020.
Asian Communities by the Numbers
According to Pew Research Center, about one-third of U.S. Asians fear being threatened or attacked since COVID-19.
Additionally, Asian Americans have been at the center of the mental health crisis in America. 40% of AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year.
What’s next?
For anyone interested in joining the conversation, AFSSA will be hosting their inaugural violence prevention summit, PARTners in Progress, with tracks including youth leadership, survivor healing, and policy advocacy. It is an all-day event next month on April 20th with presentations, workshops and panel discussions related to each track.
Registration is now open: https://afssasummit2024.givesmart.com
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About Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.
About AFSSA
Asian Family Support Services of Austin, or AFSSA (formerly SAHELI) is a nonprofit organization based in Austin, Texas, that provides assistance to Asian and other people dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault and trafficking who find themselves in the 10-county area of Central Texas. AFSSA’s multi-lingual and multi-cultural staff with our own interpreters provide services in 39 different languages in the following Central Texas counties: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell, Lee, Fayette, Blanco, Burnet, Llano, and Bastrop. The agency will provide phone support, referrals, and system advocacy to all parts of Texas and outside of the state for those who cannot access similar services within their local jurisdiction. More at https://www.afssAustin.org
Media Inquiries
Contact: Friday Genung
Email: grants@afssaustin.org
Phone: 512-358-6318