National CAPACD’s Coalition Grows in 2024
We were excited to grow our coalition in 2024, with 12 members joining us! Welcome to our newest members:
- Apex Fund for Economic Opportunities, Akron, OH
- Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation (APIAHiP), Seattle, WA
- Chinatown Media and Arts Collaborative (CMAC), San Francisco, CA
- Culturingua, San Antonio, TX
- Hawaiian Lending & Investments (HLI), Honolulu, HI
- Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce (HWCC), Milwaukee, WI
- Japanese American Service Committee Housing Corporation, Chicago, IL
- KAN-WIN, Chicago, IL
- Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), Oakland, CA
- Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources (PIK2AR), Taylorsville, UT
- Pakini Loan Fund, Waianae, HI
- Welcome to Chinatown Inc., New York, NY
National CAPACD’s Coalition Comes Together Throughout the Year
A key strategy for strengthening National CAPACD’s coalition is bringing people together. At our 2024 Building CAPACD Convention in Chicago, IL, we convened nearly 400 members, partners, and sponsors from across the country. This year’s theme, “Our Places, Our Stories,” allowed us to amplify the stories of AA and NHPI communities in the Midwest and celebrate the rich history and vibrant cultures that make up our coalition.
2024 Building CAPACD Convention participants during the networking reception in Chicago, IL
Our Convention program included powerful plenaries, moving performances, engaging sessions, a networking reception, and mobile tours that allowed attendees to learn more about Chicago’s diverse communities and their places of belonging. This year, National CAPACD’s members and community-based organizations from across the country designed much of the program in response to an open call for proposals, resulting in richer programming representing a wide range of voices and experiences.
Annual Empowerment Economics Summit participants in Lihue, HI
National CAPACD brought together participants from 10 member organizations for our annual Empowerment Economics Summit in Lihue, HI. Empowerment Economics is our culturally responsive framework approach to financial capability in low-income AA and NHPI communities and other BIPOC communities. The participants received in-depth training on implementing the Empowerment Economics framework into their organizations or programs. The summit was hosted by Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), who led a site visit to the Anahola Homesteads, where the participants gained a deeper understanding of how several community-based organizations in Hawaiʻi work together to make it possible for Native Hawaiians to purchase affordable homes on Hawaiian trust lands.
Participants of National CAPACD’s Housing Counseling Convening on a walking tour of the Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens, NY
National CAPACD’s Housing Counseling Network members came together at our annual Housing Counseling Convening in Flushing, NY. Participants engaged in valuable peer learning sessions and an in-depth training on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reporting and compliance. Chhaya CDC organized an enriching Jackson Heights walking tour, where participants learned about the neighborhood’s South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities. In total, 23 housing counseling program staff and counselors received training on conducting housing counseling reporting, better managing their programs while remaining HUD-compliant, and preparing for HUD performance review audits.
National CAPACD’s Policy Achievements in 2024
In support of National CAPACD’s 2021-2024 Policy Platform and 2023-2024 Policy Action Agenda, National CAPACD achieved several milestones this year:
- Submitted Congressional appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget requesting funding and resources for: housing counseling assistance, Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan program.
- Participated in the inaugural U.S. Treasury Department’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Economic Policy Summit in May, and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) Policy Summit in September.
- Endorsed three Congressional bills, released eight public statements, submitted four comment letters, released two joint press statements, and signed on to 46 support letters.
We also continued to work with our national partners in the following ways:
- Worked on a draft of a national financial coaching bill with the National Urban League and UnidosUS.
- Continued our forthcoming research with the Urban Institute for a report on the economic well-being of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities and Pew Research on a housing policy brief.
- Jointly hosted the recurring People & Places Collaborative Hill Advocacy Day in May with the Community Opportunity Alliance (COA) and the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB). Thank you to staff from National CAPACD member organizations who flew into Washington, DC, to join us in advocating for our collective policy priorities on Capitol Hill!
People & Places Collaborative Hill Advocacy Day participants in Washington, DC
We continued to engage with our members throughout the year as we collected and analyzed feedback for the 2025-2028 Policy Platform through policy committee meetings, the 2024 Building CAPACD Convention, and online surveys. Thank you to our members who contributed in each of these ways. We hope to finalize the 2025-2028 National CAPACD Policy Platform and hold a member-wide vote in February 2025.
2024 Community in the Capital Fellows on Capitol Hill for the DC Advocacy Institute
Our Community in the Capital (CITC) Fellowship provided eight fellows with the opportunity to spend five months learning about AA and NHPI-specific public policy advocacy, how the federal government impacts their work at the local and state government levels, and how to identify needs in their communities and translate them into policy solutions. The 2024 CITC Fellows attended an in-person retreat in Oakland and participated in the 2024 Building CAPACD Convention. Their fellowship culminated with the DC Advocacy Institute, where the fellows met with six Congressional offices to share about their organizations, communities, and policy priority requests.
National CAPACD Releases Policy Briefs on Issues Impacting Asian American Renters
National CAPACD released a series of policy briefs that illustrate our rental housing crisis and offer policy recommendations to protect low-income Asian American renters. The four policy briefs share findings from interviews with staff from 18 community-based organizations from across the country and disaggregated national data. They focus on the needs and experiences of Asian American renters in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, outlining policy recommendations that respond to these experiences. These briefs specifically focus on Asian American communities; please look out for a future research effort that addresses the significant and unique housing needs of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
National CAPACD Joins Our National Partners to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Our Communities
The Justice Climate Fund (JCF) was selected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an awardee of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) for the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) program. National CAPACD is a member of the JCF, a coalition of 28 members, including Black, Latinx, Asian, and indigenous organizations, unified to improve environmental quality in the most affected communities. Through the CCIA program, the Justice Climate Fund will equip community lenders with new skills, tools, and relationships to successfully deploy affordable, responsible green lending in communities across the country, especially those that are low-income and disadvantaged.
National CAPACD, National Urban League, and UnidosUS celebrate the launch of the Climate Coalition Capacity Building Project
National CAPACD launched the Climate Coalition Capacity Building Project in partnership with the National Urban League and UnidosUS. Our three organizations will engage in this multi-year initiative to build the capacity of our organizations, our respective networks, and our member organizations to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis in neighborhoods and communities of color.
National CAPACD’s Climate Roundtable participants in Seattle, WA
Through our work with the Climate Coalition Capacity Building Project, National CAPACD hosted a Climate Roundtable in Seattle, WA. This roundtable brought together over 15 organizations from across our coalition to discuss how they are building climate resilience in their local communities. Participants shared how they are advancing strategies like microgrids, community resilience hubs, and building decarbonization. Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) also led a tour of the recently completed Beacon Pacific Village, an ultra-energy and water-efficient affordable housing development. The insights shared by roundtable participants helped National CAPACD better understand the opportunities, challenges, and funding needs for climate-related projects.
Our Neighborhoods Capital Fund (ONCF) Reaches Key Milestones
The Our Neighborhoods Capital Fund (ONCF), National CAPACD’s emerging Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has reached two milestones this year as it prepares to deploy capital in 2025. Cindy Wu was the first staff member to join ONCF’s team when she was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Cindy has brought a breadth and depth of experience in community development to her role, as well as an intimate knowledge of the needs of National CAPACD’s membership.
ONCF was also awarded a Technical Assistance (TA) grant from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). This TA grant will strengthen ONCF’s ability to design critical financial tools and services that address community commercial needs. We’re grateful to the CDFI Fund for their support in fostering an inclusive economy with equitable access to capital for all.
Established by National CAPACD in late 2023, ONCF is dedicated to addressing the capital needs of organizations serving low-income Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Through strategic investments and capacity-building resources, ONCF will help prevent displacement and support thriving neighborhoods.