Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, based in Los Angeles, California, is a public charity whose Southern California organization, AJSOCAL, provides legal services and pursues civil rights and social justice work. Founded in 1983, AJSOCAL says it supports more than 15,000 individuals and organizations annually and serves people of all races and ethnicities.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California at a glance
In short: Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California gave $1.6M across 46 grants in 2024 (avg $35K), mostly in California. 13% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $1,600,907
- -7.9% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 46
- -11.5% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $34,802
- +4.1% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $18,915
- Total assets
- $30,563,407
- +21.5% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 13% first-time grantees (6 of 46, 2024)
- Primary geography
- California (55% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2024; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California
- Contact
Mailing address: 1145 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: (213) 977-7500
Website: https://ajsocal.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Korean Community Services ($228K). Together the top 10 received $949K.
Grant Size Distribution
264 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 215 grants of 264 (81%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
AJSOCAL describes its work as addressing issues at the city, county, state, and national levels, with offices in Los Angeles and Orange County and a presence in Sacramento. In 2024, 55% of grant dollars went to California recipients, 13% to Michigan, 10% to Texas, 6% to Maryland, and 3% to Washington.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 46 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California open to new grantees?
13%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 6 of 46 grantees (13%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $19K; repeat grants $37K. How we count
Medians: $13K first-time, $26K repeat.
- 83% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (−19%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $1.6M (2024) to $2.2M (2020). In 2024 it made 46 grants totaling $1.6M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Korean Community Services Anaheim, CA | Immigration and Citizenship Legal Support | $227,761 |
| Boat People SOS - Houston Houston, TX | Citizenship Legal Support | $143,853 |
| Intl Institute of Metropolitan Detroit Detroit, MI | Citizenship Legal Support | $117,720 |
| CASA De Maryland Hyattsville, MD | Citizenship Legal Support | $101,500 |
| South Asian Network Artesia, CA | Immigration and Citizenship Legal Support | $93,361 |
| Sahara Artesia, CA | DV Legal Assistance | $76,944 |
| Chaldean Community Foundation Sterling Heights, MI | Citizenship Legal Support | $55,035 |
| Operation Samahan Inc DBA Samahan Health National City, CA | Covered CA Enrollments | $54,090 |
| Pars Equality Center Los Angeles, CA | Citizenship Legal Support | $39,330 |
| International Institute of Minnesota Saint Paul, MN | Citizenship Legal Support | $39,060 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $30,563,407 | $19,672,490 | $15,911,473 | $1,600,907 | 46 | $1,574,038 |
| 2023 | $25,161,489 | $14,549,816 | $14,528,197 | $1,737,722 | 52 | $393,339 |
| 2022 | $23,660,711 | $14,614,761 | $12,049,726 | $2,102,408 | 52 | $-406,646 |
| 2021 | $23,080,618 | $17,309,227 | $11,456,180 | $1,975,017 | 55 | $359,755 |
| 2020 | $17,359,005 | $9,723,047 | $10,368,714 | $2,226,209 | 59 | $166,604 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
AJSOCAL’s mission is to protect and strengthen the rights and dignity of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, especially those that are most disadvantaged. Its stated priorities include health access, voting rights, immigrant rights, educational opportunity, and LGBTQ+ community issues. The organization also describes work in direct legal services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, civic engagement, demographic research, and anti-Asian discrimination.
In its 2024 filing, AJSOCAL described providing intake, referrals, counseling, legal services, and litigation services to poor monolingual and limited-English-proficient callers in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Khmer. The listed services included family law, immigration, domestic violence, foreclosure prevention, elder issues, citizenship and naturalization, and ESL/civics. The filing also describes policy advocacy and community education related to health and welfare access, voting rights, immigrant rights, and responses to anti-Asian hate and racism.
The 2024 grants included support for organizations with varied community missions. Korean Community Services’ stated mission is to provide culturally and professionally competent services through outreach, treatment, and prevention. South Asian Network says it advances the health, well-being, and civil rights of South Asians in Southern California. The International Institute of Minnesota says it helps new Americans become self-sufficient and contributing members of society. Asian Pacific Health Care Venture describes its mission as providing culturally accessible health care through community health centers.
Grantmaking
In 2024, AJSOCAL reported 46 grants totaling $1,600,907. Grant amounts ranged from $6,147 to $227,761, with a median of $18,915. The largest awards included $227,761 to Korean Community Services for immigration and citizenship legal support; $143,853 to Boat People SOS - Houston for citizenship legal support; $117,720 to International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit for citizenship legal support; and $101,500 to CASA de Maryland for citizenship legal support.
Other notable awards included $93,361 to South Asian Network for immigration and citizenship legal support; $76,944 to SAHARA for domestic-violence legal assistance; $54,090 to Operation Samahan Inc. DBA Samahan Health for Covered California enrollments; and $39,060 to the International Institute of Minnesota for citizenship legal support.
The organization’s filing says subgrantees must submit written reports describing activities and use of funds. AJSOCAL conducts subrecipient risk assessments and may conduct virtual monitoring visits depending on risk and funding-source guidelines.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists these officers and directors:
- Paul Chan — Chair; Executive Committee
- San San Lee — Chair, Audit Committee; Executive Committee
- Olivia Samad — Chair, Governance Committee; Executive Committee
- Jack Yeh — Co-chair, Development Committee; Executive Committee
- Gloria Chang Yip — Co-chair, Development Committee; Executive Committee
- Jade Leung — Vice Chair; Executive Committee
- Phillip Lee — Vice Chair; Chair, Building Committee; Executive Committee
- Christine Song — Treasurer; Finance Chair; Executive Committee
- Vincent Gonzales — Secretary; Executive Committee
- Thomas Lee — Vice Secretary; Executive Committee
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California is led by Connie Chung Joe, Chief Executive Officer on every filing since 2020; 8 of 39 officers listed in 2024 are compensated.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Connie Chung Joe
Chief Executive Officer
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$87K (2020) → $242K (2024)
Christine Song
Treasurer, Finance Chair & Executive Committee
Director → Chair & Audit Committee, 2021
Chair & Audit Committee → Treasurer, Finance Chair & Executive Committee, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Olivia Samad
Chair, Goverance Committee & Executive Committee
Governance Committee → Chair & Governance Committee, 2022
Chair & Governance Committee → Chair, Goverance Committee & Executive Committee, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Paul Chan
Chair & Executive Committee
Chair & Litigation → Chair, Executive Committee & Litigation Workgroup, 2023
Chair, Executive Committee & Litigation Workgroup → Chair & Executive Committee, 2024
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Phillip Lee
Vice Chair, Chair Building Committee & Executive Committee
Co-Chair & Development Committee → Chair, Building Committee & Executive Committee, 2023
Chair, Building Committee & Executive Committee → Vice Chair, Chair Building Committee & Executive Committee, 2024
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
San San Lee
Chair, Audit Committee & Executive Committee
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
John Y. Kim
Managing Director Client Services
Director & Client Services → Managing Director Client Services, 2024
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$127K (2023) → $153K (2024)
Christina Yang
General Counsel & Pro Bono Director
General Counsel → General Counsel & Pro Bono Director, 2024
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$122K (2021) → $174K (2024)
Victoria N. Dominguez Zamorano
Policy Director
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$124K (2023) → $158K (2024)
Paul John Estuar
Litigation Director
New on the 2024 filing
40 hrs/week
$156K (2024)
Andrew Cheng
Director
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Fern Shaw
Director
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Joseph Kim
Director
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Marie Tan
Director
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Nita Song
Director
Immediate Past Chair → Director, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Peter Huh
Director
Treasurer → Director, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Spring Wang
Director
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Calista Wu
Director
On filings since 2022
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jacquline Jackson
Director
On filings since 2022
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Ishiguro
Director
On filings since 2022
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Joon Kim
Director
On filings since 2022
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Vanna Tran
Director
On filings since 2022
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Camilla Eng
Director
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Don Widjaja
Director
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Genevieve Cabanilla
Director
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
John Ly
Director
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mike Eng
Director
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tracy Pham
Director
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Karen Huoth
Director
New on the 2024 filing
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ken Ren
Director
New on the 2024 filing
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Weihua Cheng
Director
New on the 2024 filing
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Aileen A. Louie
Chief of Staff & Chief Transformation Officer
Vice President of Development, Committee & Chief of Staff → Chief of Staff, 2023
Chief of Staff → Chief of Staff & Chief Transformation Officer, 2024
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$158K (2020) → $233K (2024)
Richard Crowe
Vice President of Finance
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$80K (2020) → $223K (2024)
Corilee Kahealani Asuncion Racela
Vice President of Programs
New on the 2024 filing
40 hrs/week
$200K (2024)
Jack Yeh
Co-Chair, Development Committee & Executive Committee
Co-Chair & Development Committee → Co-Chair, Development Committee & Executive Committee, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jade Leung
Vice Chair & Executive Committee
Vice Chair → Vice Chair & Executive Committee, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Thomas Lee
Vice Secretary & Executive Committee
Chair & Employment Workgroup → Vice Secretary & Executive Committee, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Vincent Gonzales
Secretary & Executive Committee
Secretary → Secretary & Executive Committee, 2023
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Gloria Chang Yip
Co-Chair, Development Committee & Executive Committee
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (27)
- Former: Janice Tsao (2021–2024) — Vice President & Administration · Filing note: Thru 3/2024
- Former: Anthony S. Roh (2020–2023) — Vice President & Programs Left
- Former: Liza Ameen (2023) — Communications Director
- Former: Aman Thind (2020–2022) — Immigration Director
- Former: Anjan Choudhury (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Anne Shintaku (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Casimiro Tolentino (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Janelle Hu (2020–2022) — Donor Relations Director
- Former: John Lim (2020–2022) — Co-Chair & Executive Advisory
- Former: Mark K. Yoshida (2020–2022) — Legal Services Non-Litigat
- Former: Sandy Sakamoto (2020–2022) — Co-Chair & Executive Advisory
- Former: William Tan (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Patrick Kim (2022) — Director
- Former: Beong-Soo Kim - To Aug (2021) — Director
- Former: Calista Wu - Fr May (2021) — Director
- Former: Joon Kim - Fr Jul (2021) — Director
- Former: Martin Lee - To Aug (2021) — Chair & Audit Committee
- Former: Sophaleena S. Gershoff (2021) — Legal Advocacy Call Ctr Specialist
- Former: Vanna Tran - Fr Sep (2021) — Director
- Former: Beong-Soo Kim (2020) — Director
- Former: Janet Guan (2020) — Director of Grants Management
- Former: Katherine Ku (2020) — Director
- Former: Linda Shim (2020) — Director
- Former: Manisha Merchant (2020) — Director
- Former: Martin Lee (2020) — Chair & Audit Committee
- Former: Stewart Kwoh (2020) — President Emeritus
- Former: Victor H. Lopez (2020) — Hr Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2024 filing was $242K, to Connie Chung Joe (Chief Executive Officer). 9 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California
How much does Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California give each year?
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California gave $1.6M across 46 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990. In 2023 it gave $1.7M across 52 grants.
What is Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's typical grant size?
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's median grant in 2024 was $18,915, and its average grant was $34,802, across 46 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California that year got $19K on average.
Where does Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California give grants?
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California gives mostly in California: 55% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest states were Michigan (13%) and Texas (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were Los Angeles, CA (8 grants), Anaheim, CA (3 grants), Artesia, CA (2 grants) and Houston, TX (2 grants).
Does Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California give general operating support?
Not in 2024: none of the 46 grants with a stated purpose on Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's 2024 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Citizenship Legal Support" (25 grants), "Covered CA Enrollments" (8 grants) and "Immigration and Citizenship Legal Support" (7 grants).
Who are Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's largest grantees?
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's largest 2024 grantees include Korean Community Services ($227,761), Boat People SOS - Houston ($143,853) and Intl Institute of Metropolitan Detroit ($117,720), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990. Together they received 31% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California?
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California reported $30.6M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $19.7M.
What does Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California fund?
AJSOCAL’s mission is to protect and strengthen the rights and dignity of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, especially those that are most disadvantaged. Its stated priorities include health access, voting rights, immigrant rights, educational opportunity, and LGBTQ+ community issues. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California?
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check ajsocal.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's EIN?
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 95-3854152. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS September 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS October 20, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS October 17, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS October 20, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California funds
Crime & Legal Related Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/asian-americans-advancing-justice-southern-california-morg_f0304ea23fab4defb0d043b2d382cfbc
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_953854152_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/asian-americans-advancing-justice-southern-california-morg_f0304ea23fab4defb0d043b2d382cfbc},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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