KACF: Community Grants (NY/NJ)

The Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) offers Community Grants to support organizations in New York and New Jersey addressing economic security for low-income Korean and Asian Americans. Grants of up to $100,000 are available for projects focused on education, workforce development, and community advocacy. Organizations must be registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits with a minimum operational history of six months. KACF prioritizes comprehensive support and measurable outcomes in its funding decisions.

Grant Philosophy
The Korean American Community Foundation® (KACF) was founded in 2002 by a group of Korean American leaders in New York with a simple idea: philanthropy by and for the community. The goal was to address the chronic underinvestment in the Korean immigrant community by raising funds for programs serving under-resourced Korean American individuals and families, while also mobilizing community members to give and be part of a philanthropic movement.
Over the past 21 years, we have distributed $14 million in grants and supported nearly 400 projects helping low-income Korean and Asian American immigrants in the greater New York area. While we are continuing to fund in the greater New York area, we have recognized and heeded the call for funding support in other regions with large Korean American populations. To that end, we established a National Grants program to support projects that are aligned with our grantmaking goals: increasing the economic security of low-income Korean and Asian Americans.
Community Grants are available to only organizations from New York and New Jersey.
We are interested in projects that are looking to:
provide services to address short- and long-term needs to achieve economic security (i.e. education, workforce development, public benefits counseling, affordable housing, healthcare, etc.)
Funding
The maximum grant amount is $100,000. We provide general operating and program-specific support. An organization with a budget of $3 million or less may request general operating or program-specific support.
Community Grants are for a one-year period. Grantee partner organizations must re-apply each year up to a maximum of 3 consecutive years and then take a one-year mandatory “break”. Grantee partners are eligible to apply the following year. No organization will receive more than one Community Grant in any one grantmaking year. Community Grants are awarded once a year.

Eligibility

KACF will only consider organizations that:

• are a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization or have a fiscal sponsor that is 501(c)3;
• have an operational history of at least 6 months;
• have an established and working Board of Directors; and
• have filed IRS Form 990 and/or audited financials.

Ineligibility

public or private schools, colleges or universities;
political causes or campaigns to elect candidates to public office; or
programs that do not comply with Federal, state, or local equal employment statues.