The past year has brought a devastating increase in hateful speech and violence towards Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities throughout the United States. One incident of anti-AAPI hate is too many, and there have been nearly 3800 incidents documented by Stop AAPI Hate between March 2020 and March 2021 alone. EPIP condemns anti-AAPI violence and the racist hatred that it comes from, which continues to threaten and assault BIPOC communities.

This senseless racist and xenophobic violence has been inflamed by hateful political rhetoric, but builds on an abhorrent legacy of anti-Asian sentiment that is part and parcel of white supremacist culture and dogma in America. We decry these hateful beliefs and join in solidarity with our AAPI members, AAPI communities, and all who oppose racism, hatred, and violence. We also call on the philanthropic community to include AAPI organizations and communities in its efforts to advance social justice and achieve racial equity.

Please join us in condemning the violence and supporting AAPI people and communities. We offer the resources below as a starting point.

This month, we’re celebrating Black History Month by lifting up reading that brings an equity analysis to philanthropy.

• Building Movement Project marked Black History Month with a resource list for non-Black co-conspirators to use to take action in support of Black leaders and leadership, while PEAK Grantmaking made the Black Voices in Grants Management issue of the PEAK Grantmaking Journal freely open to the public.
• Nick Tilsen of NDN Collective wrote in SSIR about the importance of investing in Indigenous self-determination and building Indigenous power by centering community-driven solutions.
• Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) decried the recent rise in anti-Asian violence, repudiating violence against Asian American communities and calling on grantmakers to include AAPI organizations in their grantmaking profiles.

We’re also getting actionable advice from leaders in the sector and exploring the resources shared by EPIP chapters across the country....

A Message from Anthony Simmons - EPIP Advisory Board Chair:

As this year’s Black History Month comes to its conclusion, I am taking the theme of EPIP’s 20th Anniversary, Re/Imagine, as an invitation to reimagine Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland’s intent to promote the achievements by America’s descendants of the African Diaspora. Beyond the opportunity to recognize those great iconic legends – like Garrett Morgan, Dr. Charles Drew, Fannie Lou Hamer, the Honorable Shirley Chisholm, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – and appreciate their contributions to American society, I now wonder: what does Black history mean to me personally? What is my own Black history?

This summer, the EPIP community will come together for the signature event of our 20th Anniversary: 

The EPIP 2021 National Virtual Conference
June 7th - 11th, 2021

We are currently looking for session proposals for the conference. See below to learn more about our conference theme, tracks, and session formats, or click here for a PDF of the application.

Our call for sessions is now closed - thank you for your contributions!

This month, join EPIP chapters to talk about building a better sector, whether it's by examining power dynamics between grantmakers and non-profits, learning from the journey of leaders and changemakers in the sector, focusing on the importance of racial justice within philanthropic leadership, or thinking through the ways that philanthropy can help make the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out an equitable one.

EPIP is also thrilled to be partnering with ABFE on an in-depth workshop on Centering Racial Equity in Grantmaking. We hope you'll join us on Thursday, February 25th to learn more about the tools that can be used to support racial equity grantmaking.

What is leadership? A year ago, when I accepted the role as EPIP’s Executive Director, I sat with this question for quite some time, reflecting on the models of leadership that I had seen held up as exemplary.

Leaders are fearless. 

Leaders are confident. 

Leaders are focused, stoic, unflappable, and always poised.

Those models didn’t resonate with me, though. And as the year went on, and the events of 2020 came crashing down upon us like unrelenting waves upon the shore, I realized why. Any model of leadership which removes the fullness of human emotions for the sake of performing perfection was more isolating than it was liberating. I wanted more than that for myself, more than that for EPIP, and more than that for the work ahead of us. 

Philanthropy and the social sector grapple with the wake of the recent Capitol insurrection and presidential inauguration...

• In Inside Philanthropy, Mike Scutari looks at the role that philanthropy could have played in fighting misinformation and the tools and resources that can be used in this effort going forward.
• In Nonprofit Quarterly, Crystal Hayling calls for the transfer of power to Black women, communities of color, and lasting movement work.
• Vu Lee reminds us on Nonprofit AF that the collective trauma we have experienced over the last year and beyond may continue to reverberate for some time to come.

...and the turning of the calendar year gives us the opportunity to look back at 2020 to see how philanthropy has stepped up and where to go from here.

• The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s Foundations Respond to Crisis reports find that foundations have shifted in their giving and practices in response to COVID-19 and the fight for racial justice.
• TCC Group’s report Approaching the Intersection: Will a Global Pandemic and National Movement for Racial Justice Take Philanthropy Beyond Its Silos?, however, argues that moving beyond funding silos, even in this time of crisis, will require fundamental changes in the way philanthropy operates and sees its role.

From funders to founders, chapter leaders to champions, EPIP would not be the organization it is today without the leadership of women of color. In summer 2020, five women of color leaders from EPIP’s past and present came together for a conversation about the past 20 years of EPIP, their personal leadership journeys, and what the philanthropic sector can learn from the past to change its future.

Listen in as EPIP ED Storme Gray, EPIP Board of Advisors Treasurer Michelle Jaramillo, former EPIP Board Chairs Jasmine Hall Ratliff and Melissa Hewitt, and EPIP's initial angel funder Linetta Gilbert have a no-holds-barred conversation about the role of EPIP in their individual journeys and philanthropy as a whole. 

This summer, the EPIP community will come together virtually for our 2021 National Conference - a time to celebrate our past, take stock of our present, and look towards the future. To make this the best conference it can be, we’re looking for volunteers to help us shape conference content and programming as members of the 2021 National Conference Planning Committee.

Members of the committee will focus on areas of planning including conference workshops, virtual networking opportunities, and ways to showcase our upcoming 20th anniversary. This is a great opportunity to make new connections, build invaluable leadership skills, and give back to the EPIP community. The anticipated time commitment will be 5 hours per month from February - June 2021.

If you are interested, please fill out this interest form by Friday, January 29th. With your support, EPIP 2021 is sure to be a big success!

Last week, domestic terrorists stormed the US Capitol in a violent insurrection. EPIP wholeheartedly condemns their actions and the ongoing hateful and racist rhetoric that made them possible. This attempted coup was white supremacy culture in action - an effort to maintain the oppressive system that undergirds this nation’s founding and holds us back from living up to its promise. Just as alarmingly, it was met with minimal initial law enforcement response, a stark contrast to the overwhelming force deployed against peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors a few months ago. 

I have struggled to find the words to articulate the multitude of emotions that I am feeling in this moment. I struggle still. And I imagine that for many of you, the events of yesterday have left you angry, hurt, disappointed, unseen, and stunned. So allow me to say this. We see you. And you are not alone.