In early June, the Ford Foundation announced that it had awarded the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) a $120,000 supplemental grant. The Ford Foundation is the oldest and largest private foundation in the United States and a global leader in philanthropy. This additional grant follows the original $200,000 received in October 2005, when KACF became the first Korean or Korean American organization to receive a grant from the Ford Foundation.

“This supplemental grant could not have come at a better time as we look forward to our future and our increasing role in serving not only the Korean American community, but also other vital and diverse communities in the greater metropolitan New York area,” said KACF president Suok Noh. “We have grown tremendously over the last five years, and we have been successful in energizing a culture of volunteerism and philanthropy in the Korean American community. And we are especially proud of our innovative leadership role in advancing greater inter-ethnic understanding and collaboration — something we could not have initiated without the critical support from the Ford Foundation.”

Miguel Garcia of the Ford Foundation added, “The Ford Foundation looks forward to our continued relationship with KACF as it grows in funds and influence within the tri-state area.”

KACF will use the supplemental funds to support three main initiatives over the next twelve months:

Complete an expanded work plan for a series of inter-ethnic activities identified by external funding and program partners.

Initiate a reflection process to determine the viability of long-term commitments to inter-ethnic grant making.

Formulate and execute a long-term strategic planning process to aid in managing the organization’s growth and transitions in board leadership and staff positions.

The original $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation supported a range of inter-community relationship development initiatives undertaken by KACF. This included the spearheading of an inter-community forum series aimed to promote constructive dialogue among various ethnic groups in the broader New York City community. The original grant also enabled KACF to partner with organizations like the New York Urban League and the Hispanic Federation to support innovative inter-community efforts and programs through re-grants. KACF’s Entrepreneur Ownership Initiative, in partnership with Bear USA and now in its second phase, will seek to provide entrepreneurship training and business ownership opportunities to inner city neighborhoods. A pilot computer literacy project for the elderly was also successfully launched to empower our most senior members through the medium of technology. The supplemental grant will also enable KACF to expand on some of these earlier activities. 

KACF, a not-for-profit group based in New York, raises funds to support local social service organizations, including those that serve the needs of disadvantaged Korean and Asian Americans.