CACF’s AAPI Community Development Fund Announces Fifth Awardee Cohort
New York, New York (May 19, 2026) – The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) is proud to announce the names of the 33 community-based organizations across New York State that make up its 2026-27 AAPI Community Development Fund awardees on Tuesday.
The 2026-27 AAPI Community Development Fund awardee cohort is the largest in the fund’s history. This year’s awards range from $5,000 - $30,000 per organization, with nearly 80 percent of the allocated funding supporting community-based organizations outside of New York City. Regions represented by this year’s awardees include the Capital, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson, New York City, Long Island, and Western New York.
"It is an immense honor to unveil our full list of AAPI Community Development Fund awardees during AAPI Heritage Month," said Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Directors of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF). "With 33 remarkable organizations, this represents the largest awardee cohort in the history of the fund. Since its inception, the AAPI Community Development Fund has provided a critical source of support for community-based organizations working tirelessly on the ground across New York State. These groups are in our neighborhoods every day, delivering essential programming that champions mental well-being, community safety, healing, racial literacy, and life-affirming multi-social services."
The AAPI Community Development Fund provides a critical source of state funding to nonprofit organizations that are culturally responsive, language accessible, and are trusted resources within the communities they serve in the following ways:
Addressing mental health needs and increase community safety for AAPI New Yorkers
Addressing hate, bias, and racism
Providing critical social and health programs and services
This fund is made possible through New York State, and the tireless advocacy of the AAPI Equity Budget Coalition, conceived and co-founded by CACF.
The full list of our AAPI Community Development Fund 2026-27 awardees and the areas they serve is below:
AASL - Afghan American Soccer League NYC (New York City)
Bengali Mental Health Movement NYC (New York City)
Esther Ha Foundation NYC (New York City)
Indo-Caribbean Alliance NYC (New York City)
Metropolitan Asian Deaf Association (New York City)
New Neighbors Partnership (New York City)
Pacific Island Film Festival (New York City)
Tea Arts and Culture NYC (New York City)
The Sống Collective NYC (New York City)
Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey (New York City)
Afghan Community Inc NYS (Western New York)
Albany Fund for Education, Inc. (Capital)
Arabesques Art and Culture (Western New York)
Asian Arts New York, Inc. (Capital)
AWAKE - ASIAN WOMEN’S ALLIANCE FOR KINSHIP AND EQUALITY (Mid-Hudson)
Bhutanese Community in Syracuse (Central New York)
Buffalo Chinese Health Professionals Inc (Western New York)
Buffalo Rohingya Development Association (BRDA) (Western New York)
Buffalo United for Peace Inc. (Western New York)
Building the Bridge Foundation, Inc (Central New York)
Chinese Community Center of Capital District of New York,
Inc. (Capital)
Deaf New American Advocacy Inc (Central New York)
Kalayaan 1521 Council Inc. (Capital)
Keepers Connections (Central New York)
Mental Health Education & Legal Code for Refugee Rights (MELCORR) Inc. (Finger Lakes)
ONESOLIDARITY (Western New York)
Project Ready (Mid-Hudson)
South Asian Cultural Alliance (SACA) (Long Island)
SPEAK (A SUPPORTIVE PLACE FOR EMPOWERING ASIAN AMERICANS AND KIN), INC. NYS (Mid-Hudson)
Starry Bridge (Western New York)
Sukanya Burman Dance Inc (Western New York)
The Dreamweaver Heritage Collective, Inc (Mid-Hudson)
The Westchester Music of India Group (Mid-Hudson)
To be connected with one of CACF’s Co-Executive Directors or one of our CDF awardees for a story, please email Lakshmi Gandhi, CACF’s Senior Communications Coordinator, at lgandhi@cacf.org.
