Asian American business leaders launch $250M effort to combat anti-Asian hate

Asian American business leaders launch $250M effort to combat anti-Asian hate

Business leaders launched a five-year, $250 million drive on Monday to support the causes of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, vowing to set up a national infrastructure for a community targeted by a rising number of racial attacks.

The Asian American Foundation will invest its initial funding – described by organizers as the largest-ever philanthropic effort to support the AAPI community – in three key areas: anti-hate programs, education, and data and research.

The foundation’s board, which has committed $125 million, is chaired by Li Lu, founder of hedge fund Himalaya Capital, and includes several prominent AAPI business leaders including billionaires Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo, and Joseph Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK).

Companies such as Coca-Cola Co (KO.N), Walmart Inc (WMT.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), UBS Group AG(UBSG.S) and the National Basketball Association have contributed another $125 million, according to the foundation.

An online launch event on Tuesday will feature former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

The organization means to fill in gaps that have long constrained AAPI community organizations, which receive less than 0.5% of charitable foundation-giving even though Asian Americans represent about 6% of the U.S. population.

The effort bolsters the emergence of Asian Americans