Advocacy Leader Series #1
Interviewee: Kyung B. Yoon, President, Korean American Community Foundation
Biography:
Kyung B. Yoon helped co-found KACF in 2002 and has served as our President since 2008. Her career in poverty alleviation, development economics, and media encompasses her roles as the Executive Producer of Television at the World Bank Institute and a correspondent for WNYW-Fox Channel 5 where she made history as the first Korean American broadcast reporter in NYC. Kyung is currently a contributing reporter to CUNY-TV’s Asian American Life, which is broadcast nationally on PBS stations and for which she received an Emmy nomination.
She has previously served as the board chair of Philanthropy New York and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, as a trustee of the New York Foundation, and as a board member of the United Way of New York City.
Kyung holds a BA in English and political science from Wellesley College and an MA in development economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
1. What was the motivation behind co-founding the Korean American Community Foundation? What motivates you every day to be the point figure for the Korean American Community Foundation?
The Korean immigrant community was underserved and under-resourced, and local organizations addressing its needs were also chronically overlooked by mainstream funders. We saw an opportunity to fill this funding gap by serving as a bridge between these organizations and Korean Americans who wanted to give back to their community. KACF was established with the mission to foster a culture of giving that mobilizes the generosity of Korean Americans to build thriving communities. I’m proud to work with a team and board of directors that reflect the people we serve and are deeply committed to our mission.
2. How does the foundation identify and prioritize the key barriers to health equity faced by these communities, and what strategies does it employ to address these challenges?
Our “north star” is strengthening the economic security of low-income Korean Americans. By tackling poverty and its root causes, we aim to transform communities to ensure that those most impacted by inequities have fair access to the opportunities and resources necessary to live their healthiest lives.
To this end, we invest in nonprofits that are deeply rooted in the community because they can effectively engage hard-to-reach populations and are our most effective partners in advancing our mission. We have also been funding research and data disaggregation efforts to help unmask disparities and identify who is being left behind, which equips our community to more effectively advocate for equitable distribution of resources and make more informed policy recommendations.
3. Could you share some examples of successful initiatives or programs that the foundation has funded to address health disparities and promote equitable access to healthcare services for Korean and AAPI populations?
The Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (BVMI) is the only state-licensed ambulatory care facility providing free primary healthcare to low-income working adults in Bergen County, New Jersey who are uninsured or do not have the means to pay for care. Despite serving the county with the highest density of Koreans in the U.S., the organization faced challenges reaching the Korean population. Our funding enabled BVMI to create a Korean Healthcare Program and hire its first Korean program manager and nurse practitioner, which resulted in the number of Korean patients more than tripling.
4. How does the Korean American Community Foundation collaborate with local organizations and community leaders to implement its initiatives and create lasting change in the communities it serves?
We’ve learned that a crisis is not the time to start building trust and relationships; it is when they are tested. KACF works alongside our grantee partners, steadfastly supporting their growth and development and creating opportunities for shared learning and collaboration.
In addition to funding, we provide nonprofits with capacity-building support that largely focuses on developing strong leaders and a robust leadership pipeline that can help them overcome barriers to effectively serving their communities. As a convener, we create opportunities to bring together organizations from across different focus areas and geographies, facilitating conversations that center on the key issues impacting the Korean and Asian American communities. Through these gatherings, we also identify shared challenges and foster a collaborative approach to tackling community issues.
5. Could you discuss any ongoing or upcoming projects that the Korean American Community Foundation is particularly excited about in the context of promoting health equity and overcoming barriers for Korean and AAPI communities?
Our work has largely focused on the New York metropolitan area, so we’re really excited to be embarking on a new phase of growth to expand our impact nationally and increase philanthropic investment in Korean American communities across the U.S. We’re also looking forward to learning from two new research initiatives we commissioned: a report on the state of mental health in the Korean American community and national research on the challenges Korean seniors face in healthily and safely aging in place.
6. How does the Korean American Community Foundation measure the impact of its initiatives and evaluate their effectiveness? Can you share any notable outcomes or success stories?
In addition to the number of people served, we value what’s changed and shifted within our grantee partner organizations and the community. We work with our grantee partners to set meaningful metrics for evaluating their effectiveness and consider quantitative and qualitative data, such as client testimonials, to gain a holistic picture of their impact.
Through our funding, we supported an organization’s initiative to build a coalition of nonprofits advocating for equitable representation of the AAPI community’s needs in New York City’s budget. We saw an increase in funding allocated for the community, but more importantly, the initiative successfully built an unprecedented collaboration of AAPI-led organizations across the city, bridging the gap for Korean organizations with limited resources and experience in advocacy to participate in conversations that determine how our City’s resources are distributed. A notable measure of success for us was seeing the increased capacity of the Korean and AAPI community to advance more equitable outcomes for our communities.
7. What are your hopes and aspirations for the future of AAPI health and well-being, and how do you see the Korean American Community Foundation contributing to that vision?
Our aspiration is to build communities in which people have the opportunities and resources to lead healthy, thriving lives. Philanthropy can help drive this change, and we are committed to bringing Korean Americans together to work collectively toward our vision of a vibrant and equitable future for our communities.