GAPA RENAMES ITSELF AS GLBTQ+ ASIAN PACIFIC ALLIANCE
Established in 1988 as the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA), a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, GAPA today announces its renaming as the GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance. This decision comes after numerous community meetings, advice from our Advisory Board, and reaching a consensus with the existing GAPA membership.
Originally started as a social and community support group for and by gay and bisexual Asian and Pacific Islander men, GAPA’s purpose expanded over the years to include furthering the interests of the GLBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander community. Today, we take the monumental step of changing our name to reflect an even greater commitment to the inclusion of the full spectrum of the GLBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander community, and to continue its mission of organizing, bringing awareness, and building community.
Our core programming remains the same, including social, political, cultural, and professional programs directed to building community and strengthening GLBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander power. Whether you join GAPA through GAPA Men’s Chorus, GAPA Theatre, GAPA Runway, GAPA Chats, GAPA PAC, GAPA Sports, or meet us through a casual happy hour or a hike, we will continue to work to unite our families and allies through inclusion, advocacy, and love. We invite non-male identifying Queer & Trans Asian and Pacific Islanders to join us and build a brighter future for all of us in these dark times.
To aid GAPA in reaching this ambitious goal, Jack Dorsey’s philanthropic initiative, #StartSmall, provided a grant of $100,000 to GAPA Fund. “We are incredibly grateful for Jack Dorsey’s more than generous contribution to help us build upon our vision of a more inclusive community here in the Bay Area and beyond,” said Howard Chan, development chair. “The grant will go a long way in helping us to generate sustainable membership growth, expand existing and new programmings, and experiment with new services benefiting our GLBTQ+ community.”
Now, more than ever, we need leadership from the entire GLBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander community. GAPA continues to serve as a vehicle through which new leaders are birthed, new organizations are created, new politicians are supported, and new coalitions are formed. “A name change is, definitionally, merely nominal in nature,” said Emmett Chen-Ran, GAPA’s first trans board member, “but it reflects and highlights the inclusive attitudes, actions, and partnerships that we have enacted behind the scenes.” This Alliance has grown larger today, and we are all better because of it.
About #StartSmall: #StartSmall is Jack Dorsey’s philanthropic initiative to fund global COVID-19 relief, girls’ health and education, and efforts towards Universal Basic Income (UBI). Dorsey transferred $1 billion (28% of his wealth) to #StartSmall in 2020 and has tracked each grant in a public Google spreadsheet since.
About GAPA Fund: GAPA Fund is a 501(c)(3) public charity to build and advance the interests of QTAPI communities by supporting and providing cultural education and creative arts programs, and to sponsor GAPA and other like-minded organizations that reflect its mission and values. All donations are tax-deductible (EIN 84-2621586).
Media Contact:
Michael Nguyen, GAPA Chair, chair@gapa.org
April 15, 2021
