The AAPI Network

Community groups have the work. We help them be seen.

We put AAPI events, artists, and organizers in front of the people who show up for them, at little or no cost to the groups who need it most.

501(c)(3) public charity Illinois nonprofit corporation Serving communities nationwide
Our mission

Our mission

To cultivate a stronger, more united, and visible AAPI community by providing local organizations, artists, educators, and advocates with the professional media and marketing infrastructure they need to thrive.

501(c)(3)Public charity status granted by the IRS, effective December 2024.
FourCore programs covering marketing, media, storytelling, and coalition building.
NationwideHeadquartered in Chicago, serving AAPI organizations across the United States.

Who we are

The gap

No budget for marketing

AAPI cultural groups, artists, and service organizations run programs their neighborhoods depend on. Almost none of them have a marketing budget, so the people who would show up never hear about it.

Our approach

We do the work for them

Rather than hand out advice, we do the work: campaigns, promotion, and storytelling delivered directly to member organizations at little or no cost to them.

What is ahead

Building a national network

We are building a standing network where member organizations amplify one another, share audiences, and reach past the communities they already serve.

What we do

Grassroots organizations are the backbone of our community, but they often lack the marketing budgets to amplify their incredible work. The AAPI Network steps into that gap. Through our Community Membership Model, we provide:

01

Pro bono and low-cost marketing

Strategic digital marketing campaigns to help non-profits, creators, and advocates reach wider audiences.

02

Media and promotion

Elevating events, cultural celebrations, and community initiatives across our high-traffic digital platforms and annual calendar.

03

Digital storytelling

Highlighting the lived experiences, resilience, and contributions of AAPI leaders across the region.

04

Cross-cultural bridge building

Creating spaces for cross-generational dialogue, collaboration, and solidarity against anti-Asian hate and economic inequity.

05

Off The Menu

Interactive dinners where chefs tell the story they usually keep off the menu, inside the restaurants and businesses shaping our communities. See the program.

Who we serve

Our services are available to AAPI-serving nonprofits, cultural groups, artists, educators, and advocates operating anywhere in the United States.

  • Cultural festivals
  • Heritage month organizers
  • Language schools
  • Immigrant service agencies
  • Youth mentorship programs
  • Senior centers
  • Faith communities
  • Independent artists
  • Filmmakers and photographers
  • Small business associations
  • Mutual aid networks
  • Student organizations
  • Community health outreach
  • Advocacy coalitions
  • Neighborhood associations

Where we are growing

The AAPI Network is currently expanding into these local areas, building city networks that connect organizations, artists, and advocates to the audiences already looking for them.

AAPI Network Boston
AAPI Network Houston
AAPI Network Oklahoma
AAPI Network Seattle

Can you spearhead a chapter in your city?

Every city we open starts with one person who is already part of the community there. We handle the marketing infrastructure, the branding, and the back end. What we cannot supply from Chicago is local trust, and that is the part that decides whether a chapter works.

  • You are already connectedYou know the organizations, artists, and organizers in your area, and they know you.
  • You have steady timeA few hours a week, consistently, over a year. This is a build, not a launch.
  • You do not need marketing skillsThat is what we provide. Bring the relationships and we will bring the reach.

If that sounds like you: tell us your city, the groups you already work with, and why now is the right moment there.

If it does not, you can still help: do you know a super-connector in your city, the person everyone seems to know? Introduce us, or just send us their name. Most of our best chapters start with someone else pointing us to the right person.

We read every note and reply to all of them.

Start the conversation

Submit an event or article

We welcome events, resources, news, and stories from AAPI organizations, artists, educators, and advocates anywhere in the country. If it matters to your community, we want to help more people hear about it.

Chicago Asian Network

As we build out our own platform, we work with a local chapter, Chicago Asian Network, to publish community events and articles. Submissions go through them for now, and we review them together.

Submit an article

Share news, a resource, or a story from your organization. We publish work that informs, connects, or celebrates AAPI communities.

Submit an article

Submit an event

Add your event to our community calendar, from cultural festivals and workshops to fundraisers and open meetings.

Submit an event

How submissions work

Every submission is read by a real person. We look for work that serves AAPI communities and fits our mission, and we give priority to grassroots organizations without a marketing budget. We cannot publish everything we receive, and space on the calendar is limited, so we may not be able to take every submission.

Either way, you will hear back from us. If your submission is a fit, we will let you know when and where it goes live. If it is not the right fit this time, we will tell you why and you are always welcome to send us something else. Questions, or something that does not fit either form? Write to hello@aapinetwork.com.

What we stand for

Visibility

We believe representation is a right, not a privilege. We keep AAPI stories at the forefront.

Resilience

We meet systemic and personal challenges with adaptability, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to our mission.

Community-first

We measure our success by the strength and sustainability of the organizations we serve.

Solidarity

We build intentional bridges between diverse cultures, generations, and community groups.

Lakhi Siap, Founder of The AAPI Network

Lakhi Siap

Founder

A super-connector and community advocate with more than 13 years of experience in business development, multicultural marketing, public relations, and strategic community outreach.

Ways to help

We survived the storms of yesterday because of people like you, and we will build the promise of tomorrow together.

Become a member

Are you an AAPI organization, artist, or advocate? Join our network to access marketing support and amplification. We are onboarding founding members now, one at a time, so we can give each group real attention.

Apply to join

Support our work

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, your tax-deductible donations directly fund marketing and promotional services for underfunded grassroots groups.

Donate today

Partner with us

Corporate sponsorship and advertising opportunities that make a tangible, local impact.

Get in touch

Community merch

We are putting together a small run of community merchandise. This is not a store. Every item exists to raise unrestricted funds for the marketing and promotional services we give to grassroots AAPI organizations at little or no cost. Proceeds go straight back into that work.

Sample AAPI Network Boston tee design

In production

Designs are being finalized now. Every dollar the shop eventually raises does the same job a donation does today, so you do not have to wait to help.

Get our updates

One email, sent when there is something worth sending. No weekly filler.

  • Community events worth showing up for
  • New chapters as they open in your area
  • Calls for articles, events, and community submissions
  • Concrete ways to support the organizations we work with