“When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.”

Yo-Yo Ma

American musician 
 

Introduction

In 1977, the United States House of Representatives proposed that a week in May be designated to commemorate the accomplishments of Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Thirteen years later, on May 7, 1990, President George H.W. Bush officially designated that month the first “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.”

For the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, the theme of this year’s AAPI Heritage Month is “Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity.” To that end, the Deed team encourages social impact leaders to consider the ways their organizations can increase visibility for AAPI communities and engage in conversations around the pervasive discrimination and racially-motivated aggression that the community has been facing, particularly in recent years. 

It’s important to recognize that many Asian Americans feel a complicated mix of emotions around AAPI Heritage Month. While some appreciate the recognition, others may feel tokenized or burdened by the need to educate others about their own history and experiences.

With that in mind, we encourage you to take an active role in your community’s education by distributing the resources included here so that, as a whole, your organization can develop a better understanding of the AAPI experience. 

How companies can engage Asian American & Pacific Islander employees

At Deed, we believe that we can become the change we seek by doing good deeds. We invite our community to work to combat climate change and nurture our planet directly by engaging their employees in donation, volunteering, listening, and learning. And the way we help you do that is our “Cause of the Month” initiative. 

What is Deed’s “Cause of the Month” initiative?

Deed launched our “Cause of the Month” initiative in response to the important moments we see happening in the world around us. With concise, specific 20+ page toolkits, we aim to inspire our partners and rally all employee volunteers, donors, and leaders to support causes they really care about. 

With “Cause of the Month,” we aim to bring greater context to periods of observance—from Pride Month to Women's History Month—such that anyone who reads our toolkit will have a clear plan of action for how to maintain their support today, tomorrow, for the rest of the month, and throughout the year. 

What will I get in every “Cause of the Month” toolkit? 

While every “Cause of the Month” toolkit has unique insights and engagement opportunities relevant to each particular cause, you can always expect us to cover certain areas.

For a better idea of what you’ll be getting, here’s what’s included in our AAPI Heritage Month toolkit: 

• Volunteering and giving opportunities in the U.S. and around the world.
• In-depth look at specific cause areas, including: civil rights, women and girls, and LGBTQIA+.
• A calendar of awareness days in May.
• Employee and employee resource group (ERG) engagement ideas, as well as a walkthrough of how to craft a social impact campaign around AAPI Heritage Month.
• Recommendations of worthwhile books, podcasts, and films on issues of importance to the AAPI community.
  
  

Preview: “Cause of the Month: AAPI Heritage Month”

Getting started engaging employees this AAPI Heritage Month

The world's leaders in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) make sure to incorporate their employees' perspectives at every stage, from internal policy to broader community engagement. 

There's a reason why so many social impact leaders from Airbnb to lululemon are turning to all-in-one impact tech for support with their multifaceted DEIB efforts. Because if pulling donations, volunteering, and community-building into the same place makes an impact platform more useful, employees will naturally adopt it faster—especially if they're having fun.

Deed is a workplace giving and volunteering platform that puts people first, because user experience shouldn’t stand between you and doing good. We help CSR and DEIB teams foster genuine human connection by empowering employees to support causes they care about together in-person and online. Backed by PayPal and a solid infrastructure of trusted payment processors, our Fortune 500 partners support +2 million nonprofits with ease. And together, our community is doing more good deeds everyday at work, at home, in our neighborhoods, and all over the world.

To demonstrate your organization's support for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, reach out now and receive the full “Cause of the Month: AAPI Heritage Month” toolkit.