If you are interested in helping improve the quality of life for Asian Americans and their neighbors throughout Greater Boston, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to ACDC. 

You may send your donation by check, payable to:

Asian Community Development Corporation

38 Oak Street

Boston, MA 02111

or you may charge it to your credit card.

For additional information about ACDC, our programs or our community, please contact:

Lisa Chice

Grants Manager

lisa.chice@asiancdc.org

Tel: 617-482-2380 x207

Iris Tan  

Special Events Manager

iris.tan@asiancdc.org

Tel: 617-482-2380 x216

ACDC is grateful for the generous support of our institutional donors and corporate sponsors! 

A letter from the Director:

Dear Friend,

This year we celebrate two decades of leadership in organizing communities to affect real, positive and lasting change in the fields of affordable housing, community planning, cultural economic development, and youth engagement.  Last fall, ACDC’s board and staff sat down to take stock of our accomplishments and chart a course for the next five years.  So far, we have developed over 330 homes for families, graduated nearly 400 families from home-ownership education courses, and assisted over three dozen low- and moderate-income families purchase affordable homes.  We supported entrepreneurs to create new jobs for low-income women, we worked to preserve and revitalize Chinatown, and we nurtured leadership among community youth and adults so there are more voices urging on positive change.  But we cannot rest on our laurels. 

As the community’s needs change, so must we.

So ACDC talked with community members and experts about trends and challenges lie ahead for the Asian and Asian American communities in Greater Boston.  In 1987, when we were founded, we could serve the “Greater Boston Asian American” community simply by focusing on Chinatown.  Not so today.  This “community” has exploded into an incredibly far-reaching web of diverse “communities,” at times seemingly representing more difference than similarity.  Not only is our ethnic and geographic diversity on the rise, the economic gap between those who thrive and those who struggle to survive is widening.  Our communities’ needs have never been greater, more widespread, or more complex.

As a result of this analysis and reflection ACDC has articulated a vision for what we would like to be five years from now, and beyond:  We strive to be a regional organization that improves the quality of life for Asians and Asian Americans in the Greater Boston region through affordable housing development and creative and cultural community building.  At our heart, we stand for community development among all ethnic groups – Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and others, so that we can learn from each other, support one another, and grow together in our strength, power, and prosperity. 

In the past year, we have taken the first steps toward this regional, broad based vision for our work.  We partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to assemble Asian American influentials from around the region to voice our communities’ concerns in preparation for the formation of a 25 year development plan for Greater Boston.  We also hired two new staff members to organize in Asian American communities in the suburbs.  At the same time, we remained committed to Chinatown as we always have. 

Much remains to be done.  New immigrants from all over South and East Asian continue to stream into our area in a time when mainstream America seems to become increasingly anti-immigrant.  The denial rate among Asian families applying for mortgages has increased steadily over the past eight years and is now almost 1½ times that of Caucasian applicants.  Non-subsidized housing in Chinatown is becoming increasingly out of reach of the typical Chinatown family.  Youth violence and low educational attainment continues to afflict the most vulnerable of the Asian communities in our state.  As Massachusetts’ economy continues to transition from manufacturing to knowledge-based, Asian and Asian American working class families struggle to keep up.  We must be as diligent as ever.

Making a home is not just about physically building the house, but also fostering well-being inside the home, down the block, and beyond.  We are making homes for families; we are making a home for Chinatown in Boston; we are making a home for Asians and Asian Americans in the New England region.  And by accomplishing this, we are working for New Englanders of all races, ethnicities, backgrounds, classes, and cultures, making this region a place that we can all proudly call “our home.”  We ask you to join us in creating a positive and vibrant future for the communities in which we live and work. 

We thank you for your kind support and generosity, 

Jeremy Liu

Executive Director

38 Oak Street | Boston, MA 02111 | 617-482-2380 t | 617-482-3056 f | info@asiancdc.org