A New Political Vision

Founded in 1998, APANO is the oldest and largest advocacy group organizing with Oregon’s 250,000 Asian and Pacific Islanders. Since our 2012 Strategic Plan, APANO’s organizing and advocacy have achieved landmark wins for racial equity including English Language Learner Reform, COFA Pacific Islander Healthcare, and Ethnic Studies. APANO’s is a more seasoned and sustainable organization, with effective partnerships and alliances that support us achieving our goals.

This spring, after broad and deep engagement of members, partners, staff and Board, we are proud to announce our new Strategic Plan adopted by the APANO Board. Our strategic plan guides the big direction and focus areas for APANO’s work, and includes critical new analysis and organizational values that we believe reflect a social justice response to the current threats our communities face. You can view a summary of APANO's 2016-2020 Strategic Plan by clicking here.

In this political moment, we live with the legacy of systemic racism and other interconnected forms of oppression that affect our lives, families and future. While significant progress has been made, serious inequities continue to persist—inequities that are rooted in historic and current public policies that have exploited, marginalized, and divested from our communities.

The core of APANO’s work is a place-based community organizing approach to building a powerful base of members, who create and lead solutions that address real issues in their communities, and shift the balance of power. We envision more impactful campaigns, increased statewide civic engagement work to build political influence, and integrated cultural work that inspires hearts and minds in support of our campaigns.

Looking ahead, we’re working to carefully evaluate and realign our work to be consistent with the new strategic plan. We’ve updated our staff structure to more intentionally prioritize APANO’s Organizing program, supported by a streamlined “Strategies” team that integrates our leadership development, cultural work, civic engagement and policy advocacy, and a stronger and more focused Operations program. APANO will also be working closely with the Jade Steering Committee to envision the next evolution of the community and economic development program to be more autonomous and distinct as a strategic partnership similar to our organizational relationship with the Oregon Health Equity Alliance.

Help us move this important work forward by making a financial contribution for 2016 that is meaningful to you - and thank you if you’ve already done so.

Sincerely,

Joseph