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Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence Inc
New York, NY · EIN 133526938 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE R22Z · Civil Rights & Advocacy · Medium ($1M-$10M) · caaav.org
revenue
$2.6M
expenses
$2.2M
net assets
$3.8M
employees
20
program ratio
85%
mission · from form 990

CAAAV was founded in 1986 as one of the first groups in the United States to respond to racially motivated violence against Asians. Since then, CAAAV has broaden its focus to address a wide array of needs and challenges facing the Asian communities.

profile · synthesized from sources

Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV) organizes working-class Asian immigrants, tenants, and youth in New York City neighborhoods facing gentrification and displacement. Founded in 1986 to combat anti-Asian violence, the organization has expanded its focus to systemic racism, housing justice, and police accountability. It builds grassroots power through tenant unions, youth leadership, and cross-racial solidarity campaigns in neighborhoods like Chinatown and Astoria.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $742K
    Astoria Tenants Union - This program is building a new base of working class Bangali tenants in a neighborhood that is one of the frontlines of gentrification in Queens and the city.
  2. #2 $261K
    Leadership Development - This program is establishing new committees that will create opportunities for leadership for CAAAV members at different levels of development.
named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Asian Youth in Action
Develops young leaders aged 14–21 to organize their communities around social change and build power among low-income Asian immigrants and refugees in NYC.
Astoria Tenants Union
Builds a base of working-class Bangali tenants in Astoria to resist gentrification, luxury development, and displacement through community organizing and political education.
Chinatown Tenants Union
Organizes working-class immigrant residents in Chinatown to fight displacement, landlord harassment, and speculative development, while building neighborhood power and leadership.
Leadership Development
Establishes member-led committees to cultivate leadership at multiple levels within CAAAV, supporting long-term movement-building across generations.
NYCHA Organizing Project
Unites public housing residents in Long Island City to advocate for improved conditions, NYCHA accountability, language access, and community-led planning.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Housing Policy Advocacy & Tenant Organizing 6 activities
    • Advocating for Good Cause eviction protections and tenant rights
      Organized rallies and political actions, including a demonstration outside Manhattan Housing Court, to demand Good Cause eviction protections and educate residents on tenant rights and eviction defenses.
    • Advocating for rent cancellation and tenant protections during the pandemic
      Organized campaigns to cancel rent for working-class Asian communities affected by job loss during the pandemic, co-drafted state legislation for rent cancellation, and advocated for public housing tenants by challenging inadequate city policies.
    • Challenging luxury real estate development and advocating for community-led rezoning
      Organized legal challenges and community protests against luxury megatower developments in the Two Bridges neighborhood, co-filed lawsuits over inadequate public review, and co-developed a community-led rezoning plan for the Chinatown waterfront with TUFF-LES and GOLES.
    • Operating the Chinatown Tenants Union to combat displacement and landlord harassment
      Runs the Chinatown Tenants Union, established in 2005, to organize working-class immigrant residents in Manhattan’s Chinatown against landlord neglect, harassment, and displacement, while developing community leadership.
    • Organizing public housing residents in Queens for improved living conditions and community-led planning
      Organizes public housing residents in Long Island City, Queens to advocate for language access, better living conditions, and community control, including opposition to privatization through the NYCHA Trust campaign.
    • Organizing working-class Bangladeshi tenants in Astoria to resist gentrification
      Builds power among working-class Bangladeshi immigrant tenants in Astoria, Queens through the Astoria Tenants Union, founded in 2022, to combat displacement and gentrification and improve housing conditions.
  • Youth Leadership Development Programs 2 activities
    • Building tenant leadership and capacity through committees and political education
      Establishes leadership committees and provides political education to develop member leadership, with youth leading in base-building, campaign development, and direct actions in both Chinatown and Astoria chapters.
    • Developing youth leadership among Asian immigrant and refugee youth in NYC
      Organizes high school students (ages 14–21) in New York City to build leadership and community engagement skills in support of low-income Asian immigrants and refugees, integrating youth into intergenerational organizing in Chinatown and Astoria.
  • Immigrant Rights Advocacy & Policy Reform 1 activity
    • Advocating for immigrant and refugee rights including family reunification
      Marched with immigrant and refugee rights coalitions to demand an end to family detention and reunification of families separated by ICE.
  • Civil Rights Advocacy & Litigation 1 activity
    • Supporting families of victims of police violence and advocating for police accountability
      Expresses solidarity with families of victims of police violence, supported the family of Akai Gurley in seeking justice, and participates in protests demanding defunding of police.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Supporting community land trust formation through participation in learning exchanges
      Participated in the Community Land Trust Learning Exchange to support the development of a Community Land Trust in Chinatown as a strategy for long-term affordability and community control.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$2.59M
Contributions & grants$2.52M97%
Program service revenue$11K0%
Investment income$54K2%
Other revenue$8K
expenses
Total expenses$2.20M
Program expenses85%
Admin / overhead9%
Fundraising6%
Salaries & benefits$1.62M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$3.89M
Cash$3.81M
Investments$602
Liabilities$70K
Net assets$3.82M
Liquid reserves20.8 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +24.6%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
Sasha Wijeyeratne Executive Director 35 $159K
board members · 5
  • Henry Lee — Treasurer
  • Jason Wu — Board member
  • Jenny Ye — Board member
  • Minju Bae — Board member
  • Rajiv Jaswa — Board member
relationships · 25

Who they work with

  • ANHD Partner — Collaborated on the rezoning proposal for the Two Bridges area.
  • Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou Partner — Co-developed Cancel Rent legislation with CAAAV to include public housing tenants.
  • Astoria Tenants Union Partner — CAAAV chapter organizing working-class Bangladeshi immigrants in Queens, modeled after the Chinatown Tenants Union.
  • Astoria Tenants Union Partner — Joint organizing initiative focused on building tenant power among Bangali residents in Astoria, Queens.
  • Audre Lorde Project Partner — Supports Black, working-class organizing groups like the Audre Lorde Project in their long-standing fight against police brutality and racial violence.
  • BYP 100 Partner — Supports Black, working-class organizing groups like BYP 100 in their long-standing fight against police brutality and racial violence.
  • CCCE Partner — Collaborated on the rezoning proposal for the Two Bridges area.
  • Chinatown Tenants Union Partner — CAAAV chapter founded by Chinese tenants in 2005 to fight landlord abuse and displacement in Chinatown.
  • Communities United for Police Reform Partner — Collaborates with and uplifts the organizing work of Communities United for Police Reform to end police brutality and reform NYPD budgeting and accountability.
  • Community Land Trust (CLT) Learning Exchange Partner — Partnered with the CLT Learning Exchange to receive technical assistance for forming a Community Land Trust in Chinatown.
  • Crowdrise Partner — Platform used for team fundraising in advance of the Karaoke Battle event.
  • Equality 4 Flatbush Partner — Supports Black, working-class organizing groups like Equality 4 Flatbush in their long-standing fight against police brutality and racial violence.
  • GOLES Partner — Co-organized community resistance to luxury development in the Two Bridges neighborhood and co-filed a lawsuit challenging city approval of megatowers.
  • GOLES Partner — Collaborated with CAAAV on a rezoning application for the Chinatown waterfront.
  • Justice Committee Partner — Works alongside the Justice Committee, a grassroots NYC organization challenging police brutality and building power among low-income people of color.
  • Manhattan Housing Court Government — Site of rally for Good Cause eviction protections organized by CAAAV.
  • NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development Government — Engaged in advocacy meetings to demand protection for public housing tenants during the pandemic.
  • NYCHA Government — Opposes privatization efforts in NYCHA public housing through organizing and advocacy campaigns.
  • Senator Jessica Ramos Partner — Collaborated on policy advocacy related to rent cancellation and public housing protections.
  • TUFF-LES Partner — Co-organized community resistance to luxury development in the Two Bridges neighborhood and co-filed a lawsuit challenging city approval of megatowers.
  • TUFF-LES Partner — Collaborated with CAAAV on a rezoning application for the Chinatown waterfront.
  • Takeroot Justice Partner — Provided legal representation in the lawsuit challenging the approval of luxury megatowers in the Two Bridges neighborhood.
  • housing rights organizations Partner — Joined CAAAV in a march to demand reunification of families separated by ICE.
  • immigrant/refugee rights groups Partner — Collaborated with CAAAV in a march to demand family reunification and an end to family detention.
  • police accountability organizations Partner — Marched alongside CAAAV to call for an end to family detention and reunification of separated families.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Community-Controlled Planning as a Path to Long-Term Affordability
    methodology: community-driven_planning
    By advancing community-driven and resident-led land use planning, we secure equitable development and resist speculative rezoning, because decision-making power rooted in local consensus produces more just and durable housing outcomes than top-down processes.
  • Grassroots Tenant Organizing to Build Countervailing Power
    methodology: grassroots_organizing
    By organizing working-class Asian immigrant tenants into collective formations, we build community power to resist displacement and challenge real estate speculation, because sustained resident-led action shifts the balance of power away from predatory financial interests and toward community-controlled outcomes.
  • Intergenerational and Cross-Racial Solidarity Organizing
    methodology: solidarity-across-communities
    By fostering intergenerational, multi-ethnic coalitions and confronting internalized racism, we build broader movement power, because durable solidarity across communities is necessary to challenge interconnected systems of racial and economic injustice.
  • Political Education Integrated with Material Support
    methodology: political_education_integration
    By combining direct aid with political education, we deepen engagement and build transformative consciousness, because shared analysis of systemic oppression strengthens collective action beyond immediate needs.
  • Structural Advocacy Rooted in Anti-Capitalist Analysis
    methodology: anti-capitalist-organizing
    By targeting systemic drivers—such as financialization of housing and capitalist profit motives—we advance housing justice, because focusing advocacy on institutional actors (not individual landlords) enables transformative change that standardized tenant protections alone cannot achieve.