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KOREAN AMERICAN CIVIC EMPOWERMENT FOR COMMUNITY INC

FLUSHING, NY · EIN 203987662 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE R40 · Civil Rights & Advocacy · Small ($100K-$1M) · kace.org
revenue
$418K
expenses
$472K
net assets
$109K
employees
8
program ratio
79%
mission · from form 990

KACE'S MISSION IS TO EMPOWER THE KOREAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY BY PROMOTING CIVIC PARTICIPATION.

profile · synthesized from sources

Korean American Civic Empowerment for Community (KACE) promotes civic participation and empowerment within the Korean American community. Based in New York and New Jersey, the organization runs programs focused on voter registration, legal assistance, youth leadership development, and policy advocacy. KACE also conducts research on issues affecting Korean Americans, including anti-Asian hate and the impact of the pandemic.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $73K
    EMPOWERING OUR COMMUNITY KACE LEGAL TASK FORCE - THE KACE LEGAL TASK FORCE WAS ESTABLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2017 AND HAVE BEEN WORKING TIRELESSLY ON BEHALF OF THE KOREAN IMMIGRATION COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, MEDIA PRESENTATIONS, PUBLICATIONS AND MOBILIZING KOREAN AMERICAN CHURCHES. CIVIC ACADEMY - IN COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, KACE OFFERS COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON THE SOCIAL BENEFIT PROGRAMS. TOWN HALL MEETING - KACE HOSTS A SERIES OF TOWN HALL MEETINGS, WHERE ELECTED POLITICIANS MEET THEIR CONSTIUTES, DISCUSS AND COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS TO LOCAL ISSUES.
  2. #2 $12K
    TRAINING NEXT GENERATION TO BECOME PROUD COMMUNITY LEADERS: 2021 GRASSROOTS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM - THE INTERNSHIP WORKSHOP INCLUDES KOREAN AMERICAN IDENTITY, ASIAN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION HISTORY, FEDERAL/STATE/LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM, VOTER REGISTRATION STUDY, GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM STUDY, AND A WIDER VARIETY OF TOPICS. INTERNS WILL REQUIRE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES AND KNOWLEDGE TO UNDERSTAND THE SOCIETY AND FIGURE OUT THEIR OWN CONTRIBUTION TO MAKE FOR THE COMMUNITY. YOUNG LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT - TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE GENERATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY, KACE IS RELENTLESSLY WORKING TO CULTIVATE LEADERSHIP GROUPS IN THE REGION. THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG KOREAN AMERICAN IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THE EFFORT TO BUILD THE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY.
named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Grassroots Internship Program
Annual high school internship program that trains students in civic leadership, community engagement, and cultural identity through hands-on experiences and networking with local leaders.
KACE Collegiate Leadership Conference (CLC)
Annual conference for college-aged young adults focusing on grassroots activism, voting rights advocacy, and leadership development within the Korean American community.
KACE Legal Task Force
Provides free legal consultations, seminars, and research on issues including elder law, estate planning, small business regulations, and immigration policy for Korean Americans in NY and NJ.
Research Committee
Conducts sociological research on voter behavior, anti-Asian hate crimes, pandemic impacts, and pan-Asian solidarity, supported by academic scholars and external grants.
Voter Registration Drive
Registers Korean American voters across NY and NJ, with over 25,000 new voters registered since 1996 and ongoing annual support for voter registration and education.
activities · 8 groups

What they do

  • Civic Engagement and Voter Mobilization 3 activities
    • Advocacy for Korean American voting rights
      Advocates for the voting rights of Korean Americans in the Greater New York area through joint civic actions, participation in redistricting processes to prevent gerrymandering, and efforts to ensure accurate language access in elections, including reviewing Korean translations on voting machines and ballots.
    • Election day voter support services
      Operates multilingual voter hotlines on election days to assist voters with issues at polling sites, including complaint processing. Has served over 800 voters through its hotline program and provided Korean-language election services, ballot instructions, and voter registration forms in coordination with local jurisdictions.
    • Voter registration and civic engagement
      Registers Korean American voters in New York and New Jersey, with over 25,000 new voters registered since 1996. Annually assists over 1,200 individuals with voter registration, address changes, party affiliation updates, and poll site verification through outreach programs and election day support.
  • Neighborhood Civic Engagement 1 activity
    • Civic education and community mobilization
      Conducts town hall meetings connecting elected officials and constituents, provides education on social benefit programs, and mobilizes Korean American churches to support immigrant communities through workshops, media presentations, and publications.
  • Political Leadership Training for Underrepresented Groups 1 activity
    • Leadership and civic education training programs
      Provides education and leadership development programs to cultivate future Korean American leaders, including organizing conferences for election translators and local government officials, and offering training for participants in civic engagement initiatives.
  • Pro Bono Legal Representation and Support 1 activity
    • Legal assistance and education
      Provides free legal consultations to over 100 individuals annually and conducts legal research and seminars on anti-Asian hate, elder law, small business regulations, immigration-related executive orders, and related topics.
  • Civil Rights Advocacy & Litigation 1 activity
    • Policy advocacy and community representation initiatives
      Engages in advocacy around redistricting, small business protections, and historical justice issues such as the Comfort Women Resolution (H. Res. 121), memorial projects, art exhibitions, and cross-community dialogues between survivors of historical trauma.
  • Nonprofit Sector Research & Data Analysis 1 activity
    • Research on Korean American community issues
      Conducts research on voter participation, the impact of anti-Asian hate crimes, economic effects of the pandemic on small businesses, pan-Asian solidarity, and intersecting identities within the diaspora. Publishes findings in reports including annual KACE Activity Reports and data analyses from intern submissions.
  • Youth Leadership Development Programs 1 activity
    • Youth and young adult leadership development
      Engages high school and college students through internship programs, leadership conferences, and workshops that cover Korean American identity, immigration history, government systems, and grassroots activism. Since 2004, has involved over 300 high school students and hosts annual events such as the KACE Collegiate Leadership Conference.
  • Uncategorized 2 activities
    • Census outreach and assistance
      Conducted outreach for Census 2000 and supported the 2010 Korean American Census Task Force by operating a Questionnaire Assistance Center and a Korean-language census hotline to improve participation among Korean-speaking populations.
    • Community resource and coordination hub
      Serves as a central body for addressing Korean American community concerns by coordinating task forces, providing administrative support for census outreach, and facilitating communication between community members and institutions.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$418K
Contributions & grants$314K75%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$30%
Other revenue$104K
expenses
Total expenses$472K
Program expenses79%
Admin / overhead14%
Fundraising7%
Salaries & benefits$275K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$279K
Cash$96K
Investments$0
Liabilities$170K
Net assets$109K
Liquid reserves2.4 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +21.7%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 12
  • CHANG JUDY — DIRECTOR
  • CHO JOUNGSUK — DIRECTOR
  • CHOI DAMI — DIRECTOR
  • CHOI YOUNG SOO — DIRECTOR
  • ESTHER G LEE — DIRECTOR
  • HAN MIRYUNG — DIRECTOR
  • JUNG DOSUNG — DIRECTOR
  • KIM DOHYUNG — CHAIRMAN
  • KIM JONG HYUNG — DIRECTOR
  • KIM KWANG SOO — DIRECTOR
  • PARK ANDREW DONGKYU — DIRECTOR
  • PARK JAEWOO — DIRECTOR
relationships · 10

Who they work with

  • AARIN Partner — Hosts Dr. Eunjung Lee, a member of the KACE Research Committee, contributing scholarly expertise to research initiatives.
  • Binghamton University Partner — Hosts Dr. Cheongse Jeong, a member of the KACE Research Committee, contributing scholarly expertise to research initiatives.
  • City University of New York Partner — Hosts Prof. Ki Seonmi Kim, a member of the KACE Research Committee, contributing scholarly expertise to research initiatives.
  • Community Organizations Partner — Collaborates with community organizations to offer civic education programs on social benefit programs.
  • NYU Partner — Co-hosted an event with KACE on April 7, 2023, focused on increasing voter engagement among college-aged young adults.
  • Sociological Initiatives Foundation Funder — Provided a research grant to support the KACE Research Committee's data analysis projects.
  • State University of New York Partner — Hosts Prof. Yunju Nam, a member of the KACE Research Committee, contributing scholarly expertise to research initiatives.
  • U.S. Census Bureau Partner — Collaborated on Census 2000 and 2010 outreach and operations.
  • elected officials Partner — Works with elected officials to provide free legal services to the Korean American community.
  • local organizations Partner — Collaborates with local organizations to provide free legal services to the Korean American community.
strategies · 3

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.

  • Civic Empowerment through Multimodal Advocacy and Leadership Development
    methodology: multi_pronged_advocacy
    By combining litigation, grassroots lobbying, community education, and youth leadership development, we produce sustained civic engagement and structural change, because empowering individuals with both knowledge and direct avenues for action fosters long-term community ownership and political efficacy.
  • Collaborative Civic Education for Community Engagement
    methodology: collaborative_community_education
    By partnering with community organizations to deliver civic education on social benefit programs, we produce greater community participation and access, because trusted local networks increase reach and credibility among underserved populations.
  • Community-Driven Empowerment via Youth and Peer Mobilization
    methodology: peer-network_mobilization
    By developing youth leaders through hands-on civic engagement and leveraging peer networks, we produce grassroots community impact, because young adults’ personal agency and social connections amplify outreach and foster authentic, sustainable change.