A Celebration of Philanthropy in the Korean American Community: Giving Summit 2022

by Monica Lee

a photograph of the KACF Giving Summit Stage with KACF President Kyung Yoon

Over 150 Korean American Community Foundation supporters and nonprofit and philanthropic leaders from across the U.S. joined us in New York City on November 5 for our 2022 Giving Summit: Philanthropy Reimagined.

Back in person for the first time since the pandemic, the Summit was an exciting opportunity for our community to reconnect and share conversations and ideas around giving.

KACF President Kyung B. Yoon delivered the welcome remarks and moderated the opening plenary between two fellow Korean American women in philanthropic leadership across the U.S. ㅡ Cathy Cha, President & CEO of the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, and Rhea Suh, President & CEO of the Marin Community Foundation.

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The Lightning Talks featured the unique perspectives of three Korean Americans who each shared their unique perspectives on what it means to give back and challenged us to reimagine the ways in which we make an impact in our communities. First up was Eunice Byun, Co-Founder & CEO of Material, who is not only reimagining the modern kitchen, but also centering community in her social enterprise. Marie Myung-Ok Lee offered her perspective as a writer and novelist, encouraging us to think about how we can leverage our talents and resources to uplift our community. Sebastian Yoon shared his deeply personal journey to becoming a Program Officer at Open Society Foundations, and left us to think about the core values that our philanthropy should be rooted in as we continue to reimagine how we make an impact in the world. In closing, our Board Chair Jeannie Park, moderated a panel discussion and Q&A session with the audience.

Following the Lightning Talks, KACF’s Associate Board led attendees through a series of breakout discussions that helped us probe more deeply into the values that guide our giving and talk about the challenges we face in deepening our philanthropy.

James Rhee, social impact investor and Founder of red helicopter, closed the Summit with his keynote. His personal story and reflections on the generosity that lives in Korean American traditions and values, inspired us to look within our community to find the inspiration and strength to challenge and reimagine systems. Juju Chang, Co-Anchor of ABC News’ Nightline, moderated an engaging Q&A with the audience

The Giving Summit also gave us an opportunity to host our second National Convening of Korean American Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leaders. The purpose of the convening was to bridge connections between community leaders across different cities to share actionable insights on how we can bring more resources into our communities, and explore opportunities and solutions for addressing social issues and organizational challenges collectively.

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