Cathay Bank Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Cathay Bank Foundation seeks to “create opportunities” for the geographic areas its banks serve, with those opportunities touching upon many different sectors of need and community development.
IP TAKE: Within Cathay Bank Foundation’s geographic regions of interest, the foundation emphasizes low- and moderate-income areas. This funder also prefers established organizations that can show several previous years of programmatic, organizational and financial successes.
PROFILE: The Cathay Bank Foundation is the nonprofit affiliate of Cathay Bank. Cathay Bank opened in 1962, “with the mission of providing financial services to the growing but underserved Chinese-American community,” starting in Los Angeles as the first Chinese-American bank in Southern California, and expanding from there with a “rapid expansion...fueled by successive waves of immigration, burgeoning trade between America and Asia, and the economic development of the surrounding community.” The Cathay Bank Foundation’s mission is to “help communities in geographic regions where Cathay Bank operates to thrive, through strategic relationships with and resources to community organizations and institutions that are working to positively impact the social, economic, educational, cultural and overall wellbeing of our communities.” Its three main focus areas are Community & Economic Development, Education, and Health & Welfare.
Grants for Economic Development, Civic Participation and Democracy
Cathay Bank’s Community and Economic Development awards grants to organizations that “assist LMI individuals in development of work and life skills, with a specific emphasis on work-entry programs, skills training and employment retention,” and programs for “seniors, workforce development, and individuals with disabilities,” as well as “small business development, commercial revitalization and job creation.” Additionally, the foundation also funds related financial literacy and entrepreneurship grantmaking through its Education program to help low-income or at-risk youth develop economic preparedness. Grantees in the field of work and economic opportunity include APA Family Support Services, Bethel LA Community Development Corporation, and Chinese Newcomers Service Center.
Through the same Community & Economic Development program, Cathay Bank also funds Grants for Civic and Democracy supporting “civic organizations that focus on development of neighborhoods and raising awareness of social issues” and initiatives such as “voter registration and education, community organizing and leadership development.” Recent grantees for civic engagement include Asian Americans for Equality, National Asian American Coalition, and Partners in Community Building.
Grants for Education
Cathay conducts general grantmaking for education through predominately two areas of giving, Early Childhood Education and K-12. Tax filings suggest this is an area of long-standing giving; however, the foundation’s website does not offer succinct grantmaking strategies in these areas preferring instead to fund them broadly. This permits the foundation to consider a wide-variety of related funding. However, the foundation prioritizes organizations that serve low- to middle-income populations in areas served by Cathay Bank. In general, Cathay’s education grants favor literacy programs, parent engagement, mathematics, ESL programs, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and youth mentoring for at-risk students.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
The Cathay Bank Foundation’s Early Childhood Education grantmaking often funds, but is not limited to supporting, general ECE programs, as well as special education students in areas where the foundation has a corporate presence. Past ECE grantees include include the Child Center of New York, Inc., which provides early childhood education and Head Start programming to underserved New York City neighborhoods, and the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence, which serves special education students from birth through age 21 in New Jersey.
Grants for K-12 Education
In contrast, Cathay’s funding for K-12 focuses more on college readiness in addition to its typical funding for academic support and enrichment. Past K-12 grantees include the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, which provides K-12 students with academic support, enrichment and counseling services; the New Jersey-based School for Children with Hidden Intelligence, which serves children with physical and intellectual disabilities; and the I Have a Dream Foundation, a national nonprofit that supports low-income students with social, emotional and academic support.
Grants for Housing and Community Development
The Cathay Bank Foundation invests in housing and homelessness efforts through its Health and Wellness focus area, which funds services such as homeless shelters, crisis shelters, women’s shelters, soup kitchens, food banks, and “programs that provide services to children and families at risk.” Through its Community and & Economic Development grantmaking, it also supports “civic organizations that focus on development of neighborhoods and raising awareness of social issues.” Past grantees in this space include Asian Americans for Equality, National Asian American Coalition, and Partners in Community Building.
Grants for Public Health
The foundation’s Health and Wellness grantmaking supports a variety of efforts related to both specific conditions like diabetes, obesity, and asthma, and more general concerns such as mental health services, “fitness and nutrition,” and “insurance enrollment of uninsured children and adults.” Past public health grantees include Self Help for the Elderly, No Limits for Deaf Children, the Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Asian Health Services, Project Vision, and the KNOWAutism Foundation.
Grants for Arts and Culture
While the foundation does not publically list arts and culture as an area of grantmaking tax filings suggest that it is a major supporter of efforts to promote Chinese art and cultural heritage. Much of this grantmaking centers around Los Angeles and Southern California, but it also funds organizations in other reasons. Grantees include the South Coast Chinese Cultural Association, Friends of the Chinese American Museum, Flushing Council on Culture and Arts, and Taiwanese American Heritage Week in Los Angeles.
Grants for Women and Girls
While grantmaking for women and girls is not a stated priority, Cathay Bank often supports organizations dedicated to women’s causes whose work aligns with the banks funding areas. Grantees include UCLA Women’s Health Center, Asian Pacific Women’s Center, The Women’s Home, Gum Moon Women’s Residence, and New Women New Yorkers.
Important Grant Details:
Grants typically range from $1,000 to $10,000. Note that the Cathay Bank Foundation prioritizes organizations whose work primarily serves low-and moderate-income areas and limits its funding to the states of California, New York, Illinois, Washington, Texas, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, and Maryland, where it has a business presence.
Interested grantseekers must first submit a Letter of Intent, after which the foundation may invite a full proposal. The foundation has four grant cycles per year with LOI deadlines typically falling toward the end of January (Cycle 1), April (Cycle 2), July (Cycle 3), and October (Cycle 4).
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