Our Mission
The Naeil Foundation was established at the start of 2020. Its mission is to advance social justice and democratic values in the Korean-American community by advocating for policies and civic engagement that places educational access, preservation of cultural heritage, cross-cultural coalition building, and community prosperity at the forefront. True to its mission, in a short span of time, Naeil Foundation was a lead provider and funder in addressing the fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic, including supplying PPE to hospitals, veterans homes, nursing homes, as well as community based organizations during the early days of the pandemic. Nae il also took a leading role in promoting Census 2020 registration nationwide, as well as encouraging and promoting voter registration. In addition, Naeil supported programs addressing the increasing number of hate crimes and hate incidents against Asian Americans. It also made possible numerous events and activities designed to preserve the Korean heritage for the Korean American Community while appreciating the sacrifices made by veterans for peace and democracy on the Korean peninsula.
Our Work
2020 was expected to be a watershed year, with the decennial U.S. Census and the Presidential Elections, and worldwide commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. It proved to be an earth-shattering year with the global pandemic bringing the world into a standstill and the civil unrest in the United States.
Despite these challenges, the Foundation was able to effectively launch successful initiatives that not only addressed these historic events but also generated both immediate and lasting positive impacts — on a regional, national and global scale.
Recognition
The Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY), representing the second largest Korean American population with nearly 500,000 in the NYC region, has honored Naeil Foundation with the “2022 Community Legacy Award” for being the leading foundation serving the Korean American Community. In 2020, KAAGNY honored the Foundation with the “2020 Organization of the Year Award” for its tremendous work and impact on the Korean community.
The Foundation was also featured in a news outlet for the 8.3 million Korean diaspora, and recognized by the South Korean General Consulate in New York for being an exemplary model for Koreans and for helping to build bridges through its charitable contributions.
As immigrants in New York City, our parents worked hard so we could achieve the American Dream. We are grateful for the opportunity to give back. We will continue to help empower our community so that our children can have a better tomorrow.
“Naeil” means “tomorrow” in Korean. That is why we named our foundation the Naeil Foundation.
And naeil looks brighter for Korean Americans.