
The Yappie
National, focus on media & journalism, youth-led, serving the Pan-AAPI community
About the Organization:
The Yappie (theyappie.com) is the only publication dedicated to tracking the rise of Asian American + Pacific Islander political power. We provide a digestible summary of the policy news and activism affecting AAPIs and explore how our communities are shaping politics like never before. Our award-winning journalism is read in the White House, Congress, state legislatures, and by activists nationwide.

organizational budget
$0-$50,000

existence for
0-5 Years
The Issue:
If you want to learn how the news affects you and your community, where do you turn?
Information on AAPI politics and advocacy is hard to find. The reason? Traditional newsrooms lack the experience and bandwidth needed to cover our communities – and when they do, such reporting often plays into harmful stereotypes.
As a result, the issues AAPIs – especially Pacific Islanders – care about are rarely covered, while sensationalist and inaccurate content continues to flourish.
This comes as AAPIs have emerged as a powerful voting bloc. AAPI turnout and political engagement have surged more than any other racial group, but many voters continue to feel sidelined from important policy conversations and lack the information necessary to fully participate in our democracy.
The Solution:
The Yappie is a first-of-its-kind newsroom designed to inform and empower the next generation of AAPI leaders and voters. Fiscally sponsored by the Asian American Journalists Association, we fill the gap in AAPI political coverage that has long plagued our communities.
Through in-depth newsletters, alerts, and nonpartisan analysis, our youth-led team informs the public about relevant policy and political developments affecting AAPIs and highlights the voices of activists across the country.
Our experienced team is made up of passionate young professionals who have worked in government, political media, and at some of the nation’s leading AAPI advocacy groups.
The Yappie’s trusted journalists have attended White House press briefings and interviewed lawmakers in the halls of Congress. Outside of The Yappie, our writers have been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Axios, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere. We’ve published in-depth stories highlighting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander healthcare disparities, the experiences of Southeast Asian refugees, and interviewed rising newsmakers such as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
With the Gold Futures Grant they will:
- Expand tracking of AAPI advocacy groups in order to make their work more accessible to the public;
- Monitor notable activity from AAPI elected officials, campaigns, and efforts to engage with AAPI communities politically;
- Fairly compensate journalists for their work;
- Invest significant resources into investigative projects and deep dives on issues including mental health, immigration, and Pacific Islander activism; and
- Build The Yappie into a training ground for the next generation of AAPI leaders, including AAPI student journalists and interns pursuing careers in policy, government, and communications.
With the Gold Futures Grant they will:
- Website: https://theyappie.com/
- Newsletters: http://bit.ly/theyappie
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theyappie/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theyappie
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theyappie