Asian Giving Circle

Sharing this heartbreaking news. Michael Caga-anan Aguhar was a friend and supporter of Asian Giving Circle, and we will miss his leadership and advocacy in our community. Please keep his colleagues at Crossroads Fund and his family in your hearts. His friends and family have setup a fundraising page to support his partner Irina and toddler Zoya in these times. https://crossroadsfund.org/michael-caga-anan-aguhar/

We write today with heavy hearts to share the sad news of the passing of our beloved friend and colleague, Michael Caga-anan Aguhar. Michael died unexpectedly on Friday, February 20th, after a sudden medical emergency. We are holding close to all who loved him, especially his partner, Irina, and their toddler, Zoya, whom Michael loved beyond measure.

We are supporting Michael’s partner, Irina, as funeral arrangements are made and as we plan a celebration of Michael’s life later this spring. We will share more details as they become available.

We have joined family and friends to establish a fundraising page to support Irina and Zoya as they navigate this profound loss and the long road of healing.

🖤 With love from all of us at Crossroads Fund,

Read the complete message and how to support at: crossroadsfund.org/michael-caga-anan-aguhar/ or link in bio

Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy - AAPIP -Chicago Chapter, AFP Chicago - Asian Pacific Islander Affinity Group, and Asian Giving Circle continued their AAPI Leadership Series in July. This series was created to uplift the new leaders in our community and the critical work that they are leading.

We were thrilled to feature 𝐍𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐑𝐡𝐞𝐞, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Borderless Magazine , in conversation with 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐞 𝐊𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐜, Executive Director of HANA Center . Nissa and Danae had an engaging back and forth conversation on leadership transition, organizational resilience, community engagement, and navigating challenges in the current political climate. Here are some of the insights we learned from Nissa's conversation with Danae::

☑️𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭- No one is born to be an executive director. As a leader you will experience so many things you haven’t had to do before. A fixed mindset says "I can't do this because I haven't done it before." A growth mindset says "I haven't done this YET."⁣

☑️𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - Despite federal threats to immigrant communities, HANA Center will continue bold advocacy and coalition building, while balancing risk and prioritizing staff and community safety. As a leader, you're always doing risk analysis, but make sure that analysis isn't being done alone. Include your staff, board, and coalition partners.⁣

☑️𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 - As a Korean adoptee, I've known what it feels like to not belong, which has allowed me to engage with multiple generations and experiences to build together what it means to be Korean American. This helps ensure that our programs —like ESL and Korean language classes—reflect diverse experiences⁣

☑️𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - With shifting demographics and upcoming elections, HANA Center is expanding outreach in suburban areas and building pathways for multilingual voter education and civic participation.⁣

🙏𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞? Everyday people give me hope. People are finding ways to donate small amounts, volunteer, and spread resources. Hope lives in these small acts.⁣
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Thank you for supporting the HANA Center’s mission to build strong, inclusive communities, and for Borderless for reimagining immigration journalism for a more just and equitable future

To Support the HANA Center, Volunteer , Give, Follow HANA Center at https://hanacenter.org/
To Support Borderless Magazine subscribe and fund immigration news by, for and about immigrant communities at https://borderlessmag.org/

Register for our next conversation on Sept 25 with Julie Morita and Rummana Hussain at this link https://www.eventcreate.com/e/2025-aapi-leadership-series

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