Ahri Center, a fiscally sponsored project of Tides Center

At Ahri Center, our mission is to pave new paths forward to collective justice for communities of color in Southern California.

Ahri Center is a women-led, pan-Asian, and Latinx team of highly experienced organizers and advocates. As a multi-racial organization rooted in organizing, we aim to shift the narrative of Orange County, California beginning with our youth of color voter engagement efforts and leading to our long-term fight for collective justice within our communities. Ahri Center focuses on how youth voter engagement and civic engagement can create systemic change and help to address the needs of low-income communities such as affordable housing, healthcare, and education. Through the leadership pathways established and facilitated by Ahri Center, youth will be able to address the needs of their communities through policy, advocacy, and voter engagement. We are building a movement where youth of color mobilize voters in the field and work beyond an election cycle to create power. By organizing communities, youth lead the fight for systemic change and collective justice

Ahri Center is the space for low income, working class young adults to become civically engaged and create change in OC. In 2021, we had 2 core youth programs, CSUF Service Learning and Building Leaders Organizing Our Movement (BLOOM). Every semester, we collaborate with the Asian American Studies at California State University, Fullerton to run a service-learning class focused on civic engagement. These students developed strategies advocating for redistricting, gender justice, and wellness. BLOOM, made in the pandemic and in collaboration with Resilience OC, is a 5-month youth-led paid program to amplify their voice while developing their goals, coping skills, relationship-building, and political awareness. The youth curate the program and campaign, advocate for issues, and advance policies. We empowered 23 youth this year, doubling from last year! Last year’s cohort also participated in helping us contact 9.823 voters. The legal service team at Ahri Center takes on cases that span months to years. We focus on serving survivors of domestic violence, at-risk youth, low-income, and undocumented individuals. In 2021, Ahri Center provided 47 community members with pro-bono or low-cost legal services. Ahri Center hosted virtual and in-person events the past year that drew out over 400 attendees total. We hosted QuaranTIME: a cultural and social wellness space, Life is Boo-tiful: a park day in collaboration with Viet Rainbow of Orange County, bilingual redistricting meetings, community processing session on racial injustice, legislative Visits to propose mental health bills and advocate for immigration bills: HR 6, HR 1603, HR 1909, HR 1177, 2 youth-led seminars that focused on ethnic studies and immigration.

Ahri Center aims to expand our legal services team to increase community members served. As of now, Ahri Center is one of the few organizations that provide English, Korean, and Spanish services. By December 2023, we hope to serve the Vietnamese-speaking community. In addition, by December 2023, we aim to have 50% of Ahri community members be linked to both organizing and legal services. We hope to further develop our leadership structure and deepen our governance structure. In 2023, we hope to recruit advisory board members. Ahri Center wants to identify a consultant expert in governance to build an advisory board and begin the process toward building a governing board. AHRI will begin to utilize the Advisory Board for planning, strategy and financial oversight. As a newer organization, we want to increase our base building. In Dec 2023, Ahri will outreach to 1,000 community members through entering classrooms to share about our opportunities, civic engagement, field work, collaborative events, and coalitions.

FUNDING: Ahri wants to increase revenue development and grant outreach; and continue communicating Ahri's value proposition through marketing, community outreach, and strategic partnerships. We want to do this by increasing the diversification of funders and operating grants and identifying accounting best practices to expand proactive cash flow management. To be successful, Ahri Center needs to hire a full-time development staff member, starting at $60,000, to focus on fundraising and grants.

PROGRAM: Ahri wants to expand and deepen program offerings. Our strategies include expansion of strategy building for campaign work and basic needs and mental health support for youth. We hope to continue to explore research and policy opportunities with educational institutions and cities. The tactics involve hiring a full-time civic engagement staff at $50,000 to engage in strategic planning related to program growth and continue fundraising for program expansion.

INFRASTRUCTURE: Ahri hopes to build operational capacity to prepare for C3 incorporation, including risk management, legal, financial, and HR practices. The strategy is to prepare for eventual incorporation and emancipation from Tides and work with organizational development consultants to build out protocols and best practices for core business areas. Hiring a legal firm to support with documentation for 501(c)3 status will cost $10,000. Hiring consultants will cost $20,000 and begin in Fall 2023.

STRATEGIC PLANNING Ahri will continue strategic planning to assess the Ahri business model, so the organization can scale. The strategies will identify direction, priorities, and goals for mission activity and address organizational development needs. Hiring a consultant will cost $20,000.

LEARNING AND EVALUATION Ahri wants to invest in data management, education, and evaluation. In Spring 2023, Ahri Center would need to hire an evaluation consultant to help establish data collection. Hiring a consultant would cost $20,000.

Ahri Center seeks to address community gaps by providing youth organizing programs, immigration legal services, and resource linkages to low-income, AAPI, and Latinx youth and families in Orange County. Many of these immigrant families are based in North Orange County. According to the OC Equity Map, cities such as Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, and La Habra demonstrate low social progress, struggle with health and wellness, violent crime, and access to basic knowledge.