Tides Center

VietRISE advances social justice and builds power with working-class Vietnamese and immigrant communities in Orange County. We build leadership and create systemic change through organizing, narrative change, cultural empowerment, and civic engagement.

Orange County is home to the largest population of Vietnamese people outside of Viet Nam with a total of over 200,000 people, which is 10% of the overall Vietnamese population in the United States. Little Saigon, OC is the oldest and largest Vietnamese ethnic enclave in the U.S. and is home to Vietnamese refugees and families who migrated to the U.S. after 1975, being one of the first areas where Vietnamese refugees settled. Because of its population size and historical significance to the Vietnamese community, what happens here in the realm of politics, business, and culture often sends ripple effects of change across Vietnamese and AAPI communities across the country.

Despite the large size of the community, the Vietnamese community in Orange County is under-resourced in critical social and economic areas. Over 55% of OC Vietnamese have limited English proficiency, 34% are low-income, 14% are uninsured, and 69% are foreign-born and came to the U.S. as refugees or immigrants following the Vietnam War, which displaced hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people.

In OC, Vietnamese lawmakers hold a growing number of elected seats and government positions, from city councils to the Board of Supervisors, and elections across Little Saigon are dominated by what political campaigns think the Vietnamese community wants. However, this political power and representation has yet to translate into good public policy that has changed the living conditions of most people in the community for the better. Contrary to popular belief, the community faces a range of challenges, including rising economic inequality, housing instability and homelessness, incarceration and deportation, and inadequate political representation. There is a desire within the community to change our current conditions, and we believe a robust organizing infrastructure is needed to make this vision a reality.

In 2018, VietRISE was founded with the mission to empower Orange County’s working class Vietnamese community by providing a central platform for community organizing, civic engagement, and social and cultural transformation deeply rooted in the principles of social justice. VietRISE’s first efforts toward movement building in the Vietnamese immigrant community occurred during the local movement to Defend Sanctuary in OC, in which our organization played a pivotal role in defending CA’s sanctuary law, the VALUES Act, against anti-immigrant lawmakers and white supremacist groups. Since then, VietRISE has continued to strengthen local community power by developing the leadership of youth and second-generation Vietnamese Americans, empowering them to serve as activists, advocates, organizers, and leaders dedicated to driving systemic change and advancing social justice within the county’s educational institutions and governance structures.

In 2024, we hosted our 3rd Little Saigon Community Festival with over 700 attendees, spoke to over 4,000 residents across Little Saigon, launched our Power in Belonging video series in partnership with the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, and hosted 10 internships and 2 fellowships throughout the year.

In 2025, we will continue leading the establishment and implementation of the Orange County Immigrant and Refugee Liberty Fund, a county-level program we co-founded in partnership with Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento’s office and philanthropic partners like Weingart. The program coordinates trusted legal providers, community organizations, and volunteer groups to equip residents with the knowledge, resources, and skills needed to navigate the legal system and advocate for themselves in immigration court. With the upcoming presidency’s commitment to mass deportations targeting the communities we serve, this program is more crucial than ever. VietRISE is one of the few organizations in Southern California equipped to effectively serve Vietnamese immigrants impacted by these policies.

We also aim to develop and establish a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization with programming such as community listening sessions to inform its goals and capture the needs of the communities we serve in order to expand our lobbying and advocacy efforts.

Additionally, we plan to continue our internships, fellowships, and youth programs as well as expand our staff in order to develop the skills and leadership of young people and community members from our base.

As VietRISE enters its 7th year, we have identified the following organizational needs:

We will need a full-time Communications Manager this year. This position is critical for effectively communicating the impact of our work and driving narrative and policy change. As an organization that regularly engages with media through one-on-one conversations and press conferences, investing in this role and strengthening our communications capacity will significantly enhance our public engagement and media relations efforts.

Financial sustainability remains a top priority, particularly through building a robust base of grassroots donors. By increasing contributions from individual community members and supporters, we can scale our work and ensure long-term stability while also remaining flexible to adjust our programming and campaigns according to community needs.

As our communities prepare for a second Trump presidency, we have already noticed an increase in requests for support for community members. Our Little Saigon Community Resources Hub, which provides direct support to community members facing detention, deportation, eviction, and labor issues, requires additional resources in order to respond to community needs. This includes strengthening collaborations and partnerships with other organizations, hiring staff, and training staff to provide support to community members in a changing political landscape.

Our growing programs require improved technology and data systems to streamline operations, facilitate communication across the organization, and enhance responsiveness to community members. With increased digital threats and the risk of data breaches, it is more critical than ever to ensure the sensitive information we hold about our community members, programs, and operations is secure. Investing in updated systems, cybersecurity measures, and staff training will enable us to safeguard this data while supporting our organizational efficiency and impact.

As our team continues to grow, we need to invest in people management trainings for our staff, including those who oversee volunteers, in order to increase volunteer retention, reduce burnout for staff, and ensure standardized practices for management, including onboarding, training, and giving feedback, across the organization. These trainings will allow our staff to more efficiently and effectively recruit and oversee volunteers, who are essential to us achieving our strategic goals and making an impact within our community.

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.