Amplify Her Foundation Grant Announcement

Welcome to Chinatown has been selected by Amplify Her® Foundation as an inaugural grant partner, to advance their mission to support women and girls from underserved communities.

We are incredibly honored to be granted alongside organizations supporting Women Entrepreneurs including Hot Bread Kitchen, Custom Collaborative, Ascendus and Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Since our founding in 2020, Welcome to Chinatown has seen firsthand the added challenges faced by AAPI women entrepreneurs, such as imposter syndrome and cultural norms, that result in hesitancy to uplift and promote themselves in business.

In 2021, 100% of our Longevity Fund grant recipients were BIPOC, with 47% being women-owned businesses. In 2022, 83% of our Longevity Fund Lunar New Year Fair grant recipients were women-owned businesses. Most recently, Welcome to Chinatown piloted a community pitch panel event, titled “So You Think You Can Pitch”, for entrepreneurs to refine their elevator pitch. 100% of pitch submissions were from women.

The grant from Amplify Her® Foundation will allow Welcome to Chinatown to launch our inaugural small business program cycle at The Hub in 2024, with a cohort specifically for women. We see the importance of launching a women-focused cohort to address the gap in support, while uplifting the Chinatown and broader AAPI community.

We will lean on other women business leaders in our network to help shape this program, and provide mentorship throughout the process. As an organization founded by two Asian-American women, we will also draw on our own experiences and challenges to design a meaningful experience that specifically addresses the challenges women face in the business world.

We are extremely excited to partner with Amplify Her® Foundation and grateful for their support to make this work possible.
See Amplify Her® Foundation’s press release here for more information.