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NAEIL FOUNDATION

Impact Report
내일재단
Table of Contents

02 Executive Summary

04 Impact at a Glance

05 Global Pandemic
Press Highlights

Testimonials

09 70th Anniversary of the Korean War

Press Highlights

Testimonials

13 2020 Census / Presidential Elections

Key Initiatives

Press Highlights

Testimonials

20 Recognition

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 1

Executive Summary
The Naeil Foundation, established at the start of 2020, was
founded by second generation Korean Americans.

Its mission is to advance social justice and democratic values in the

Korean-American community by advocating for policies and civic
engagement that places educational access, preservation of cultural
heritage, cross-cultural coalition building, and community prosperity
at the forefront. Additionally the Foundation promotes equitable
treatment of and outcomes for similarly situated underrepresented
and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities across the
United States and its territories where the Foundation is a major
stakeholder in the community.

2020 was expected to be a watershed year, with the decennial U.S.

Census and the Presidential Elections, and worldwide
commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. It proved
to be an earth-shattering year with the global pandemic bringing the
world into a standstill and the civil unrest in the United States.

the Foundation was able to effectively

Despite these challenges,
launch three successful initiatives that not only addressed
these historic events but also generated both immediate and
lasting positive impacts -- on a regional, national and global
scale.

At the onset of the pandemic, the Foundation immediately secured

and donated critically-necessary personal protective equipment
(PPE) to New York City regional Korean American organizations,
hospitals, nursing homes, and to Korean War veterans. The donations
were crucial in providing essential PPE toward saving lives, while
strengthening the good will of the Korean community in the tri-state
area.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 2

Naeil means "tomorrow" in Korean
내일재단
Moreover, recognizing the significance of the 70th Anniversary of the
Korean War (June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953) and its impact on the
Korean identity and immigration, as well as the U.S.-Korean alliance,
the Foundation funded the creation of a website dedicated to
honoring Korean War veterans around the world and in the United
States while educating the public about the Korean War. The website
will continue to promote global awareness of the veterans’ sacrifices
while preserving the history and cultural heritage of Koreans
worldwide.

Lastly, to ensure Korean American participation in the 2020 Census

and the Elections, the Foundation sponsored the launch of KA Vote,
a non-partisan, multi-generational Task Force made up of nearly 60
regional and national Korean American organizations to increase
Korean American civic engagement and representation. The
unprecedented mobilization efforts reached 1 million Korean
Americans nationwide through various platforms which resulted in a
historic turnout at the polls, while also uniting the Korean American
community in an unprecedented scale and cohesion.

For its tremendous work and impact on the Korean community, the
Foundation received the “2020 Organization of the Year Award”
from the Korean American Association of Greater New York
(KAAGNY) during its Annual Gala on Korean American Day, January
13, 2021.

Since the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States
on January 13, 1903, Korean Americans have worked tirelessly in
pursuit of the American Dream and for the future of their children.
The Naeil Foundation is committed to empowering the community so
generations of Korean Americans can continue to enjoy a better
tomorrow.

And a brighter tomorrow starts today.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 3

Impact at a Glance
SIGNIFICANCE & NAEIL FOUNDATION'S IMPACT
NEED CONTRIBUTIONS (SHORT/LONG-TERM)

Critical personal PPE donation - 20,000 Direct essential protection

protective coveralls to 5 hospitals, 5 to frontline workers,

equipment (PPE) nursing homes, 1 veterans indirectly helped saved

during the height home, and 5+ Korean lives

of the pandemic in American organizations Good will for the Korean

NYC community

REGIONAL

Honoring veterans Funded development of a Paying proper tribute to

and remembering website featuring stories of veterans and their families

the 70th the veterans and their and educating the public

anniversary of the sacrifices and promoting Preserving Korean identity

Korean War awareness about the and history and

significance of the Korean War strengthening alliances

GLOBAL

Increasing Korean Sponsored the launch of KA Outreach to 1 million

American civic Vote -a nonpartisan, Korean Americans,

engagement in nationwide Task Force of yielding record turnout

the 2020 Census Korean American organizations Community

and Presidential to enhance participation in the empowerment, coalition

Elections Census, and voter registration building and political

and turnount representation

NATIONAL
NATIONAL

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 4

Global Pandemic
SIGNIFICANCE & NEED
In March 2020, the New York City region emerged as the epicenter of the pandemic

in the United States, soon after the country’s first coronavirus infection was

discovered. NYC hospitals and emergency rooms were overwhelmed with fatally-ill

COVID-19 patients while facing dire shortages of personal protective equipment

(PPE) — masks, gloves and gowns — for medical staff and frontline workers. By April,

NYC accounted for 25% of COVID-19 deaths in the United States.

Some of the hardest-hit communities included poor and densely-populated

neighborhoods in north-central Queens with high immigrant populations, including

Korean Americans living in Flushing. Public hospitals like the Queens Hospital Center

and the Elmhurst Hospital Center became overloaded with patients, operating at

over 100% capacity without adequate PPE nor personnel.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 5

ODDBALL IMAGING STUDIO
FOUNDATION'S CONTRIBUTIONS
Naeil Foundation fulfilled the needs of the greater NYC community by quickly
sourcing and purchasing 10,000 highest medical grade coveralls (ASTM F1671 /
F1671M certified) from a South Korean manufacturer, in addition to another 10,000
from Taiwan--at a time when they were logistically impossible to obtain and most
urgently required. These life-saving, antiviral protective gowns were distributed to
four New York hospitals: Mount Sinai Hospital, NYU Langone Medical Center,
Elmhurst Hospital Center, and Queens Hospital Center, and one New Jersey hospital:
Holy Name Medical Center (where there is a separate Korean Medical Program to
serve the large Korean American population living in Bergen County). In addition, the
coveralls were donated to Korean-American Medical Practitioners Association of
New York (KAMPANY), Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY),
and the Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS) to be used
while providing direct services to the Korean American community. Moreover, the
donation was extended to Veterans Home in Paramus, NJ after a New York Times
article exposed the lack of PPE at the facility and the increasing number of deaths
of veterans, including Korean War veterans.

SHORT TERM IMPACT LONG TERM IMPACT

Immediately, the Foundation’s efforts Moreover, the Foundation’s contributions
helped save lives in the NYC region. The have established lasting impact by
expeditious donations of the PPE gowns helping to establish goodwill in the
helped meet urgent needs during the community. The donations were greatly
most pressing time of the pandemic in appreciated by the hospitals’ chief
NYC. In addition to equipping frontline medical officers, as well as the CEO of
workers at five major hospitals, the the veterans home (operated by the New
Foundation’s coveralls provided essential Jersey state government), and local
protection to Korean American elected officials who will remember
organizations that served the most these donations for years to come.
vulnerable Koreans through free medical
aid and food relief programs, as well as
to five nursing homes with high
concentration of Korean seniors.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 6

ODDBALL IMAGING STUDIO
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 7

TESTIMONIALS

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 8

70th Anniversary of the Korean War
SIGNIFICANCE & NEED
IFor more than 83 million Koreans worldwide, the Korean War (1950-1953) is a fateful

event that changed the course of Korean history and identity, and the future of the

Korean Peninsula and people. Moreover, 1.8 million Americans served in the Korean

War, nearly 40,000 were killed in action, more than 100,000 wounded, and 8,000

are still unaccounted for. Nearly 4,000 soldiers from 20 other United Nations

countries died, and more than 400,000 were injured. In total, the Korean War

involved 26 nations, claimed the lives of more than 5 million people (about 2.5

million Koreans) and separated more than 10 million Korean families. Yet the Two

Koreas remain technically at war and the Korean Peninsula remains divided.

Sadly, the Korean War has been long referred to as the “Forgotten War” and its

veterans have been unrecognized. Furthermore, worldwide commemorations

marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War on June 25, 2020, were canceled

due to the global pandemic. The Korean War veterans, who are mostly in their 90’s,

missed their last chance to be celebrated.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 9

ODDBALL IMAGING STUDIO
FOUNDATION'S CONTRIBUTIONS
The Foundation promoted recognition of the Korean War veterans and the historical
significance of the Korean War by funding the development of
www.KoreanWarMemorials.com, a website featuring stories of the veterans from a
total of 30 countries that participated in the Korean War. There are nearly 400 video
interviews and transcripts available on the website, which also contains photos of
more than 180 Korean War memorials from around the world. In addition, it uniquely
features a virtual Wall of Remembrance with the names of nearly 41,000 killed
worldwide in the Korean War, including more than 36,000 Americans from each U.S.
State and Territory. Visitors are able to pay tribute by leaving comments behind.

SHORT TERM IMPACT LONG TERM IMPACT

Through this website, the Naeil In the long run, by conveying the
Foundation was able to honor the gratitude of the Korean people through
sacrifices of those who died in defense the website, the Foundation has
of freedom in time for Memorial Day in strengthened historical and political
the United States and ensured that the alliances between Koreans and the
Korean War veterans were honored all people of the countries that participated
around the world on June 25, 2020 --on in the Korean War. The website continues
the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of to receive messages from people
the Korean War. The website’s content worldwide, expressing their appreciation
was especially appreciated at a time for the efforts made to honor their
when the veterans were increasingly countrymen who fought in Korea.
isolated during the pandemic. Moreover, it will continue to preserve the
history and cultural identity of the Korean
people and the 8.3 million Korean
diaspora, including 2 million Korean
Americans, who emigrated from South
Korea in the aftermath of the Korean
War.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 10

ODDBALL IMAGING STUDIO
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 11

TESTIMONIALS

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 12

2020 Census and Presidential Elections
SIGNIFICANCE & NEED

The 2020 Census and the Elections were particularly important at this critical

juncture in history. Participation in both the Census and the Elections has long-term

effects: the results of the 2020 Census will determine how much federal funding

will flow into the community every year for the next decade (one person = $3,000 of

federal funding each year); the electoral turnout will measure the political influence

of Korean Americans.

Yet Koreans have been under-counted in the Census and under-represented in the

Elections. Studies show there is a discrepancy between the number of the Korean

American population, estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau (1.8 million) and by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea (2.5 million). This means at least half a million

are not being counted, making Koreans officially a Hard-to-Count demographic

group. Furthermore, AAPI DATA’s analysis on the Asian American vote in 2016

revealed that voting rates among Korean American adult citizens were lowest (46%)

relative to Whites and Blacks (65.3% and 59.4%, respectively) and even Latinos

(47.6%). It was vitally important to engage Korean American voters, especially non-

English proficient first generation Koreans and young second generation first-time

voters.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 13

ODDBALL IMAGING STUDIO
FOUNDATION'S CONTRIBUTIONS
The Foundation sponsored the creation of KA Vote, a nationwide Task Force that
quickly assembled Korean American organizations nationwide to increase Korean
American participation in the 2020 Census and the Elections. Led by the Korean
American Coalition (KAC) and the Korean American Association of Greater New York
(KAAGNY), the Task Force was made up of first and second generation Korean
American leaders representing 60 regional and national organizations -- that
worked together to encourage Korean Americans to complete the Census online
before the October 15th deadline as well as to register to vote before each state’s
deadline. The Task Force was able to provide timely and bilingual information
through its website, www.kavote.org, as well as social media, earned media, paid
ads (print, radio, TV, digital) as well as in-person and virtual events (ie. R&B concert
for second generation and trot concert for first generation) and other special
initiatives (ie. music video, photo contest).

SHORT TERM IMPACT LONG TERM IMPACT

While the final data from the Census and This gain in a few percentage points
the 2020 Elections is not yet available, became particularly significant in the
the Foundation’s immediate goals to 2020 presidential elections as well as in
increase Korean American civic tight congressional races. As a result,
engagement were met: between the first there are now four Korean Americans in
week of September to Election Day on the U.S. Congress, and all across the
November 3rd, KA Vote reached more nation’s state legislatures and city
than 1 million Korean Americans councils. The long lasting impact of the
nationwide through various platforms, Foundation’s investment in mobilizing the
which contributed to an uptick in Korean Korean American electorate is increased
American participation in the Census and representation of Korean Americans as
Elections. It has already been revealed well as political empowerment of the
that more Americans voted in the 2020 community. Through KA Vote, the
election than in more than 100 years. Foundation has helped build an
Nearly 65 percent of the voting-eligible infrastructure that has an extended
population, almost 161 million Americans, outreach to engage and unite the Korean
broke records for voter turnout, including American community--both first
an unprecedented number of Asian generation and second generation
American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Koreans, on a local and national scale.
that cast a ballot. Nationally, 5% more
AAPI voters cast a ballot than voted in
the entirety of the 2016 election. In every
single battleground state, AAPI voters
saw a bigger percent increase in votes
cast, relative 2016 than any other group,
and became the margin of victory.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 14

ODDBALL IMAGING STUDIO
KEY INITIATIVES
The press announcement of the launch of KA

Vote on September 17, 2020, galvanized

civic-minded Korean American organizations

to partner with KA Vote in its efforts to get

out the count and vote. The Task Force held

weekly strategy meetings to most effectively

inform, engage and empower the Korean

American community to participate in this

critical Census and Elections through

bilingual education, registration and

outreach as well as strategic partnerships.

Some of the highlights include:

Developing a bilingual website with essential information on how to

participate in the Census, register to vote, and request mail-in ballots

Professionally created flyers that emphasized on the significance of their

vote

Using multi-faceted methods of communication, in both English and

Korean--via KakaoTalk, email, social media (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook)

PSAs and earned media (through press events, releases)

I n-person outreach (in areas permitted with proper social distancing) at

supermarkets, churches, foodbank lines

Recruiting hundreds of volunteers to share content and provide language

assistance

Commissioned a music video to get out the vote (garnered more than

3,600 views)

Giveaways to incentive participants ( Masks, hand sanitizers, and Amazon

gift cards)

Strategic partnerships (with national civic organizations, such as APIA

Vote) to organize phone-banking events

Special virtual concerts targeting first generation (trot) and second

generation (R&B)

Paid ads via social media, print, radio, TV reaching more than 500,000

viewers

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 15

KEY INITIATIVES (ENGLISH)

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 16

KEY INITIATIVES (KOREAN)

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 17

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 18

TESTIMONIALS

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 19

Recognition
2020 ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR
While the Foundation did not seek recognition for its philanthropic work, it quickly

gained a stellar reputation from the Korean community at large and was frequently

mentioned in the media. The Korean American Association of Greater New York

(KAAGNY), representing the second largest Korean American population with nearly

500,000 in the NYC region, honored the Foundation with the “2020 Organization of

the Year Award” for its tremendous work and impact on the Korean community.

Moreover, the Naeil Foundation was recognized by the South Korean General

Consulate in New York for being an exemplary model for Koreans and for helping to

build bridges through its charitable contributions.

It was also featured in a news

outlet for the 8.3 million Korean

diaspora, highlighting the far-

reaching impact of the

Foundation.

NAEIL FOUNDATION • 2020 IMPACT REPORT 20

ODDBALL IMAGING STUDIO
 2020 내일재단
Impact Report Naeil
Foundation