CHARITY

Comedy with a Cause.

Each year, we team up with a nonprofit focused on AAPI issues and donate our proceeds to support their work. Whether it’s advancing equity, providing resources, or building solidarity, we’re proud to give back in a meaningful way—raising over $30,000 for grassroots organizations to date.

Announcing our charity partner for #ACF2025!

Asian Comedy Fest is honored to officially announce our charity partner for the sixth ACF happening May 2025 in both NYC and LA:

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)

AALDEF was founded 50 years ago to protect and promote the civil rights of Asian Americans. AALDEF serves diverse Asian communities around the country in solidarity with each other, communities of color, and marginalized groups. Community lawyering is at the heart of AALDEF’s work, which combines litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing to secure human rights for all people. Click here to learn more.

It takes a village to build a festival, and Asian Comedy Fest (ACF) is living proof.

For our sixth year, we brought together 60+ performers across 8 shows in 2 cities, with the support of 13 AAPI-owned product sponsors, countless volunteers, and all of YOU. From bánh mì to comedy, Asian Comedy Fest is a volunteer-run, community-powered fest from top to bottom. Together, we raised over $21,000 in ticket sales and raffle donations.

We spent it where it mattered and what was necessary:

• $15,000 on locations + vendors

• $4,500 in performer stipends

•  $4,000 for everything else (food, flyers, gas, etc.)

 In the end, we ended with a -$2,500 loss.

However, we’re still donating $2000 to the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund from our own pockets, with all our heart. Because to us, this isn’t a business. It’s a mission, a celebration and a commitment to comedy, to building community, and to each other.

ACF has always been built by volunteers, powered by passion, and supported by you. Thank you for showing up and showing out. If you are in a position to give, consider donating directly to AALDEF to help continue this important work.

Welcome to Chinatown was founded in March 2020 as a grassroots initiative by two Asian American females to provide immediate relief to Manhattan Chinatown small businesses that were hard hit by the pandemic and to bring awareness to AAPI issues. Today, their work addresses the systemic disinvestment, disproportionate impacts of historical disasters, and other ongoing challenges faced by the community. By driving economic development and economic empowerment of our community's small businesses and entrepreneurs, together, we can keep Chinatown open for generations to come.

We’re thrilled to announce that #ACF2024 raised $8000 for our charity partner, Welcome to Chinatown for our fifth annual Asian Comedy Fest. Learn more about WTC here.

In 2023, we raised over $8000 for our 2023 charity partner, Asian American Arts Alliance! A4 is a non-profit dedicated to ensuring greater representation, equity and opportunities for Asian artists and organizations and we were honored to be able to help them in their cause. Learn more about A4 and their mission here.

In 2022, ACF was honored to raise over $6500 for Heart of Dinner, which strives to combat food insecurity and isolation within NYC’s elderly AAPI community, delivering weekly care packages of hot lunches, fresh produce, and handwritten letters in their native language to bring warmth and comfort. Learn more about Heart of Dinner here.

ACF was honored to raise over $8000 in 2021 for our charity partner, Apex for Youth, which works to serve underserved Asian American & immigrant youth in NYC. Learn more about Apex for Youth here.