For Immediate Release:
January 3, 2012

Contact:
Phung Pham, Saffron Circle Grants Committee, 617-383-4080
Allistair Mallillin, Saffron Circle Grants Committee
grants@saffroncircle.org

Asians Supporting Asians
Giving Circle Aims to Reach $100,000 in Grant Making

 Boston, MA, January 3, 2012 – Saffron Circle is a multi-generational and multi-ethnic Asian giving circle located in Greater Boston. Saffron Circle is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for its sixth year of grant making. Typical grants range between $3,000 to $5,000. Grants will target both emerging and established organizations serving Asians throughout Massachusetts. Proposals are due on March 14, 2012, and grant recipients will be announced in May 2012, during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Emerging organizations and new applicants to Saffron Circle are urged to contact a Committee member before submitting an application.

Launched in May 2006, Saffron Circle has utilized individual membership dues and foundation support to leverage over $73,000 in grants to 18 nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts that serve the Asian community. It is the first Asian giving circle in the Boston area and the third Asian giving circle in the United States. Through its grant application and review process, Saffron Circle hopes both to raise awareness of community needs and to learn how it may better support organizations that address these needs.

Last year’s grants funded a range of creative and innovative programs focusing on new and emerging projects serving the underserved Asian communities around Massachusetts, including academic and social enrichment programs for at-risk youth, legal services, youth documentaries, health awareness, and preservation of history through a book project.

Saffron Circle has a continued commitment to support Asian communities throughout Massachusetts. More than ever, we know that our mission—Asians supporting Asians—is essential to the well-being of Commonwealth’s residents, as immigrant communities have been disproportionately hurt by the economic downturn. Saffron Circle will make every effort to keep giving levels as high as possible despite the ongoing fiscal crisis.

Saffron Circle is a group of multi-generational, multi-ethnic Asians committed to creating positive social change in the greater Boston Asian community. Members come together to support social change by pooling resources, sharing talents, and learning about issues and giving opportunities. Each member has the opportunity to participate in grant making and in developing the giving circle. Saffron Circle currently has over 30 members and is a donor-advised fund at the Boston Foundation. Membership is Saffron Circle’s greatest asset and we are recruiting civic-minded individuals to be a part of the organization’s endeavors. Please see www.saffroncircle.org/membership/join.html for more information.