a golden guide to: funding aapi small businesses + initiatives
a running list! want to get added to this list? submit below.
los angeles
support bel canto books on retro row
👥 @belcantobooks
🔗 belcantobooks.net
📍 long beach, ca
Turning the page on a new chapter: Help Bel Canto Books bloom on Retro Row!
For the past five years, Bel Canto Books has been your haven for inclusive reads and author events, engaging book club gatherings, and a community that celebrates the magic of storytelling. We started small with a monthly pop-up book club fueled by passion and a dream. Then, we bravely stepped into The Hangout, a popular shop collective on 4th Street, sharing our love for literature with Long Beach one story at a time. We expanded our reach with a pop-up bookstore in Steel Cup Cafe and later joined forces with fellow Filipinx small businesses and moved into KUBO LB in Bixby Knolls. Now, we're ready to turn another page in our growing story.
It’s time for Bel Canto Books to open a home of our own in the Long Beach community, and we’ve found the perfect space in Retro Row. We need your help to bring this dream to reality.
sf bay area
sae coffee studio group buy
👥 @saecoffeestudio
🔗 sae.coffee
📍 san francisco, ca
sāe coffee studio is organizing a crowdfunding initiative to establish the very first community-driven group buy. by participating in this group buy, you get a chance at procuring a single lot deemed as the finest beans of ecuador from this harvest season. we welcome 444 coffee enthusiasts to join forces with us in bringing exceptional beans into the united states. if you haven't tried a cup of excellence coffee (coe), you are missing out on experiencing the best flavors coffee has to offer.
in order to experience a coe coffee, consumers need to rely on roasters to win a lot in the auction. since auctions are hosted on a global stage, competition is fierce, which has historically drove bids up to $10,000/kg (as of january 2024, the c-price sits at $4.40/kg). unfortunately, this has made coffees of this caliber far too expensive and unobtainable for the average roaster. what's even more unfortunate is that most of the winners don't even make it into the us or sold to the public.
texas
the boba plug
👥 @thebobaplug
🔗 thebobaplug.com
📍 dallas, tx
the boba plug’s kickstarter campaign will be a way for you to join in on our journey and help us build our storefront. your support has always been a vital part of our growth and it’s only possible with you! it’s been an incredible ride so far filled with lots of boba & smiles and we are ready to keep that going with a permanent location. we will never be able to express this enough, but thank you from both our hearts for supporting us on this journey to fulfill our childhood dreams’ of opening a boba shop!
new york city
heart & seoul food co.
👥 @heartandseoulfoodco
🔗 heartandseoulfoodco.com
📍 nyc
with your support, we’ll be able to take our korean-inspired pantry staples to the next level. we are so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far in the name of restorative farming, fighting food waste, and whole-animal nutrition. now, we're hoping to bring our korean bone broths and heirloom cooking fats to grocery stores and homes nationwide, but there are a few things we need to do first - and we need your help! contributions will go toward creating labels that meet usda requirements. we've already found a designer who understands our mission and is excited to work with us to make our products shine!
your support will also help us make our products shelf stable. we're working with a manufacturer that shares our values around sourcing, quality, and whole-animal nutrition, and we're both excited to scale up our formula together to bring our wholesome foods to more people. finally, your contributions will enable us to work with a fulfillment center to ship our products to your door, wherever in the country that may be. we are currently exploring warehouses and fulfillment centers that can help us do this efficiently and cost effectively.
new york jianghu
👥 @newyorkjianghu
📍 nyc
“江湖” jiāng hú (n) — “rivers and lakes,” used to describe martial arts society new york jianghu is a feature documentary about the kung fu community of the five boroughs. kung fu has meant something different for each generation since it left china and entered the streets of new york city. it was a means of making money on the side, making dynamic action films, and now combating anti-asian hate in a rapidly-gentrifying new york.