To our cherished ACAS members,
Enclosed you will find the details of our latest strategic plan, in effect from 2023-26. Over the course of nearly a year, we worked closely with key stakeholders, our staff and board of directors, the Ontario Organizational Development Program of the Ontario AIDS Network, and San Patten and Associates, to craft a plan that both honours ACAS’ history and moves us forward with integrity.
The most important part of the process of developing this plan was consulting our stakeholders. They range from supporters and members of ACAS who have been a part of our story since the very beginning, to folks who will have a part in writing our story to come. With their insights and guidance, we were able to highlight and consolidate focus areas in which ACAS will invest in the next three years.
The focus areas are as follows: (1) sustainable financial growth and organizational stability, (2) establishing and nurturing strategic partnerships, (3) enriching, evolving and creating programming, and (4) developing a stronger outward-facing profile, accentuating our presence in Toronto and beyond. In the spirit of the plan being strategic per se, the directions set out below are meant to enable ACAS to change and advance as required by opportunities and needs both within the context of the ASO space and the general sphere of non-profit work.
In elaborating on the acknowledgement section at the end of this document, the board would like to express profound appreciation for ACAS’ executive director of the last two decades, Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp. Under Noulmook’s leadership, the organization has continued to grow and thrive. Special thanks also to the incredible staff of ACAS, who work day in and day out to ensure that the communities that need ACAS’ services are treated with dignity and receive the resources necessary to ensure their wellbeing. To all those who took valuable time out of your schedules to advise us on this strategic plan, we are grateful for you. To our donors and funders – individual, corporate and government – we would not exist without you. Thank you for your continued support and conviction in the necessity of our work.
ACAS Asian Community AIDS Services
AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
BIPOC Black, Indigenous and other People of Colour
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
GTA Greater Toronto Area
LGBTQ+ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, plus STBBI Sexually Transmitted Blood Borne Infections
This document presents the Strategic Directions and key activity areas for Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) for the period of April 2023 to March 2026. Strategic directions are high-level, broad statements that outline what needs to be achieved in order for an organization to experience its mission.
ACAS is a charitable, non-profit, community-based organization located in Toronto, Canada. We provide safer sex education and services to the East and Southeast Asian communities and support services to persons living with HIV/AIDS and members of the LGBTQ+ communities.
OUR MISSION TO PROVIDE HIV/AIDS EDUCATION, PREVENTION, AND SUPPORT SERVICES TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN CANADIAN COMMUNITIES. OUR PROGRAMS ARE BASED ON A PRO-ACTIVE AND HOLISTIC APPROACH TO HIV/AIDS AND ARE PROVIDED IN A COLLABORATIVE, EMPOWERING, AND NON-DISCRIMINATORY MANNER.
As of November 2022, ACAS employs eight full-time and five part-time staff. ACAS is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, currently comprised of seven members. ACAS’s main program areas include:
• Support for people living with HIV/AIDS and families
• Youth program – QTAY (Queer and Trans Asian Youth)
• Men’s program – S.L.A.M. (Sex Love Asian Men)
• STBBI prevention and education for migrant farm workers in southern Ontario
• Building BIPOC community readiness for harm reduction
On World AIDS Day, December 1, 1994, three groups serving the Southeast Asian community members affected by HIV/AIDS formed ACAS, a new coalition agency in Toronto to meet the needs and be the voice of the East and Southeast Asian community. ACAS was formed in response to HIV and its intersection with Asian hate/racism and homophobia. To present day, HIV and LGBTQ+ issues remain a struggle for many in our communities and ACAS continues to organize focused community efforts in addressing HIV stigma, homophobia and transphobia.
Recognizing the need to respond and adapt to a constantly changing service organization landscape, ACAS undertook a formal environmental scan in the summer of 2022. The purpose of the environmental scan was to gather input and generate insights that could be used to inform ACAS strategic planning and more specifically, guide decision making about organizational priorities and program development as ACAS looks to our future.
Consultation with a range of key stakeholders allowed us to hear, document and organize the views and opinions of individuals, groups and community partners associated with ACAS. The consultations were conducted using a strengths-based approach that began with identifying the core value of ACAS and areas of success, as well as exploring areas for growth required to reach high levels of success across all areas. A separate report summarizes the input we received from these stakeholders (Appendix A).
This environmental scan was guided by the ACAS Strategic Planning Committee which was comprised of ACAS staff, board members and community members. The Strategic Planning Committee developed the consultation approach and questions. The research consultant –San Patten and Associates, Inc. – led interviews and focus groups with a total of 34 key informants composed of ACAS members, volunteers and community partners. These informants were selected by ACAS for their variety of expertise, participation and perspectives pertaining to the organization’s mandate and programs. Consultation interviews and focus groups were conducted by Zoom and were approximately 45-90 minutes in duration. Interview and focus group transcripts were cleaned before being thematically coded.
We also conducted an online survey to gather input from a broader range of stakeholders. The online survey was open for about eight weeks and gathered 39 survey responses. The chart below summarizes the stakeholder perspectives represented among survey respondents:
Survey respondents: Please tell us how you are connected to ACAS (check all that apply)
client (have used ACAS services/programs)
former or current sta member former or current volunteer supporter / donor / funder board member partner organization migrant farm worker
The third source of input into the development of this Strategic Plan was a one-day retreat, facilitated by Dionne A. Falconer of the Ontario Organizational Development Program (OODP) with 16 current staff, board members and community members. The retreat’s goals were to explore opportunities, issues and challenges that ACAS may face over the next three years, generate three to four strategic directions to guide ACAS to 2026, and identify potential activities for the strategic directions.
• Establish and implement data tracking systems
• Develop and implement a Resource Mobilization Plan for ACAS
2023-2026
• Take a proactive role in identifying and approaching partners
• Create digital content
• Prioritize strong human resources
• Strategically seek collaborative programming partnerships
• Make better use of environmental scan and needs assessment research
• Expand outreach and seek allyship with community members and organizations
• Create and nurture intergenerational programs, spaces and relationships
• Create and expand a blend of education and engagement methods –virtual and in-person
• Create and implement a Communications and Marketing Strategy
Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on sustainable financial growth and organizational stability, seeking new and diversified funding partners and donors, and strengthening data infrastructure that will enhance our efficiency. Specifically, ACAS will:
• Establish and implement data tracking systems to better capture the client reach and impact of ACAS programs, to manage volunteers, and to track the current and potential interests of funders, donors and corporate sponsors
• Develop and implement a Resource Mobilization Plan for ACAS, that includes fund development, human resource development and outreach to new potential funders, donors and corporate sponsors, particularly focusing on opportunities that support multi-year, unrestricted or operational infrastructure, and nurturing relationships with existing donors and sponsors
• Prioritize strong human resources, including investment in fundraising, bookkeeping, program evaluation, and equity-focused human resource policies
Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on establishing and nurturing strategic partnerships, allyship and collaboration. ACAS will maintain a strong grounding in our service and advocacy roots, ensuring that we maintain our identity and our independence, and enter new relationships with clear expectations, responsibilities and attention to power imbalances. Opening up our relationships will lead to expanded volunteer programs, reaching new clients, attracting new donors and funders, and enhancing the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of our programming. Specifically, ACAS will:
• Take a proactive role in identifying and approaching partners and be more innovative branching out to Asian and non-Asian supporters, including those who serve the same population but are not HIV-focused, those who are HIV-focused but serve overlapping sub-populations, and organizations that have services not offered by ACAS, or which work in other geographic locations
• Strategically seek collaborative programming partnerships that allow for knowledge sharing and fund merging and avoid competition for funding
Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on enriching, evolving and creating programming that includes vulnerable communities, other than those directly impacted by HIV. This is not to say that ACAS will abandon our strong legacy or diminish the central role of our HIV-focused prevention and support services. By seeking ways to serve community members at the intersections of their identities, ACAS will increase our relevance to a wider variety of sub-populations. Specifically, ACAS will:
• Make better use of environmental scan and needs assessment research, and epidemiologic data to ensure that we are tracking emerging trends and issues, and identify offerings of allied organizations to identify gaps in services
• Expand outreach and seek allyship with community members and organizations addressing issues such as homophobia, transphobia, racism, decolonization, poverty, housing, sexual health, mental health, harm reduction, art therapy, food security, and BIPOC justice
• Create and nurture intergenerational programs, spaces and relationships that build on ACAS’s legacy and strengthen cultural connections between youth, elders and mid-career individuals
Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on developing a stronger outward-facing profile, accentuating our presence – advocacy messaging, organizational promotion, social marketing and service delivery – particularly through online/digital modes of communication with our stakeholders. Expanding our digital presence will allow ACAS to reach community members and potential supporters (volunteers, donors, funders, corporate sponsors) beyond the GTA. Specifically, ACAS will:
• Create digital content that increases the visibility of ACAS and celebrates ACAS’s legacy, particularly our role in HIV prevention, support and advocacy
• Create and expand a blend of education and engagement methods – virtual and in-person – that builds on ACAS’s successes in community development, peer-based social support, volunteer engagement, and cultural belonging
• Create and implement a Communications and Marketing Strategy in order to increase ACAS’s visibility, to reach new community members and supporters, to gather feedback, to celebrate ACAS members, staff, volunteers and supporters, and to generate new revenue
The development of this strategic plan was a joint effort of many dedicated supporters of ACAS. We would like to thank the members of the ACAS Strategic Planning Committee:
Lindsey Li
Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp
Raymund Carino
Le Thai Ly
Robinson Truong
Christian Hui
Ryan Tran
We would also like to thank Murray Jose-Boerbridge and Dionne A. Falconer (from the Ontario Organizational Development Program), San Patten (Research Consultant), Mina Heng and most importantly, all of the ACAS family members who provided their valuable input and advice.
Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) 260 Spadina Ave, Suite 410 Toronto Ontario, M5T 2E4, Canada
E-mail: info@acas.org
Phone: (416) 963-4300
Fax: (416) 963-4371
Toll-free numbers: 1-877-630-2227
CHARITABLE NUMBER 889432431 RR001
