Indian American Impact | 2022 Annual Report

Annual Report 122 C Street NW, Suite 360 Washington, DC 20001 (202) 670-7604 www.iaimpact.org

We are growing.

We are powerful.

We are making real the promise of America.

20 22

Table of Contents Letter from Impact's Co-Founders

3

Letter from the Executive Director

4

About Indian American Impact

5

Building Power

6

Policy Advocacy

9

Civic Organizing and Partnerships

10

Indian American Impact Project

12

Financials

14

Acknowledgements

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Letter from Impact's Co-Founders Dear Friends, When we co-founded Impact in 2016, we had envisioned a space for Indian Americans to harness their collective power to influence policy, electoral candidates, and civic engagement. We never could have dreamed that our once aspirational endeavor would evolve into the organization we see today. Not only has Indian American Impact positioned itself as the leading South Asian civic organization in the United States, it has led the country to history-making strides in government representation. We are grateful for the role Impact’s esteemed past executive leaders, Gautam Raghavan and Aruna Miller, did to shape the organization’s earliest phases. When current Executive Director Neil Makhija took the helm in 2020, he was able to leverage Impact’s strong foundation to build a dedicated network of supporters and partnerships, intentionally connect with elected officials, and expand the Impact team. Today, Neil and his established team embody Impact’s mantra: We are growing.

We are powerful.

We are making real the promise of America.

Thank you to Impact for your tireless efforts, and to the countless supporters who believe in our mission. We look forward to the next phase.

Respectfully,

Deepak Raj

Raj Goyle

Co-Founder and Treasurer

Co-Founder and Chair

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Letter from the Executive Director This annual report is more than a recap of Indian American Impact’s 2022 programs and activities — it’s a time capsule.

It marks a historic moment for our communities in American politics achieving historic levels of representation and civic engagement. My hope is that civic leaders and organizations will continue to use this report to inform their own work and celebrate their purpose. Building political power for every community is critical, and our work unleashing the potential for public service within Indian American and South Asian communities — as this report shows — has the ability to motivate voters and shape the direction of the country.

It is an honor to serve as Executive Director of Impact alongside an extraordinary leadership team and staff. Thank you for taking the time to read about this moment in our history.

We hope you will stand with us in the future.

With gratitude,

Neil Makhija

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Our Mission Impact works to build power for the Indian American and South Asian community and enact progressive change by activating, engaging, and electing Indian Americans and South Asians across the United States, and working with our allies to deliver policies that lift up all communities.

Impact's History 2016

2017-2019

2020-2022

Indian American Impact Fund is founded by Deepak Raj and Raj Goyle with the goal of electing South Asian candidates.

The organization grows to include a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4), the Impact Project and Indian American Impact, respectively.

A record 4 Indian Americans are elected to the U.S. Congress, joining incumbent Representative Ami Bera.

The organization now actively recruits and trains candidates all across the country at the local, state, and federal level.

Impact establishes itself as the premier South Asian civic and political organization by:

Hundreds of South Asian Americans run for office at this time.

Ro Khanna U.S. House, CA

Ami Bera U.S. House, CA

Kamala Harris U.S. Senate, CA

Pramila Jayapal U.S. House, WA

Impact begins hosting its annual Summit, the largest political and civic-oriented gathering in the country for South Asian Americans.

Helping to elect dozens of candidates, including 15 historic new voices in 2022 Turning out hundreds of thousands of voters in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Georgia Advocating for policies that move our communities forward

Raja Krishnamoorthi U.S. House, IL

Where We Are Now Full-Time Staff Members

Fellowships in 2022

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Building Power Every year, we aim to build power within the South Asian community on all levels of governance and that starts with ensuring we have a seat at the table.

Impact recruits and supports candidates for office to ensure South Asians are represented in the halls of local, state, and federal government. Through investments in field organizing and paid media, and in concert with allied constituencies, we work to elect leaders who will enact policies that reflect the values of Indian and South Asian American voters across the country. Each year, we continue to make history by electing South Asian Americans into offices that we’ve never held before.

2022 Midterm Elections HISTORIC FIRSTS Shri Thanedar (MI, US House MI-13) - First Indian American member of Congress from Michigan - First campaign hire was Impact's former Political Director, Linto Thomas

Aruna Miller (MD, Lieutenant Governor) - First woman of color to serve as LG in Maryland and first South Asian American woman to serve as LG in U.S. history - Former Executive Director of Impact TOP: Representative Shri Thanedar is sworn into office as the fifth-ever South Asian member of Congress on January 14, 2023 in Detroit, MI. BOTTOM: Aruna Miller is sworn in as the 10th Lieutenant Governor of the state of Maryland on January 18, 2023 in Annapolis, MD.

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More Historic Firsts Nabilah Islam (GA, State Senate SD-7) & Farooq Mughal (GA, State House HD-105) - First South Asian American woman elected to the Georgia State Legislature - First South Asian American elected to the Georgia State House

Nabilah Islam GA SD-7

Farooq Mughal GA HD-105

Arvind Venkat PA HD-30

Tarik Khan PA HD-194

Suleman Lalani TX HD-76

Salman Bhojani TX HD-92

Kevin Olickal IL HD-16

Nabeela Syed IL HD-51

Dr. Arvind Venkat (PA, State House HD-30) & Tarik Khan (PA, State House HD-194) - First South Asian American Members of the Pennsylvania State House

Dr. Suleman Lalani (TX, State House HD-76) & Salman Bhojani (TX, State House HD-92) - First South Asian American Members of the Texas House of Representatives

Kevin Olickal (IL, State House HD-16) & Nabeela Syed (IL, State House HD-51) - First South Asian American Members of the Illinois House of Representatives

Judge Monica Singh (Harris County Civil Court at Law #4) - First female Sikh American judge in U.S. history

Monica Singh TX Harris County Civil Court at Law #4

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Where We Are and Where We Came From Since Impact's founding in 2016, South Asian American representation, especially on the state and local level, has skyrocketed and now more than ever we have the political representation to ensure that our voices and priorities are a part of the national conversation.

South Asian Elected Officials Nationwide:

South Asian U.S. House Members:

(Per Impact Tracking) 200

150

100

50

0

Pre-2020

2016

2023

Ami Bera (CA)

Ro Khanna (CA), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Shri Thanedar (MI), Ami Bera (CA) & Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL)

After 2022

South Asian State Legislators:

State Legislature Representation in 20 States:

2016 (Impact Founded)

After 2020 Election

After 2022 Election

0

10

20

30

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40

50

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Policy Advocacy In 2022, Impact played a crucial role in raising awareness around the green card backlog, documented dreamers, voting rights, and heart health.

We held more than 40 congressional briefings and meetings with senior leaders in the Biden-Harris administration. As key partners on Representative Pramila Jayapal’s South Asian Heart Health bill, we were thrilled to join Speaker Pelosi to support the bill passage in the U.S. House. We also brought 10 documented dreamers (children of long-term visa holders) to Washington, D.C. for a day of advocacy and special briefing in the White House with Ambassador Susan Rice.

In September, Indian American Impact and SAAVETX hosted a Town Hall in Houston: South Asians and the Future of Texas Reproductive Rights. The purpose of this event was to bring awareness to the South Asian community about the implications of the Dobbs decision and the state's "trigger law" which effectively banned access to reproductive health across the state.

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LEFT: Impact leadership and winners from our "We Are Home" Essay Contest for South Asian Dreamers meet with Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C. RIGHT: Impact's Executive Director, Neil Makhija, attends an event celebrating the House's passage of the South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act.

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Civic Organizing & Partnerships In addition to electing new candidates, in 2022, Impact focused on building out direct voter outreach programs with the help of state-level partners in key states.

Together, we brought resources and attention to the importance of our community’s voting power.

South Asian Women Get Out the Vote In Pennsylvania and Georgia, we recruited over 300 volunteers to support GOTV efforts in two key battleground states. South Asian Women Get Out the Vote, a two-day event in Philadelphia, was cohosted by Meena Harris, founder of Phenomenal Media, and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. Canvassers included Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, local volunteers, and 50 South Asian celebrity influencers from across the nation. Together, we knocked on 3,000+ doors in neighborhoods across Philadelphia in a single day.

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ABOVE: Representative Pramila Jayapal, Founder & CEO of Phenomenal Media, Meena Harris, Top Chef Host Padma Lakshmi and many other South Asian trailblazers joined forces with Impact to mobilize voters in Philadelphia before the 2022 midterm election.

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Texas State Affiliate Launch The 2022 Indian American Impact Texas launch took place on October 19 and featured celebrity guest speaker and comedian Hari Kondabolu. This event celebrated the eve of both the midterm elections and Diwali, and provided an

ABOVE: Impact-endorsed South Asian Electeds attend our Texas State Affiliate Launch on October 19 in Houston, TX.

opportunity to build our volunteer base and launch Impact’s advocacy programs in between elections. Nearly 200 community leaders, organizers, philanthropists, candidates, and elected leaders were in attendance.

South Asians Get Out the Vote In Georgia, we joined forces with our colleagues at Asian American Advocacy Fund PAC to enhance and enable volunteers from across the country to join outreach efforts for a critical Senate runoff election on December 6. Senatorelect Warnock’s victory was not an easy win, and it is a testament to the power of

ABOVE: Asian American Advocacy Fund PAC team members and Virginia Senator Ghazala Hashmi hold rally signs at the South Asians Get Out the Vote canvass launch on December 6 in the Atlanta Metro.

committed volunteers, donors, and advocacy groups. This historic win enables the Democratic majority to more effectively govern and protect reproductive rights, advance climate change goals, and secure voting rights.

South Asian Outreach Initiatives In addition to our organizing events, we partnered with other South Asian groups across the country (They See Blue, SAAVETX, NAAIS) to enhance South Asian specific work in key states. This included phonebanking, canvassing, postcards, town halls, and tabling at universities and cultural events that reached over 200,000 South Asian voters nationwide.

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Indian American Impact Project The Indian American Impact Project, Impact’s 501(c)(3) arm, advances the civil rights of South Asian communities, and those of every American.

We build community and coalitions, engage South Asians in our nation’s civic process, and ensure our diaspora’s history and lived experience is recognized as essential to the fabric of America.

2022 MILESTONES

FEB

MAY

Launched a program to combat misinformation

JUN

OCT

Co-led Asian-American Unity March in Washington, D.C.

Hosted our annual Impact Project Summit: Dream with Ambition in Washington, D.C.

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NOV

Partnered with student organizations to help college students make a plan to vote

Hosted the White House Diwali Reception on October 24 in Washington, D.C.

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P R O J E C T

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Combating Misinformation Impact launched a six-figure program to combat misinformation. In February, we launched the first-of-its-kind fact checking website, desifacts.org. Desifacts Writers Circle’ has created numerous resources and published fact checking articles translated in Hindi and Bangla. We also recruited 142 “WhatsTrue Crew” volunteers to curb the spread of disinformation on WhatsApp.

2022 Impact Project Summit: Dream with Ambition Impact welcomed nearly 400 attendees who participated in panels led by influential elected officials, White House staff, policymakers, and business leaders from across the country. The Impact Summit is Impact’s largest annual event, and we are particularly proud of the role it plays in educating attendees about policy and advocacy, human rights issues, and mobilizing voters.

Unity March: Engaging in Allyship In June, we proudly served as a host committee member and helped bring together more than 50 nonprofit organizations and thousands of attendees for the first-of-its-kind Asian Americanled march in Washington, D.C. The multicultural event raised awareness around the need for stronger action against anti-Asian hate crimes and racial justice and equity.

White House Diwali Reception In the fall, Impact was thrilled to host the White House Diwali Reception in Washington, D.C. It was an honor to share space with so many leaders across sectors who are blazing the path for others.

Getting Out the Youth Vote In the weeks leading up to the midterm election, the Impact Project partnered with the North American Association of Indian Students to help college students make a plan to vote.

Their outreach events reached more than 2,000 student voters across the country.

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2022 Financials TOTAL REVENUE

C3

$1,011,885

C4

$1,476,244

TOTAL

$2,488,129

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

$1,876,688

Operations & Administration

Fundraising

16.5%

14.5%

Programs & Events 26.5%

Organizing & Advocacy 42.3%

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2022 Financials TOTAL REVENUE

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

C3

C4

FEDPAC

527

$3,292,335

$1,011,885

$1,476,244

$166,737

$651,775

Additional funds raised for candidates by hosting Community Engagement Fundraisers

TOTAL: $3,306,641

$1.7M Additional Marshalledfunds $5M raised in support for candidates of Impact by as well hosting as Additional Community funds Engagement raised forFundraisers candidates

Fundraising Voter

8.5%

Engagement 2.5% Organizing & Advocacy 24.7% Candidate Support 39.1% Programs & Events

Paid for by 527 and FEDPAC funds

15.6.%

Operations & Administration 9.6% I N D I A N

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Acknowledgements Indian American Impact has been able to grow more powerful each year because of its strong board leadership, generosity of its donors, reliable network of partner organizations, valued elected leaders, and devoted volunteers. Many thanks to each of you for believing in Impact’s mission and vision.

Founders Circle

Board Members

Sumir Chadha

Deepak Raj

Hemant Goradia

Raj Goyle

Raj Gupta

Neil Makhija

Narendra Mulani

Sivakami Sambasivam

Deepak Raj

Raghu Devaguptapu

Sivakami Sambasivam

Ravi Akhoury

Rubie and Pradeep Singh

Vinai Thummalapally

Raj Shah

Priya Dayananda Vikas Raj Narendra Mulani 2022 DONORS

Founders Circle - $100,000+

Champions Circle - $50,000+

Sumir Chadha

Ravi Akhoury

Indrani & Hemant Goradia

Kamla and Raj Gupta

Narendra Mulani

Girish Reddy

Open Society Foundation

Parag Saxena

Neera & Deepak Raj

RJ Narang

Raj Shah

Anonymous (1)

Rubie & Pradeep Singh Anonymous (1) I N D I A N

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2022 DONORS

Advocates Circle - $25,000+

Power Group - $10,000+

Gopal Menon

Raghu Devaguptapu

Smita & Ketan Mehta

Monica Arora & Raj Goyle

Ruchi & Amit Mehta

Deepak Narula

Anup Patel

Niti & Nimish Sanghrajka

Dipan Patel

Dhiren Shethia

Ritu Patel

Manoj Singh

Sapna Saxena

Anonymous (1)

Anonymous (2)

Patrons - $5,000+

Friends - $2,500+

Dan Berger

Jay Challa

Vinita Gupta

Vivek Kavadi

Vinod Nagi

Shampa Mukerji

Dinesh C Paliwal

Barbara & Vinai Thummalapally

Neha Shah

Soren Valverde

Sejal & Sheel Tyle

Anonymous (1)

Ameet Shukla Jonathan & Emily Siddharth Gagan Singh Rajiv Sobti Ravi Reddy Carrie Rhodes

Supporters Aadil Abedi Darshan Acharya Anand Acharya Medani Adhikari Vijay Agarwal Neha Agrawal Pervez Agwan Conor Ahern

Nina Ahmad Furhan Ahmad Adil Ahmed Jasmeet Ahuja Mohammad Aijaz Jay Aiyer Julie Ajinkya Dini Ajmani

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Matt Alexander Mohammed Ansari Valerie Arkoosh Sewa Arora Razi Asaduddin Rishi Bagga Sunanda Banerjee Swastik Banerjee Lee Bar-eli Swapan Basu Kavita Batra Jeffrey Bender Nazir Bhagat Vanita Bhalla Rakesh Bhardwaj

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Suresh Bhardwaj Rutvij Bhatt Sapna Bhatt Sourav Bhowmick Rhonda Binda Veera Boddu Keir Bradford Sanjana Buddi Angela Cai Nirvani Chandra Ben Chaon Rajesh Chaudhry Naren Chauhan Avinder Chawla Anita Chawla

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2022 DONORS

Supporters Zi Hua Chen Roshani Chokshi Ishwar Chopra Alok Choudhary Friends Of Jeremy Cooney Alex Cornwallis Mona Das Bhaskar DasGupta Aakash Davda Priya Dayananda Sandra Dayaratna Amita Desai Danesh Desai Supriya Desai Ravi Desiraju

Yogi Goswami Sanjay Gowda Nikhil Goyal Archana Gregersen Pawan Gulati Nayna Gupta Ravi Gupta Anil Gupta Neel Gupta Ram Gupta Heather Gustafson Farida Hasanali Shoyeb Hasanali Umayr Hassan Abram Haupt Kiren Henry

Tarik Khan Niharika Khanna Dhara Khanna Punita Khanna Sohil Khurana Neeraja Kikkeri Smriti Kirubanandan Anita Kishore Narsimha Koppula Anupama Kosaraju Ajay Kothari Harini Krishnan Narayanan Krishnan Ramesh Krishnaraj Deepasriya Kumar Devendra Kumar

Neil Devani Nikhil Dodani Pratap Doshi Om Duggal Rose M Fagan Ran Frazier Jennifer Fucci Rama Gali Varsha Ganapathy Neelam Gandhi Shruti Rya Ganguly Jess Geevarghese

Anne Herndon Susan Hibbard Regina Jacob Adil Jafry Ash Jain Nisha Jain Shaun Jayachandran Susheela Jayapal Parth Jhaveri Arati Johnston Thomas Jones Sharath K Rojanala Rajan Kadakia Thomas Kailath Laveen Kanal Vikas Kancherla Anita Katikineni Reggie Kaur Avinash Kaza Saif Khan Joe Khan

Dhruva Diego Kumar Rishi Kumar Arushi Kumar Krishna Kumar Preethi Kumaran Ramya Kumaraswamy Drew Kwartler Trisha L Le Ann L Steiner Kaustubh Lele Peter Levin Jody Loreaux Dan Magder Sameera Mahendru Sarika Maheshwari Parshotam Malhotra Shakun Malik Asif Malik Naveen Mallikarjuna Nikhil Mandalaparthy Nabila Mansoor

Lina Ghosh Ganeriwala

Jagjeet Gill Meera Gill Roopa Gir Sarva Girdhar Tarun Girish Lisa Goldstein Ts Gopal Rupa Goswami

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Harsha Manthripragada

Kyle Matson Sarah McNally Gita Mehra Arav Mehta Utpal Mehta Ami Mehta Anish Mehta Ruchi Mehta Florentina Mehta Vaibhav Jain & Parag Mehta Praveendharan Meyyan

Jason Mida Cohen Milstein Akash Mishra Some Mitra Bhagvati Modi Mark Modisette Sanjay Mody Neil Mody Shashi Motgi Namrata Mujumdar Rahul Munshi Kris Murthy Hema Nambiar Godan Nambudiripad Bash Narang Satnam Narang Swati Narayan Shankara Narayanan Monica Narula Kudaja Navarrete Mary Kay Ness Christopher Pappo Sadev Parikh Apurva Parikh Jaydeep Parikh Rupa Patel Komal Patel Chandrakant Patel

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2022 DONORS

Supporters Ashok Patel Jitendra Patel C. Kumar Patel Mansi Patel Girish Pathak Varsha Patil Sumanth Perumalla Jerome Petsch Krissten Pillay Radhika Prabhu Alka Pradhan Abhijay Prakash Jaya Prakash Thara Prashad Shilpa Prem Ranjeev Puri Kishan Putta Uma Raghavan Sumita Rai Nirav Rajpara Chandan Rajpurohit Shruthi Raju Gita Ram Aparna Ramani Gurinder Rana Chetana Rao Shreesh Rao Atambir Rao Nalini Rao Dion Rau Rajadhar Reddy Prem Reddy Harsha Reddy Brent Renison Vineeta Salvi Minita Sanghvi Madhurima Sanka

Partha Sarathy Nandini Saxena Beesham A. Seecharan

Kriti Sehgal Ajay Sehgal Alfica Sehgal Edward Seidler Harish Sethu Rajan Shah Kumar Shah Amit Shah Lori Shah Sonal Shah Sanjay Sharma Rajesh Sharma Suraj Sharma Rajiv Sharma Sofia Sheikh Helen Shih Margaret Shreve Ken Silverman William Simon Reena Singh Navdeep Singh Seema Singh Manpreet Monica Singh

Jyot Singh Kahran Singh Ronak Singh Parveen Singh Divyajyoti Singh Manohar Singh Ishwar Singh Dinesh Singhal Gajendra Sirohi Vandana Slatter Chaille Snyder

I N D I A N

Ronak Sobti Natalie Sondheimer Sanjaya Sood Karthik Soora Sree Sreenivasan Chitoor Srinivasan Sandeep Srivastava Patricia Stamm Jacob Sternberger Sangeetha Subramanian Bala Subramanian Sandhya Subramanian Suhas Subramanyam Shonalatha Sudarshan Joyprada Swain Vatsala Syed David Taghioff Georgee Thevervelil Radha Thiagarajan William Thiagarajan Harjot Thind Jacob Thomas Kevin Thomas Varghese Thomas Christopher Thomas Navin Thukkaram Mini Timmaraju David Tinkler Pooja Tolani Mitsuo Tomita Atman Trivedi Oliver Truong Kannan Udayarajan Hilary Unger Vivek Viswanathan Johann-friedrich von Hindenburg

A M E R I C A N

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Sam Wadhawan Marc Waldor Charleen White Nathaniel Yap Manoj Zacharia Joseph Zwack Anonymous (16)

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FOUNDATIONS

NEERA & DEEPAK RAJ FAMILY FOUNDATION

Resilient Democracy Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation Anonymous (3)

CORPORATE SPONSORS

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