Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations

What Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations does

UNAVSA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, non-partisan, community-based organization founded in 2004 to cultivate the next generation of Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese-Canadian leaders. Headquartered at 440 N Barranca Ave #8246, Covina, California, it is a 100% volunteer-based distributed network across North America, governed by an elected Executive Board, Board of Directors, and Council of Regional Representatives. The organization currently operates through 11 affiliated regional Vietnamese Student Association partner organizations spanning the US and Canada, including UVSA SoCal, UVSA Midwest, UVSA NorCal, MAUVSA, NWVSA, UVSA Southeast, UVSA South, UVSA Gulf Coast, SWUVSA, UVSA Ontario, and NEIVSA.

UNAVSA delivers programming through four core product lines: the annual 4-day UNAVSA Leadership Conference (UNAVSA-21 scheduled for July 9-12, 2026 in San Jose, California) featuring keynotes, workshops, elections, and gala programming; the Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP), an annual fundraiser selecting a beneficiary nonprofit (the 2024-2025 cycle raised $137,051.01 for Vietnam Health Clinic and the 2025-2026 cycle selected Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped); the six-month Mentorship Program pairing alumni mentors with student members; and VSAcademy, a year-round educational content hub offering articles, videos, and podcasts. Supporting programs include the VSA Awards (established 2010), UNAVSA Speaker Directory, Civic Engagement initiatives, and the Alumni Relations Committee.

The revenue model relies on individual donations accepted via PayPal, Zelle, and check, tiered corporate sponsorships (Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze — with Pho Le 777 as a Platinum sponsor), and conference registration fees. The technology stack consists of commodity web infrastructure: a WordPress website, Google Workspace and Google Forms for document and application management, SmugMug for photo gallery hosting, LinkTree as a social aggregator, and an active presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. UNAVSA holds no proprietary technology platform, discloses no AI or machine learning capabilities, and operates with zero paid staff across all committees and program areas.

Name

Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations

Legal name

Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations

Website

https://unavsa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

UNAVSA is a 501(c)(3) volunteer-led nonprofit that develops Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese-Canadian student leaders through an annual conference, collective philanthropy, mentorship, and civic engagement programming across 11 North American regional partner networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Development and Community Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDALAHAF

Cultural, Identity & Inclusion Programs

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Student Activities, Clubs & Campus Life

SECONDARYBPAGADAC

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDALAHAG

Volunteerism, Service-Learning & Community Service

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Student Activities, Clubs & Campus Life

Keywords

• Student leadership development
• Youth civic engagement
• Community philanthropy programs
• Cultural student association
• Nonprofit youth organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Covina

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: UNAVSA accepts individual donations to support operations and the Collective Philanthropy Project. Donations can be made via PayPal, Zelle, or check.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors provide financial support at various tiers (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze). Sponsors receive visibility at the annual conference and through organizational communications. UNAVSA-21 Sponsorship Packet outlines partnership opportunities.
3. Conference Registration: The annual Leadership Conference charges registration fees for attendees (both general and alumni registration options available).
4. CPP-Specific Donations: Donations specifically designated for the Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP) are tracked and attributed to regional partners and constituent schools. Donations must be made to UNAVSA to count toward CPP totals and awards.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UNAVSA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit umbrella organization that convenes Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese-Canadian students across 11 regional VSAs in the US and Canada. It delivers an annual 4-day Leadership Conference, the Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP) raising funds for selected nonprofit beneficiaries, a six-month alumni-to-student Mentorship Program, the VSAcademy educational content hub, civic engagement advocacy initiatives, and the VSA Awards recognizing student organization excellence. Programming is entirely volunteer-delivered by an elected Executive Board, Board of Directors, and Council of Regional Representatives.

Product overview

UNAVSA operates as a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs focused on leadership development, philanthropy, and community empowerment for Vietnamese students and young professionals across North America. The core offerings include the annual 4-day Leadership Conference (UNAVSA-XX) featuring keynotes, workshops, and cultural programming; the Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP) which coordinates annual charitable fundraising campaigns for selected beneficiaries; the Mentorship Program pairing alumni with students; VSAcademy providing educational content; VSA Awards recognizing organizational excellence; and the Civic Engagement Program addressing policy issues affecting Vietnamese communities. Supporting infrastructure includes the Speaker Directory for event programming, Alumni Relations Committee for community connection, and Conference Family Programming for attendee networking. The organization is 100% volunteer-based with staff and volunteers across North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP): An initiative for Vietnamese students and community organizations to collaborate towards one charitable cause, assisting North American Vietnamese nonprofit organizations through collective and collaborative partnership.
• UNAVSA Mentorship Program
• VSA Awards
• VSAcademy
• UNAVSA Speaker Directory

Quantifiable outcome

• $137,051.01 raised for Vietnam Health Clinic (2024-2025 CPP)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• UVSA SoCal (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization coordinating Vietnamese Student Associations in Southern California.
• UVSA Midwest (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization coordinating Vietnamese Student Associations in the Midwest region.
• UVSA NorCal (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization coordinating Vietnamese Student Associations in Northern California.
• MAUVSA (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations - regional partner.
• NWVSA (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthwest Vietnamese Student Association - regional partner.
• UVSA Southeast (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization for Southeast region.
• UVSA South (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization for the South region.
• UVSA Gulf Coast (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization for Gulf Coast region.
• SWUVSA (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouthwest Union of Vietnamese Student Associations - regional partner.
• UVSA Ontario (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner organization in Ontario, Canada.
• NEIVSA (Regional Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association - regional partner.
• AAPI VotemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner focused on AAPI civic engagement and voter education.
• Asian Hall of FamesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization celebrating Asian American achievements.
• BPSOSsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization serving the Vietnamese and broader Asian American community.
• CAPALsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner.
• ECAASUsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEast Coast Asian American Student Union - coalition partner for student organizing.
• ITASAsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association - coalition partner.
• OCAsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates, national organization.
• SEARACmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSoutheast Asian Resource Action Center - coalition partner. UNAVSA collaborates with SEARAC on the Financial Literacy Initiative.
• PIVOTsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolicy organization partner.
• Immigrant Justice NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner working on immigration justice issues affecting Vietnamese and other immigrant communities.
• AAJC Community Partner NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsian Americans Advancing Justice - Community Partner Network for civic engagement and advocacy.
• Value Our Families General MembershipsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on family-centered advocacy.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• BPSOS (Boat People SOS): BPSOS is a Vietnamese-American community services and advocacy organization listed as a UNAVSA community partner. Both serve the Vietnamese diaspora with overlapping service and identity-affirming missions.
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC): AAJC is a major AAPI civil rights organization with a Community Partner Network that includes UNAVSA. Both engage in civic engagement and advocacy, though AAJC operates at a national legal/policy scale.
• PIVOT: PIVOT is an AAPI civic engagement policy organization listed as a UNAVSA partner. Both work on political representation and policy mobilization for Asian American communities.
• SEARAC (Southeast Asian Resource Action Center): SEARAC is a national Southeast Asian advocacy organization that UNAVSA actively collaborates with on the Financial Literacy Initiative. Both serve Southeast Asian diaspora communities with overlapping civic engagement and policy advocacy missions.
• Asian Prisoner Support Committee: Asian Prisoner Support Committee was the 2021-2022 CPP beneficiary and represents the nonprofit beneficiary side of UNAVSA's philanthropic funnel. Comparable in mission alignment with Vietnamese-American advocacy work but not a direct peer.
• OCA (Asian Pacific American Advocates): OCA is a national AAPI advocacy and leadership organization with chapters across the US. UNAVSA partners with OCA and shares the AAPI leadership development mission but at a different generational and geographic scale.
• National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP): NAAAP is a national AAPI professional development organization serving young professionals through networking, leadership, and career programming — directly adjacent to UNAVSA's alumni engagement and mentorship programming.

Direct peers

• East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU): ECAASU is a coalition of Asian American student organizations on the East Coast that runs annual conferences and leadership programming. UNAVSA lists ECAASU as a coalition partner, with similar mission and student-led conference structure.
• CAPAL (Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership): CAPAL is a national AAPI leadership development organization offering conferences, fellowships, and scholarships. UNAVSA is listed as a partner; both run annual conferences focused on AAPI leadership pipeline and professional development.
• ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association): ITASA is a pan-continental Taiwanese American student organization with a similar federation and conference model to UNAVSA. Both are Asian-American student-led coalitions with regional networks and annual leadership conferences.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/UNAVSA
• Facebookfacebook.com/UNAVSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/union-of-north-american-vietnamese-student-associations
• Instagraminstagram.com/unavsa
• Xx.com/unavsa

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations