Southeast Asian Student Coalition (SASC)

What Southeast Asian Student Coalition (SASC) does

SASC is a student-run, non-profit coalition at UC Berkeley founded in 2000 after a Southeast Asian diaspora conference organized with Professor Khatharya Um. It serves primarily Southeast Asian undergraduate and graduate students at Berkeley—specifically those from Lao, Hmong, Cambodian, and Vietnamese backgrounds—with secondary outreach to Southeast Asian high school students across California. Its mission is framed around representation, college access, and culturally-specific community for students who feel folded into undifferentiated "Asian American" narratives.

SASC delivers its work through a portfolio of recurring programs rather than a unified product: SEAM (Southeast Asian Mentorship Program pairing Berkeley students with SEA high schoolers for college application guidance), SEASO (orientation for first-year and transfer SEA students), SEACF and Night Market (cultural festivals and performance platforms for SEA RSOs), SEAgraduation (intimate senior recognition ceremony), and SASComm (a round-table governance structure with Internal, External, Operations, and PR branches). There is no proprietary technology stack; the organization runs on Instagram (@ucbsasc), a mailing list, the ucbsasc.org website, campus tabling on Sproul, and a Big Cartel merchandise storefront.

Revenue mechanics are those of an ASUC-funded student organization: ASUC allocations and reimbursements, fundraising by the Operations branch, alumni donations, and merchandise sales. All programming is free to participants. Geographic scope is California (Bay Area core, statewide reach through SEAM). Headcount is approximately 20 student leaders in formal roles plus general membership.

Name

Southeast Asian Student Coalition (SASC)

Legal name

Southeast Asian Student Coalition

Website

https://ucbsasc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Student-run coalition at UC Berkeley, founded in 2000, providing mentorship, orientation, and cultural programming for Southeast Asian undergraduate students and California high schoolers through programs like SEAM, SEASO, SEACF, and Night Market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Community Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

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

Keywords

• Student mentorship programs
• Cultural community programming
• College orientation services
• Student coalition governance
• Cultural festival events

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. ASUC Funding: Student organization receives funding through ASUC (Associated Students of the University of California) allocations, budgets, and reimbursements for events.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Operations branch handles fundraising activities. Alumni donations and community support contribute to program funding.
3. Merchandise Sales: SASC operates a store on Big Cartel for merchandise sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SASC operates a portfolio of student-run community programs supporting Southeast Asian students at UC Berkeley through mentorship, cultural programming, orientation, and recognition ceremonies. Flagship offerings include SEAM (mentorship pairing Berkeley students with SEA high schoolers across California), SEASO (orientation for first-year and transfer SEA students), SEACF and the Taste of SEA Night Market (cultural festivals providing a stage for SEA RSOs), SEAgraduation (annual ceremony for graduating seniors and their families), and SASComm (a shared round-table leadership structure). All programs are delivered free of charge to participants.

Product overview

SASC operates as a student coalition offering a portfolio of interconnected community programs rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include SEAM (mentorship connecting Berkeley students with SEA high schoolers), SEASO (orientation for new students), SEACF (cultural festival), SEAgraduation (senior ceremony), and the annual Night Market cultural showcase. These programs are supported by SASComm, the organizational leadership structure with four operational branches. All offerings are community-focused services centered on mentorship, cultural programming, and advocacy for Southeast Asian students at UC Berkeley.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Southeast Asian Mentorship Program (SEAM) Mentorship program pairing UC Berkeley students with Southeast Asian high schoolers across California for a semester of college applications, academics, financial aid guidance, and campus life orientation, including Berkeley site visits.
• Southeast Asian Orientation (SEASO) Orientation program for first-year and transfer Southeast Asian students at UC Berkeley, featuring dinner, workshops on campus resources, introductions to SEA RSOs, and small family groups led by current students.
• Southeast Asian Cultural Festival (SEACF) Annual cultural festival bringing together Southeast Asian organizations for dance, music, food, and related arts, providing a platform for SEA RSOs and sharing cultures with the wider UC Berkeley community.
• Taste of SEA Night Market Annual night market featuring Southeast Asian food, vendors, performers, and cultural showcases held at Sproul Plaza, bringing together SEA RSOs and the broader Berkeley community.
• SEAgraduation (SEAgrad) Annual ceremony for graduating Southeast Asian seniors and their families, featuring speeches, performances, and cultural sashes in an intimate setting where seniors are recognized by community members who know them.
• SASComm Leadership Program Round-table leadership structure with four branches (Internal, External, Operations, Public Relations) that distributes responsibility for programs, outreach, advocacy, and operations across student members and supporting officers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of high school students mentored through SEAM program from across California
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SEARAC (Southeast Asian American National Project)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Published A Dream Denied: Educational Experiences of Southeast Asian American Youth in 2003. SEARAC collaborated with Professor Khatharya Um and SASC members to produce the report documenting educational barriers for SEA students.
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern CaliforniaminorOthersSASC directs students to AJSOCAL's immigration resources, know-your-rights materials in multiple languages (Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Nepali, Punjabi, Urdu, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Thai, Spanish), legal aid, and California wildfire resources.
• National Immigrant Justice CenterminorOthersSASC directs students to NIJC's know-your-rights resources for ICE encounter situations.
• Secrets of Tiger Thai SensoryminorOthersCatering vendor for the SEA Community Picnic event on April 29, 2026 at VLSB Lawn.
• Southeast Asian Registered Student Organizations (SEA RSOs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partners with other SEA RSOs for Night Market events, SEACF cultural festival, SEASO orientation introductions, and collaborative programming. Dozens of SEA orgs use Night Market as a platform for performances and visibility.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• College Track: National college access and success nonprofit serving first-generation students from underserved communities. Comparable in college application mentorship, financial aid guidance, and serving underrepresented students—though operating as a multi-site formal nonprofit rather than a student coalition.
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California: AAPI legal aid and civil rights organization that is an active resource partner for SASC. Comparable in mission around AAPI advocacy and resource provision, though operating at much larger scale and broader geographic scope.
• APIA Scholars: National nonprofit providing scholarships and college access support for Asian American and Pacific Islander students with financial need. Comparable in mission around AAPI college access and first-generation student support, overlapping with SASC's SEAM mentorship goals.

Direct peers

• Vietnamese American Student Association (at various UC campuses): Vietnamese-focused student organizations providing cultural programming, mentorship, and community at UC campuses. Comparable in cultural festival programming, mentorship pipelines, and graduation recognition ceremonies.
• Cambodian Student Association (at various UC campuses): Cambodian-focused student organizations addressing refugee diaspora history and cultural representation. Comparable in centering refugee and diasporic narratives alongside cultural programming, similar to SASC's historical roots.
• Hmong Student Association (at various UC campuses): Ethnic-specific student organizations serving Hmong students at UC campuses. Directly comparable as a community-building student org addressing SEA-specific representation, though typically focused on a single ethnic group rather than pan-SEA coalition.
• SEARAC (Southeast Asia Resource Action Center): National advocacy organization advancing Southeast Asian American communities through policy, research, and organizing. Most directly comparable as a SEA-specific advocacy entity and an active SASC partner on the 'A Dream Denied' report.
• Pilipino American Student Association (PASA) at UC Berkeley: Fellow UC Berkeley cultural identity student organization serving Pilipino American students. Directly comparable as a campus-based cultural coalition running mentorship, orientation, cultural nights, and graduation programming—frequently collaborating with SASC on Night Market.
• Asian Pacific Coalition at UC Berkeley: Umbrella coalition of Asian and Pacific Islander student organizations at UC Berkeley. Directly comparable as a campus coalition model coordinating cultural identity RSOs, with which SASC regularly partners on shared programming.

Emerging players

• Stop AAPI Hate: Coalition addressing anti-Asian hate incidents through reporting, research, and advocacy. Comparable as an AAPI advocacy coalition focused on visibility and representation, though centered on hate incident response rather than student cultural programming.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/ucbsasc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ucbsasc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Southeast Asian Student Coalition (SASC)