What New Breath Foundation does

New Breath Foundation (NBF) is a private, Oakland-headquartered public foundation founded in 2017 by Eddy Zheng, a formerly incarcerated organizer who spent 11 months in solitary confinement at San Quentin State Prison. The foundation's stated mission is to provide grassroots AANHPI (Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders) organizations with the sustainable resources needed to serve communities harmed by incarceration, deportation, and violence in the United States, a segment that receives less than 2% of philanthropic funding according to the organization's positioning. NBF operates three core program areas: Grantmaking (anchored by the We Got Us Fund and the New Breath Fund), Advocacy, and Leadership development, plus a curated Resource Library of toolkits and guides and annual grantee convenings that emphasize rest and relationship-building. Grantmaking is delivered through an invitation-only, trust-based model using the JustFund.us common application platform, with no mandatory reporting or tracking requirements; grants are structured as general operating support rather than project-specific funding, with the We Got Us Fund disbursing $150,000-$250,000 per award and the New Breath Fund disbursing $5,000-$25,000 per award.

NBF's revenue model is that of a public charitable foundation, funded by individual donors, institutional foundation grants, fundraising events, and planned giving. Disbursements are typically made in full in the same calendar year towards year-end. The 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser, which assembled 13 institutional sponsors including Kaiser Permanente, East Bay Community Foundation, AAPIP, and Beneficial State Bank, raised $105,000 and exceeded its stated goal. The organization's customer base consists of US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits and fiscally sponsored entities working on AANHPI racial justice, healing, and movement building, with a documented grantee portfolio spanning organizations such as Asian American Resource Workshop (Boston), Hawai'i People's Fund, Seattle Clemency Project, Khmer Anti-deportation Advocacy Group (KhAAG), Asian Refugees United, Tsuru for Solidarity, SEAC Village, API RISE, Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC), VietLead, MN8 (Minnesota 8), Massage Parlor Outreach Project, and Grassroots Asians Rising. NBF does not develop or sell technology products and has no API or proprietary platform; its only third-party technology integration is the JustFund.us grantmaking platform. A small staff of approximately six to ten people operates the foundation under a 2025-2028 Strategic Framework, with Eddy Zheng as President and Founder, Maya Iwata as Director of Strategic Partnerships, Claudia Leung as Director of Programs, Stephanie Gee as Director of Operations and Communications, Thy Vu as Operations & Development Manager (Philadelphia-based), and Mari Yamagiwa as Program Manager.

Name

New Breath Foundation

Legal name

New Breath Foundation

Website

https://new-breath.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

New Breath Foundation is an Oakland-based public foundation founded in 2017 that funds grassroots AANHPI organizations serving communities impacted by incarceration, deportation, and violence in the United States through trust-based grantmaking, advocacy, leadership programs, and a resource library.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions: As a public foundation, NBF relies on donor support to fund AANHPI communities impacted by incarceration, deportation, and violence. Revenue comes from individual donors, foundation grants, and fundraising events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

New Breath Foundation is a public foundation that provides general operating support grants to grassroots nonprofit organizations serving Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities impacted by incarceration, deportation, and violence in the United States. It operates two grant programs—the We Got Us Fund ($150K–$250K) and the New Breath Fund ($5K–$25K)—alongside advocacy, leadership development, and a resource library.

Product overview

New Breath Foundation operates as a public foundation providing pivotal grassroots organizations sustainable resources for AANHPI communities harmed by incarceration, deportation, and violence. The organization offers two main grant programs: the We Got Us Fund (focused on power building, healing support, and directly impacted leadership) and the New Breath Fund (focused on movement building, hope and healing, and keeping families together). Additional offerings include a resource library with toolkits and guides, and annual grantee convenings that emphasize collective rest and relationship building. All grants are general operating support, invitation-only, and the foundation practices trust-based philanthropy with no mandatory reporting requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• We Got Us Fund: Grant program prioritizing AANHPI movement organizations for power building, culturally relevant healing and support, and directly impacted leadership.
• New Breath Fund

Products and services

• We Got Us Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• 2026 fundraiser raised $105,000, exceeding goal
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• JustFund.uscoreOthersJustFund.us is the grant application platform used by NBF. Organizations create profiles and submit proposals through this common application. NBF does not have capacity to respond to every submission via JustFund, but those invited to apply for grants are contacted directly.
• Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)minorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Donors of Color NetworkminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• East Bay Community FoundationminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Fairview CapitalminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Amalgamated BankminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Asian Health ServicesminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Asian Law CaucusminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser. Provides nationwide referrals for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders facing detention and deportation.
• Beneficial State BankminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Community Youth CenterminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Kaiser PermanenteminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Proverb Strategy AdvisorsminorOthersSponsor of NBF's 2026 Collective Liberation annual awards ceremony and fundraiser.
• Hawai'i People's FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWe Got Us Fund grantee partner since 2021. HPF Executive Director Micky Huihui serves on NBF's We Got Us Fund Community Advisory Committee (CAC). Both organizations practice participatory, activist-advised grantmaking.
• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization with Seattle Clemency Project's IPCR Program to prevent deportation of longtime Washington residents.
• Khmer Anti-deportation Advocacy Group (KhAAG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWe Got Us Fund grantee partner; co-founded by Bunthay Cheam in 2017; grassroots organization working on anti-deportation advocacy for Khmer community.
• VietLeadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrantee partner; Vietnamese and Southeast Asian community organization working on rapid response, community defense, and campaigns for pardon to prevent deportations.
• Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization; supports formerly incarcerated AANHPI individuals; NBF Board Member Mac Hoang serves as Reentry Manager at APSC.
• La ResistenciaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKhAAG collaborates with this organization which organizes around Washington's detention center.
• Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNBF partners with this organization which carries on Yuri Kochiyama's passion for justice and connecting people in solidarity.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC): A grassroots organization supporting formerly incarcerated AANHPI individuals through reentry services, leadership development, and advocacy. Direct strategic partner of NBF (with board member Mac Hoang serving as APSC Reentry Manager) and operates in the same directly-impacted AANHPI reentry space NBF funds.
• Asian Law Caucus: A San Francisco-based legal and civil rights organization serving low-income AANHPI communities through direct legal services, organizing, and advocacy. Directly aligned with NBF's deportation/incarceration-impact focus, listed as a NBF event sponsor and referral partner for detained/deported AANHPIs.
• API Equality - Northern California: A Northern California-based AANHPI LGBTQ organization advancing racial and LGBTQ justice through organizing, leadership development, and community building. Comparable as a Bay Area-rooted AANHPI grassroots organization overlapping NBF's community-healing and movement-building pillars.
• Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP): A national network of AANHPI philanthropy professionals and funders that mobilizes resources into AANHPI communities through giving circles, research, and advocacy. Comparable to NBF in its AANHPI-focused philanthropic infrastructure mission and overlap in funder/grantee ecosystem (AAPIP sponsors NBF events).
• Stop AAPI Hate: A coalition tracking anti-AANHPI hate incidents and advocating for community safety, research, and policy responses. Comparable as a high-visibility AANHPI advocacy infrastructure organization addressing violence/harms against AANHPI communities, an adjacent concern to NBF's violence/incarceration focus.
• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC): A national organization mobilizing Pacific Islander communities through advocacy, research, and organizing. Directly comparable as a community-rooted AANHPI organizing entity serving an under-resourced AANHPI subgroup — precisely the gap NBF's model is designed to address.
• Tsuru for Solidarity: A Japanese American social justice organization connecting WWII incarceration history to contemporary immigrant detention and incarceration campaigns. Directly comparable as a We Got Us Fund grantee partner and shares NBF's directly-impacted leadership and AANHPI detention/incarceration focus.

Broad incumbents

• The Asian American Foundation (TAAF): A larger, recently established foundation mobilizing philanthropy across AANHPI communities nationwide. Shares NBF's mission of expanding AANHPI philanthropic capacity and visibility, but operates at materially larger scale with broader programmatic scope rather than NBF's incarceration/deportation-specific focus.
• Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC): A national AANHPI policy and advocacy organization focused on Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laotian, and other Southeast Asian American communities. Shares NBF's core constituency (Southeast Asian refugee-impacted communities, deportation defense) and its federal/regional grantmaking-into-grassroots model.
• Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF): A national AANHPI civil rights organization providing legal services, voter protection, and policy advocacy. Comparable as an established AANHPI justice infrastructure player, though broader in mission (voting rights, immigration, hate crimes) than NBF's incarceration-specific lens.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NewBreathFdn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC0o2apJ7_H-Tu3deQGyb_Jg
• Facebookfacebook.com/newbreathfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-breath-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/newbreathfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about New Breath Foundation