tuesday night project

What tuesday night project does

Tuesday Night Project is a volunteer-run, grassroots 501(c)(3)-style nonprofit founded in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, that operates programming designed to bridge communities through Asian American artistic expression. Its flagship offering, Tuesday Night Cafe (TNC), is a free public arts series held the first and third Tuesdays from April through October at Aratani Courtyard in the Union Center for the Arts in Little Tokyo — recognized as the longest-running Asian American free public arts series in the country and one of the longest-running free public arts series in Los Angeles. The organization supplements TNC with ancillary programs including TN Labs (donation-based workshops), MeNU by TNP (intergenerational recipe-preservation video series), TNTalks Podcast (conversations on wellness and community), TN Box (a sold-out care-package product), and Three Scripts (short radio plays).

Underlying infrastructure is intentionally lightweight and community-driven: distribution relies on in-person events at a single primary venue, supplemented by a YouTube livestream channel for remote audiences, email newsletters (Mailchimp), and Instagram for marketing. Fiscal sponsorship and financial administration are handled by the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), and donations flow through multiple voluntary channels including on-site 'Few Bucks Won't Suck' boxes, text-to-donate (text 'TNP' to 44-321), Give Lively online donations, and an annual KeepTNFree fundraising campaign — the most recent of which carried a stated $40,000 goal covering documentary production, artist stipends, performer gift cards, and food expenses.

The business model is donation-based and free to the end user; the sole disclosed commercial product (TN Box) is a sold-out one-time offering. Co-founder and Director Traci Kato-Kiriyama leads the organization alongside a small communications and volunteer-coordination team, with the broader operational workforce drawn from volunteers. Tuesday Night Project serves a broad community constituency — Asian American audiences and artists, LGBTQ community members, emerging performers seeking accessible venues, and the general Los Angeles arts public — and pursues strategic alliances with peer organizations including JANM, API Equality-LA, East West Players, API Forward Movement, UCLA Labor Center, NAKASEC, and others across AAPI, immigrant rights, and labor constituencies.

Name

tuesday night project

Legal name

Tuesday Night Project

Website

https://tuesdaynightproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Tuesday Night Project is a volunteer-run, donation-based nonprofit founded in 1998 that operates the longest-running Asian American free public arts series — Tuesday Night Cafe — and ancillary programming (TN Labs, MeNU, TNTalks) serving Asian American artists, audiences, and community partners in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Arts Programming

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online & Hybrid Creative Writing Workshops (EDAMAMAL), Writing Critique Groups & Peer Workshops (EDAMAMAJ)

Keywords

• Asian American arts programming
• Community open mic
• Public arts series
• Volunteer arts nonprofit
• Community cultural programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Primary revenue stream through voluntary donations at events ('Few Bucks Won't Suck' box) and text-to-donate campaign (text 'TNP' to 44-321). Also accepts online donations via Give Lively platform.
2. Fundraising Campaigns: Annual KeepTNFree campaign and special fundraising initiatives targeting specific expenses such as documentary production, program development, artist stipends, and operational costs.
3. TN Box Care Packages: Sold-out care package product containing tea, ceramic mug, seeds, radio play scripts, postcards, enamel pin, and zine. One-time product sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tuesday Night Project is a volunteer-run, grassroots nonprofit that produces a free public arts series (Tuesday Night Cafe) and a portfolio of community-based creative programs in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Its core activity is curating open mic and featured performances by Asian American artists, supplemented by donation-based workshops (TN Labs), a recipe-preservation video series (MeNU by TNP), podcasts (TNTalks), and occasional merchandise (TN Box care packages). All programming is offered free of charge, sustained by individual donations and community fundraising.

Product overview

Tuesday Night Project is a volunteer-run grassroots organization that operates a portfolio of community arts programs centered on the flagship Tuesday Night Cafe series—a free, longest-running Asian American public arts series in the country, held in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles since 1999. The organization supplements its core programming with ancillary offerings: TN Labs provides donation-based workshops; MeNU by TNP preserves intergenerational recipes; TNTalks Podcast disseminates conversations on wellness and community; TN Box offers a tangible care package experience; and Three Scripts delivers audio storytelling content. All programs are united by the mission of bridging communities through artistic expression.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TN Labs: A Connection+Caring Workshop Series offering donate-what-you-want workshops on topics including zine-making, food photography, Dungeons & Dragons, and creative process.
• MeNU by TNP
• TNTalks Podcast
• TN Box: A Hug Vibes Care Package

Products and services

• Tuesday Night Cafe (TNC) A free, volunteer-run public arts series featuring open mic performances and curated artists in visual and performing arts, held every first and third Tuesday from April to October at the Aratani Courtyard in Union Center for the Arts, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Features an open lottery system with three 5-minute slots per show and is livestreamed on YouTube for a free remote audience.
• TN Labs A Connection+Caring Workshop Series offering donate-what-you-want workshops led by TNP staff and community members on topics including zine-making, food photography, Dungeons & Dragons (T'nD), and creative process. Designed for community members seeking hands-on creative learning experiences.
• MeNU by TNP A recipe preservation video series that explores beloved dishes, their unique preparation steps, traditions, and family memories passed along from one generation to the next. Features video content documenting recipes such as Mohinga, Beef Rendang, and Bacon Fried Rice. Targeted at community members interested in food heritage and Asian American family traditions.
• TNTalks Podcast A conversation and workshop podcast series with downloadable audio episodes covering topics such as wellness, care, food, and planting. Available to community members and the general public interested in Asian American wellness and community topics.
• TN Box: A Hug Vibes Care Package A sold-out care package product containing a ceramic mug, loose leaf tea, garden seeds, radio play scripts with QR codes, postcards, an enamel pin, and a zine. Supports the Tea & Letter Writing program and provides tangible community merchandise for supporters.
• Three Scripts (Radio Plays) A series of three short radio plays written by Jason Fong and Traci Kato-Kiriyama, recorded with actors including Takayo Fischer, Jully Lee, and tkk. Designed for listening in various environments with headphones, delivering original audio storytelling content.

Quantifiable outcome

• 28 years of continuous operation as free public arts series
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• API Forward MovementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2017Co-produced TNTalks: Nourishment, a conversation and workshop series focused on wellness, care, food, and planting.
• Los Angeles Worm Farm CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2017Co-produced TNTalks: Nourishment workshop series.
• Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC Community Development Corporation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiscal receiver for Tuesday Night Project; handles donations and financial administration. Checks can be made out to 'LTSC/Tuesday Night Project' and mailed to their office.
• Filipino American Network (FAN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial collaboration for TNC events featuring Filipino American arts and culture.
• Festival for Philippines Arts & Culture (FPAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsored TNC events featuring Filipino American arts and culture.
• Japanese American National Museum (JANM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Tea & Letter Writing program and other events; hosts programs at museum location.
• JACL-PSWDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsoring organization for immigrant rights and DREAM Act focused TNC events.
• APALAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsoring organization for TNC events.
• UCLA Labor CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsoring organization for immigrant rights and DREAM Act focused TNC events.
• NAKASECminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsoring organization for TNC events.
• API Equality-LAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partner for LGBTQ highlighting events and community programming.
• Equal ActionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for TNC events.
• KUE (Koreans United for Equality)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsored organization for TNC events.
• DREAM Team LAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for immigrant rights and DREAM Act programming at TNC.
• East West PlayerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater partner often featured at TNC events.
• Anzen HardwareminorOthersHistoric Little Tokyo hardware store providing garden seeds for TN Box care packages since 1946.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• East West Players: Longest-running Asian American theater company in the United States, based in Los Angeles and listed as a core partner of Tuesday Night Project. Both organizations produce Asian American-centered live performance programming for community audiences in Los Angeles.
• PULLproject Ensemble: Devised ensemble co-led by TNP co-founder Traci Kato-Kiriyama with Kennedy Kabasares, producing interdisciplinary performance work rooted in Asian American storytelling. Shares leadership and artistic DNA with Tuesday Night Project and operates in overlapping community and venue networks.
• Sunday Jump: Monthly open mic and community arts series in Los Angeles, frequently cross-promoted with Tuesday Night Cafe on Instagram and social channels. Directly comparable free, volunteer-driven Asian American community performance programming in the same city.
• Asian Arts Initiative: Philadelphia-based Asian American community arts organization presenting exhibitions, performances, and workshops. Listed among the presenting venues for TNP co-founder Traci Kato-Kiriyama, indicating direct artistic overlap and comparable mission to combine Asian American artistic expression with community programming.
• National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO): New York-based Asian American theater company producing work by and about Asian Americans. Operates a similar nonprofit model of producing live Asian American-centered performance programming and is one of the established comparables in the Asian American theater ecosystem.
• Ma-Yi Theater Company: New York-based Asian American theater company and incubator for new Asian American playwriting. Highly comparable as an Asian American-focused performing arts nonprofit producing live work and developing new artistic voices, though operating at a larger institutional scale.
• Asian American Arts Centre: New York-based Asian American arts organization with a multi-decade history of presenting visual and performing arts by Asian American artists. Closely comparable mission of supporting and showcasing Asian American artistic expression through community-centered programming.
• Eastside Arts Alliance: Oakland-based grassroots community arts and cultural organization presenting performance, visual art, and cultural programming for communities of color. Comparable volunteer-driven, grassroots nonprofit model of community arts presentation, though serving a different geography.

Broad incumbents

• Japanese American National Museum (JANM): Major Japanese American cultural institution in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo and a core venue partner of Tuesday Night Project. Comparable Asian American cultural programming mission and audience, but operates as a much larger established institution with paid staff and permanent exhibition programming.

Regional players

• API Equality-LA: Los Angeles-based coalition of Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ organizations and individuals. Core ongoing partner of TNP for LGBTQ Highlight Night programming; comparable AAPI community-organizing orientation in the same geographic footprint, though focused on advocacy rather than arts presentation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TuesdayNightProject
• Instagraminstagram.com/tuesdaynightproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tuesday-night-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about tuesday night project