The main agenda item for the May 27 Irvine City Council meeting is the decision regarding how to distribute funds from the Community Partnership Fund Grant. Mayor Choi asked for approval of $250 to the Korean American Federation of Orange County. Councilmember Agran requested funds for the South Coast Chinese Cultural Association, Irvine Pakistani Parents Association, Orange County Human Relations, Friends of Outreach, Arts Orange County, and AIDS Services Foundation Orange County. By the time you read this the city council meeting will have occurred. So if you want to see what organizations were approved, you can watch the archived video of the city council meeting. In the meantime, here is brief description of each of these organizations.

From what I will admit was a brief search on my part, it is unclear if the Korean American Federation of Orange County is a for-profit or non-profit organization. A memo from Major Choi states: “The Korean American Federation of Orange County is a non-profit organization that provides resources including mentoring and scholarship programs, language classes and hosts many cultural events in an effort to create friendship and ties within the community.” However, although not many sites exist online that might help define the nature of this organization, some sites seem to suggest that this is a for-profit business. Bizapedia provides this information: “Korean American Federation Of Orange County is a California Corporation filed on May 22, 1995. The company’s filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is C1763967. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Jin Oh Kim and is located at 9888 Garden Grove Blvd Garden Grove, CA . The company’s principal address is 9888 Garden Grove Blvd Garden Grove, CA 92844. The company has 1 principal on record. The principal is Taek Choi Jung from Irvine CA.” If anyone has any information on this, please leave a comment here or in Talk Irvine.

The South Coast Chinese Cultural Association is a 503c3 (non-profit) corporation at 9 Truman in Irvine. Activities include a school, arts, culture, and humanities.

“The Irvine Pakistani Parents Association [nonprofit 501c(3)] is a collection of Irvine and Orange County based parents, who join hands to promote Pakistani culture, as well as encourage parent leadership at Irvine schools. The IPPA is also committed to giving back to the community, the Irvine Public Schools Foundation and Irvine schools by staging various fundraising events throughout the year.”—Irvine Pakistani Parents Association

“OC Human Relations provides programs in collaboration with schools, individuals, cities, businesses, foundations and the county to support a vision of an Orange County where our diversity is realized as a source of strength.” Programs include Creating Safe and Inclusive Communities, which makes use of the award winning BRIDGES school program; Developing Diverse Leaders, which empowers people to have a voice in the decision making processes of the institutions that affect their lives; and Mediating Conflict, which encourages dialog as an alternative to violence and litigation. See more at the Orange County Human Relations website.

Friends of Outreach is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3, all volunteer, Irvine based organization that helps support the City of Irvine senior outreach programs. (All donations to the organization are tax deductible.) The group conducts service projects, fund-raising programs, and weekly social activities at Lakeview Senior Center. Activities are OPEN to ALL. Community members are encouraged to join, participate, and make friends while serving a worthy cause.”—City of Irvine

“Arts Orange County an independent nonprofit organization, is the officially-designated local arts agency of the County of Orange and its official state-local arts agency partner.” The partners are The Million Plates Drive, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, and the County of Orange.

*The Million Plates Drive is a public/private partnership to restore funding for the arts in California through sales of the California Arts Plate.

* “The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds and promotes artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities.”Top of FormBottom of Form

*The California Arts Council is the proud founding sponsor for Turnaround Arts CA—a program using arts education strategies to significantly improve ten of California’s lowest performing elementary schools. The Council invested $300,000 in the launch of this powerful arts education initiative, using one-time funds generously provided by the California State Assembly.”

“AIDS Services Foundation Orange County’s (ASF) mission is to prevent the spread of HIV and improve the lives of men, women, and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Orange County….ASF helps more than 1,600 men, women, children, and families in Orange County living with HIV disease. Services include food, transportation, housing, emergency financial assistance, kids and family programs, mental health counseling, support groups and HIV education and prevention services.”—AIDS Services Foundation Orange County

Again, you can watch the recent Irvine City Council meeting to see what decisions were made on allocating grants to these organizations.