MADA Community Impact Report

Fund the
home base
for Asian Deaf
belonging.

MADA has proven that culturally rooted ASL access can reduce isolation, build leadership, and make the Asian Deaf community visible in civic life. The next step is permanent infrastructure.

Invest in MADA Talk sponsorship
0 Members, supporters & followers
0 Years of continuous service
0 Asian populations served
7+ & D.C. States and D.C. reached

The case for investment

MADA reaches a community that falls between systems.

Deaf Asian Americans and Deaf Asian immigrants navigate a complex intersection of barriers — limited language access, cultural isolation, racial discrimination, late access to ASL, and chronic underrepresentation — that neither mainstream Deaf services nor conventional Asian American organizations can address alone. MADA serves individuals across the full spectrum: Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, Deaf Plus, and Late-Deafened.

Why this matters now

Most institutions address only one barrier at a time. MADA delivers community-centered support where language, culture, identity, and advocacy are treated as one connected reality.

01
Language access

Programs are built around ASL and the realities of multilingual households where English is often a third language.

02
Cultural belonging

Events create spaces where Deaf, Asian, immigrant, CODA, youth, and elder identities are affirmed together — not in isolation.

03
Civic visibility

MADA brings Asian Deaf voices into public, institutional, and policy spaces at the local, state, and national levels.

04
CODA identity

Children of Deaf Adults grow up between Deaf and hearing worlds. MADA provides culturally grounded spaces to explore bicultural identity with pride — especially when Asian cultural values and immigration add further complexity.

2025 Proof Moment

A public festival made invisible need impossible to miss.

On June 28, 2025, MADA launched the Deaf Asian Street Festival at Columbus Park in Manhattan — a six-hour celebration and resource event described as the first large-scale public event celebrating the Asian Deaf community in over three decades.

0 Attendees
0 Vendors
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Access was designed in.

Convo Communications deployed smartphone-based ASL interpretation at every vendor booth — linguistic access as a default, not an afterthought.

Institutions showed up.

NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, the NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, and Helen Keller National Center maintained active on-site presence.

Youth saw pathways.

Gallaudet University and Rochester Institute of Technology were official university sponsors, connecting Deaf Asian youth with postsecondary opportunities on the spot.

Industry backed it.

10+ corporate and community sponsors — including Sorenson, New York-Presbyterian Queens, BLICK Art Materials, and the Coalition for Asian American Children & Families — made it real.

Momentum funders can build on

Moving from grassroots endurance to scalable infrastructure.

100x

Membership growth

From roughly 30 founding members to more than 3,000 members, supporters, and followers.

$50K+

2025 revenue milestone

MADA surpassed $50,000 in annual revenue for the first time through sponsorships and expanded programs.

$30K

Camp sponsorship raised

Funding supported Asian KODA & Deaf Summer Camp experiences for Deaf Asian youth and families.

12

Year-round leaders

Board members, managers, and coordinators sustain operations with a growing volunteer base.

What support makes possible

Programs turn access into confidence, pride, and leadership.

Cultural connection

Lunar New Year gatherings, cultural showcases featuring 10+ Asian countries, Deaf Asian Social Hour, and signature public events including the AAPI Heritage Month Gala.

Family and youth

Asian KODA & Deaf Summer Camp (3 consecutive years), plus Family Day drawing ~100 participants per event with arts, shared resources, and hands-on activities for CODA families.

STEM and education

ASL STEM Day engages youth ages 7+ through hands-on science led by a Royal Society of Chemistry awardee and an AstroAccess director — opening pathways to careers in science and technology.

Senior support

AARP-sponsored Deaf Asian Seniors Conference at Pier 57, NYC — professional development workshops, vendor exhibitions, and targeted resources for aging community members 55+.

Civic advocacy

Active APA Voice coalition partner — including an AAPI rally at the NY State Assembly in Albany alongside 10+ organizations — amplifying Asian Deaf voices in legislative spaces.

Validation

Trusted by civic, healthcare, education, and media partners.

"MADA fills a critical gap — a space where Deaf Asian identity is not a footnote, but the whole story."
Community partner, Asian American nonprofit sector

Government recognition

NYC Mayor Eric Adams — Certificate of Recognition NY Assembly Member Grace Lee — Official State Citation NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities NYPD Community Affairs Bureau

Community & healthcare

AARP Sorenson Coalition for Asian American Children + Families Helen Keller National Center New York-Presbyterian Queens National Asian Deaf Congress

Education

Gallaudet University Rochester Institute of Technology Lexington School for the Deaf Mill Neck Family of Organizations PS 347 Sing Tao Daily

International media spotlight

Australia's largest multicultural broadcaster traveled 10,000+ miles to document MADA.

SBS Dateline — Australia's flagship documentary program — produced a 30-minute film on MADA's Asian KODA & Deaf Summer Camp, broadcast to millions. Sing Tao Daily, one of Hong Kong's oldest Chinese-language newspapers, covered the Deaf Asian Seniors Conference in NYC.

Choose your role

Every kind of support strengthens the infrastructure.

Foundation

Lead the campaign.

Fund grants of $10,000+ toward the permanent community space and core program capacity.

Start a grant conversation
Corporate

Underwrite programs.

Sponsor naming opportunities, underwrite events, or contribute in-kind services that scale MADA's reach.

Discuss sponsorship
Individual

Give what you can.

Every amount supports youth programs, senior resources, community care, and long-term sustainability.

Make a gift

The next chapter

Help MADA build the permanent space this community has already proven it needs.

24 years of endurance. A community that shows up for each other. Now it's time to give them a home.

Donate now Become a partner

Questions? Reach us at info@madanyc.org  ·  madanyc.org