Capacity Building

The Korean American faith-based community has tremendous potential to be a significant partner in economic development projects in the county but are in need of capacity building and technical assistance to navigate the system and to build successful partnerships. In addition to connecting the faith-based community to resources and partnerships, KCCD builds capacities of the churches so that they can pursue community and economic development projects. To date, KCCD has hosted 6 national Lighting the Community Conferences and has been requested to speak and train at numerous capacity building conferences, providing over 3,000 churches and nonprofit organizations with capacity building services and trainings. KCCD provides expert guidance for implementing innovative models, such as the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) model, which allows churches to establish a non-profit arm of the church which can independently raise funds, pursue economic and community development projects as well as develop public-private partnerships, allowing the church to serve the community in a greater capacity. KCCD showcases and shares the FAME model through capacity building trainings, non-profit consultations, and by regularly holding Pastors Advisory Council meetings which bring together key strategic Korean/English Ministry Pastors to share innovative ideas and church projects. With their expanded capacities and non-profit arms, Korean churches have been engaging in numerous civic activities including feeding the homeless and holding neighborhood cleanups, and many are planning to engage in economic development projects including senior/low-income housing and day care centers. 

Capacity Building for Youth Organizations

Along with its work in marriage enrichment and fatherhood for the APIA community, KCCD has also advocated for investment into the APIA youth community which has been historically neglected and overlooked. In contrast to the model minority myth, recent research indicates that APIA youth comprise the fastest growing gang population in Los Angeles with over 20,000 gang members, and have high rates of suicide and depression, with Asian women between 15-24 years of age having the highest rates of suicide compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the same age group. To effectively address this problem, KCCD created the Communities Empowering Youth (CEY) Collaborative which brought together ten Los Angeles based, multi-ethnic, nonprofit organizations who focused on serving and empowering youth. Through capacity building workshops for the collaborative organizations and two innovative youth summits which brought together mental health experts, community leaders, and local area youth, the CEY Collaborative was able to positively impact and transform the lives of hundreds of LA county youth, as well as raise awareness of the plight of APIA youth to mental health experts, law enforcement, and community leaders. For KCCD's capacity building efforts with the CEY Collaborative, KCCD was one of five nonprofits to be selected to be benchmarked as best practice amongst 300 grantees from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Please contact Alex about KCCD Capacity Building Training Program (213)985-1500 EXT. 217 Email: alex.chang@kccd3300.org

Economic Development Bus Tour