Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women Transgender Community (APIQWTC) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

that provides opportunities for Asian & Pacific Islander queer women and transgender people to socialize, network, build community, engage in inter-generational organizing, and increase community visibility. APIQWTC grew out of the API Lunar New Year Banquet, founded in 1987 by a small group of queer and transgender Asian women. APIQWTC was officially founded in 1999 by

Crystal Jang Crystal Jang is an LGBT activist based in San Francisco, California. She is one of the co-founders of the San Francisco Bay Area based organization, Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Community (APIQWTC), as well as community-based ...

, Koko Lin, and

Trinity Ordona Rev. Trinity Ordoña is a lesbian Filipino-American college teacher, activist, community organizer, and ordained minister currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is notable for her grassroots work on intersectional social justice. ...

, as a new hub for established and new community groups to exchange news and coordinate projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over time, it evolved from a network to a community organization. In 2012, the co-founders reported that APIQWTC provides the space for an estimated 1,000 queer women and transgender individuals of Asian descent to gather and celebrate who they are. APIQWTC is a space for "many queer women and transgender Asians holive in the closet in fear of losing their family and community." Today, its membership boasts 800 members, possibly the largest Asian lesbian/transgender organization on the West Coast. APIQWTC hosts the following events and activities annually: Lunar New Year Banquet; Summer Barbeque; Phoenix Award; Community Artist award; Trips; Support for community LGBT organizations; Monthly Meet-ups. Every year, APIQWTC provides two scholarship to deserving API LGBT students pursuing higher education. During the yearly banquet, an API LGBT organization is designated to receive a percentage of the annual banquet receipts to further its mission.

References

{{reflist LGBT organizations in the United States LGBT in California Asian-American organizations Women in California 1999 establishments in California Transgender in the United States