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NEW YORK, NY – The Asian Creative Foundation proudly announces the successful completion of its 2026 Social Impact Hackathon, a two-day event that brought together over 200 attendees from across New York City to collaborate, create, and build solutions for some of the most pressing challenges facing nonprofit organizations today.

Hosted in partnership with the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development and held at New York University and Conwell Hall, the Hackathon united students, young professionals, nonprofit leaders, designers, strategists, marketers, technologists, entrepreneurs, and community advocates around a shared belief: that creativity can be a powerful force for community impact. This year’s Hackathon focused on supporting nonprofit organizations working across areas including women’s leadership development, immigrant support, community engagement, accessibility, and belonging. Participating nonprofit partners included the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, Girls Inc. of NYC, New York Immigration Coalition, Transportation Alternatives, and Unlocal.

When the final presentations wrapped up and the winning team took the stage, the room was charged with a radiant joy and emotion that went far beyond the relief of finishing a rigorous pitch. For many attendees, it was an opportunity to apply professional skills to causes that matter. Throughout the weekend, multidisciplinary teams worked directly with nonprofit organizations to better understand organizational challenges, identify opportunities, and develop practical solutions that could help strengthen outreach, engagement, storytelling, fundraising, community-building, and long-term impact.

The result was a room filled with energy, purpose, and collaboration. Participants arrived from diverse backgrounds—students preparing to launch their careers, experienced professionals looking to give back, nonprofit leaders seeking fresh perspectives, and industry experts volunteering their time as mentors, speakers, and judges. Together, they demonstrated what is possible when creative talent is connected to community needs.

A Growing Movement for Creative Impact

Founded in New York City in 2019, the Asian Creative Foundation was established with a simple but ambitious mission: to create opportunities for creatives to connect, learn, and use their skills to make a meaningful difference. Over the years, ACF has evolved into a growing platform that connects designers, strategists, storytellers, marketers, technologists, and emerging leaders with opportunities to create positive change within their communities. What began as a grassroots effort has grown into a vibrant network that has welcomed thousands of attendees through community programming, educational events, networking experiences, mentorship initiatives, and social impact projects.

The Social Impact Hackathon has become one of ACF’s flagship programs because it represents the organization’s belief that creativity should not exist in isolation. Creative thinking has the potential to strengthen nonprofits, improve access to resources, amplify underrepresented voices, and help organizations better serve the communities that depend on them.

“Our goal has never been to simply host events,” said the ACF president Shandy Tsai.

“Our goal is to create opportunities where talented people can apply their skills to something bigger than themselves. Every year we’re inspired by the generosity of our mentors, speakers, judges, volunteers, sponsors, nonprofit partners, and attendees. The passion people bring to this event reminds us that there is an incredible desire among young professionals and emerging leaders to contribute to meaningful work.”

The Team Behind the Mission

The Asian Creative Foundation is powered by a dedicated leadership team that has spent years building and sustaining the organization through volunteer effort, community care, and a shared belief in creative impact.

The 2026 Social Impact Hackathon reflects the collective work of the ACF core team:

Shandy Tsai — President

Momo Huang — Chief Operations Officer

Jemma Wu — Head of Partnerships

Susana Chen — Chief Creative Officer

Joey Chia — Chief Financial Officer

HK Han — Chief Business Officer

Together, the team leads across programming, partnerships, operations, finance, creative direction, and strategic growth—working year-round to design and execute initiatives that connect creatives with nonprofits and community organizations across New York City.

Their sustained commitment has helped ACF grow from a grassroots community initiative into a cross-sector platform that brings together students, professionals, nonprofit leaders, and industry partners to collaborate on real-world challenges. While the Hackathon itself spans two days, the work behind it reflects months of coordination, relationship-building, and community engagement driven by a team deeply committed to the mission of using creativity as a force for social impact.

Community-Powered Collaboration

A defining feature of the ACF Social Impact Hackathon is its collaborative model. Rather than developing hypothetical projects, participants work alongside nonprofit organizations that are actively serving communities across New York. This creates opportunities for ideas and recommendations to extend beyond the event itself and potentially inform future initiatives, campaigns, partnerships, and community programs. The Hackathon also serves as a bridge between sectors that do not always have opportunities to collaborate directly.

Students gain exposure to real-world nonprofit challenges.

Nonprofit organizations gain access to creative and strategic thinking.

Professionals have an opportunity to mentor emerging talent.

Sponsors and partners contribute to community-driven initiatives while helping create pathways for the next generation of leaders.

The result is an ecosystem where knowledge, creativity, and community engagement intersect.

Industry Leaders Supporting the Next Generation

The 2026 Social Impact Hackathon was made possible through the support of an extraordinary group of sponsors and partners who share ACF’s commitment to community engagement, education, creativity, and innovation.

ACF extends its gratitude to:

• Singapore Global Network (singaporeglobalnetwork.gov.sg)
• Duolingo (duolingo.com)
• Figma (figma.com)
• NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development (wasserman.nyu.edu)
• Runway (runwayml.com)
• Air (air.inc)
• ElevenLabs (elevenlabs.io)
• Lovable (lovable.dev)
• Conwell Hall (conwellhall.com)

Their support helped create opportunities for participants to learn from industry leaders, access mentorship, engage with emerging technologies, and connect with a broader network of professionals.

ACF also recognizes the generosity of in-kind partners: Fly By Jing (flybyjing.com) and Velvette Brew (instagram: velvettebrew), 

whose contributions enhanced the attendee experience and helped create a welcoming environment throughout the event.

As the 2026 Social Impact Hackathon concludes, ACF is already looking toward the future. The organization plans to continue expanding opportunities for nonprofits to access creative support while growing pathways for students and professionals to contribute their skills toward meaningful causes.

ACF is actively seeking additional nonprofit partners, community organizations, educational institutions, volunteers, sponsors, and collaborators interested in building future programs that strengthen New York’s communities through creativity, innovation, and collective action.

“We believe that some of the most powerful solutions emerge when people from different backgrounds come together around a shared purpose,” said the ACF team. “This Hackathon is proof that when community organizations, creatives, students, professionals, and partners work together, meaningful impact is possible.” As New York continues to evolve, the Asian Creative Foundation remains committed to creating spaces where creativity, community, and purpose can intersect—and where ideas have the opportunity to become action.

About the Asian Creative Foundation

Asian Creative Foundation is a New York-based nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting designers, strategists, storytellers, marketers, technologists, and creative professionals with opportunities to create meaningful community impact. Through events, mentorship, partnerships, and social impact programming, ACF empowers creatives to use their skills in service of positive change.

Media Contact
Company Name: Asian Creative Foundation
Contact Person: Jemma Wu
Email: Send Email
City: New York
State: New York
Country: United States
Website: www.asiancreativefoundation.org