A Community update

Message from the Board:

As we close out the Year of the Snake, the Chinese Adoptee Alliance (CAA) has news to share with our community. In 2025, we underwent a year of deep reflection and change. We revised our bylaws, mission, and values to better reflect the needs of our community.

These changes were due to several factors.

First, we needed to clarify the organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values.

The mission of our organization provided a foundation for creating programming that offers support, connection, empowerment, education, and advocacy for Adoptees and our communities, but we needed direction.

We aim to support Chinese Adoptees and their communities at all stages of life. Adoption is not a one-time event, but a lifelong process. Our relationship to our adoption will shift as we grow older, enter into lifelong partnerships, become parents, bury our parents, and all of the other life milestones that are too many to count.

Furthermore, CAA acknowledges that there is diversity within our community and that our experiences may differ based on relationship to geographic location, upbringing, class, disability, and other intersections of identity in tandem with being Chinese and adopted.

Our vision for the organization is to co-create a world where Chinese Adoptees are fully supported throughout their life cycles and find healing and solidarity with others. To understand that our liberation is tied to the liberation of all.

This shift better reflects the organization’s impact, lived experience, and evolving priorities. By clarifying the CAA’s values, it establishes a shared framework to guide decision-making, behavior, and accountability across all levels of the organization. Together, these updates position the organization for long-term sustainability and resilience, ensuring that its leadership, actions, and growth remain aligned with its core purpose and community.

Second, we revised our bylaws. The revisions were made to strengthen the organization’s governing framework, remove outdated provisions that no longer align with current law, clarify ambiguous language, minimize differing interpretations and potential disputes, simplify procedural requirements, update our funding model, and update officer roles and responsibilities.

The revisions include changes to support a new operational model centered on donations rather than traditional membership models. We made these changes to eliminate any financial barriers for Chinese Adoptees seeking community, resources, and education.

CAA is building a revenue model that truly reflects its commitment to reaching more Adoptees and those connected to the adoptee experience. To grow in a sustainable and meaningful way, it will rely on a diverse mix of charitable support. This includes inviting people to join as monthly donors, offering simple ways to make one‑time gifts, nurturing relationships that may lead to significant contributions, and actively seeking grant opportunities.

We want our members to clearly understand the purpose behind this change and the intention guiding this update. As an entirely volunteer-led organization, we deeply appreciate the grace and patience of our community as we continue to learn, adapt, and grow. Every decision we make is rooted in a desire to do what is best for our collective community, and we lead this work with passion, care, and integrity.

We hope you will continue to engage with and support CAA in the ways that feel most accessible to you, whether through participating in events, volunteering your time and talents, or contributing financially. Your continued involvement is what allows our community to thrive.

In 2026, the Year of the Horse, CAA aims to move forward with clarity to create programming, spaces, and opportunities that center Chinese Adoptees.