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Helping Link

Helping Transitions, Honoring Traditions

aka Một Dấu Nối   |   Renton, WA   |  https://www.helpinglink.org/

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Mission

To empower Vietnamese-Americans’ social adjustment, family stability, and self-sufficiency while nurturing community service and young professional leaders. Since its founding in 1993, Helping Link has been committed to solving the needs of the Vietnamese community in Seattle by providing them with educational programs and resources in language, technology, and citizenship. We believe in supporting our intergenerational families, nurturing our communities, and fostering cultural resilience. Like a bridge that connects multiple points, Helping Link aims to unite and connect the Vietnamese community while also empowering members to celebrate their histories, cultures, and traditions.

Ruling year info

2005

Executive Director

Minh Duc Nguyen

Main address

555 S Renton Village Pl Ste 225

Renton, WA 98057-3284 USA

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EIN

20-1988027

NTEE code info

Humanities Organizations (A70)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Helping Link/Một Dấu Nối's programs are designed to help build community. Our classes are offered in a bilingual context and in a supportive, family friendly and culturally appropriate atmosphere. We also advocate for the needs of this population with local and state government and partner organizations. Helping Link/Một Dấu Nối’s services help our students acquire the language, technical and cultural skills necessary to thrive in their adopted country, including passing the citizenship exam to become engaged citizens and voters. Tutoring and mentoring programs help all of our clients gain self-confidence and social skills that support them to work toward a bright future.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Education & Social Service Navigation

We serve primarily lower-income Vietnamese American youth, adults, and seniors in the Puget Sound Area who benefit from our courses in English as a Second Language, citizenship requirements, and technology. We also support this population with assistance navigating the social service referral system and gaining access to community resources. With all of our services, we assist about 1400 people annually.

Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups

Where we work

  • Renton (Washington, United States)

  • Seattle (Washington, United States)

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Helping Link/Một Dấu Nối provides community-strengthening activities that empower and help our clients and students become decision-makers with a stake in the systems that impact their lives. We work to support them in bridging the gap of language and technology with English as a Second Language (ESL), citizenship and technology classes for youth, adults and seniors. We also provide assistance in navigating the social service systems available to our clients. Helping Link/Một Dấu Nối strives to honor our Vietnamese heritage, values and cultural traditions, to foster bilingualism and to facilitate youth and elder relationships.

Our classes are offered in a bilingual context and in a supportive, family friendly and culturally appropriate atmosphere. When we provide social service navigation, we stay with our clients for as long as it takes to help achieve a positive outcome.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people’s needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve,

Financials

Helping Link
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Helping Link

Board of directors
as of 3/19/2025
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Hao Duong President

Patrick Tefft Secretary

Sam Kenney

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Asian/Asian American
Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability