By JACL Staff
SAN FRANCISCO — The 2015 Legacy Fund Grants Program is now underway announced the program’s co-chairs, Janice Faden and Jane Katsuyama. All chapters in good standing, District Councils and the National Youth/Student Council are invited to submit applications for a Legacy Fund Grant.
Applications and application guidelines are available via the JACL website. Grants shall be awarded for projects and activities that support JACL’s 2015-16 Program for Action, with a maximum award for a single grant request of $3,000.
Completed applications are due April 8. Grant recipients will be announced at the 45th JACL National Convention in Las Vegas, Nev., which will be held July 13-15 at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino.
Nine grants were awarded in 2014. Projects and activities that received funding included a Japanese Culture Activity Book by the NCWNP District Council, a Youth Delegate Campaign for the 2014 National Convention by the NY/SC, the Development of a Support Group for API LGBTQ Youth and Their Families by the Seattle JACL and “Russell Lee in the Pacific Northwest: Documenting Japanese American Farm Labor Camps” by the Snake River JACL. Those that received grants in 2014 included one District Council, chapters representing five of the seven districts and the NY/SC.
The application form has been developed to encourage innovative planning and ensure follow-through. Crucial to this is the requirement of progress reports to the Legacy Funds Grants Committee on an ongoing basis, for the purpose of monitoring and publicizing all of the projects funded by a grant.
The Legacy Fund Grants Review Committee might consider the following attributes in evaluating each application: the relationship to the Program for Action, potential impact of the project/activity, capacity of the applicant to implement the project/activity, clarity of the stated goals and objectives, the budget and timeline and the presence of a unique or specialized program.
The Legacy Fund was established by the JACL National Council on June 20, 1990, at the JACL National Convention in San Diego. Monies were first donated to the fund by members who gave a portion of their redress awards to further the legacy of patriotism and hard-won civil rights that is central to the story of the Nikkei in America.
Investment earnings from the fund are used to support general operations, provide a return to chapters and districts in direct proportion to their original contribution to the fund, provide funding for a grants program and reinvest in the fund for future growth.
The goal of the program is to assist chapters, districts and the NY/SC in carrying out projects and activities that are in accordance with the National JACL Program for Action.
For more information, contact Regional Director Patty Wada at pwada@jacl.org.
