We are pleased to announce our Spring 2026 Grantees. The Board of the JA Community Foundation has approved grants to ten nonprofit organizations serving Japanese American communities. We would like to thank all of the organizations that applied, and congratulate the grant recipients:
Ann Arbor Summer Festival (Ann Arbor, MI): Our grant will support a free Japan Week at Top of the Park featuring a live Great Lakes Taiko Center performance and cultural workshop, bringing Japanese arts and traditions to an estimated 3,000 community members.
enTaiko (Portland, OR): Our grant will support Ikoi no Taiko, an intergenerational summer camp uniting Japanese American youth and elders through taiko drumming, traditional folk songs, and community performances.
Little Tokyo Community Council (Los Angeles, CA): Our grant will fund a part-time program coordinator and outdoor equipment for the Little Tokyo Wellness Club, providing free weekly culturally rooted activities for Japanese and Japanese American older adults.
Makoto Taiko (Pasadena, CA): Our grant will support event production costs to keep the 2026 Recital and Summer Matsuri free and accessible to families, youth, and seniors across the San Gabriel Valley.
Nichi Bei Foundation (San Francisco, CA): Our grant will subsidize transportation, ferry costs, and meals to make the seventh biennial Nikkei Angel Island Pilgrimage the most accessible yet for Japanese American families exploring their ancestral history.
Oregon Historical Society (Portland, OR): Our grant will help bring I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience to downtown Portland, where thousands of visitors will explore the extraordinary story of Japanese American soldiers who served in a segregated WWII unit.
Oakland Museum of California (Oakland, CA): Our grant will support BeHere/1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration, an immersive exhibition using augmented reality and the Dorothea Lange archive to illuminate the impact of Executive Order 9066 on Oakland’s Japanese American community.
OCO Club’s Helping Farms Feed Families (Santa Ana, CA): Our grant will support virtual workshops, three in-person community events, and a guidebook helping Nikkei families discover and document their agricultural roots through WRA Farm Transfer Records and Alien Land Ownership filings.
Riverside Museum Associates (Riverside, CA): Our grant will support production of a feature-length documentary about the Harada family’s landmark 1916 civil rights case and the ongoing multi-year rehabilitation of their National Historic Landmark home in Riverside.
Sonoma County Matsuri Festival (Santa Rosa, CA): Our grant will underwrite a special appearance by Honu Sumo from San Diego, bringing educational presentations and live sumo demonstrations to one of the North Bay Area’s signature free cultural festivals.