When to apply

2023 Spring Grants

Our grant application process has two stages. You must first submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) and then, if invited, submit a full proposal.

Submit A Letter of Inquiry

January 1 to January 20, 2023

submit a Full proposal

February 12 to March 6, 2023

Please note that organizations with open grants are not eligible to submit a Letter of Inquiry until their current grant is closed.

2023 Spring Grants will be distributed in May 2023.

Requirements

How to Apply

01. Read the criteria.

Be sure to read all of the grant requirements on this page before you apply. We can not fund organizations or projects that do not meet our criteria.

02. Submit an LOI.

The LOI (Letter of Inquiry) form is filled out through our grant system and requires a brief summary of your:

      • Project Description
      • Project Start and End Date
      • Requested Amount
      • Total Project Budget
      • Funding sources for the project
      • Population Served & Expected Outcomes

03. Submit a Full Grant Application (if invited).

If your LOI is approved by the Board Grant Committee, a full application must then be submitted by the deadline to be considered for funding.

Grant Requirements

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Baseline Criteria

The JA Community Foundation is currently focusing our funding on the Japanese American community. We accept applications from all 50 states in the United States.

We fund programs and projects that focus on senior health and services, history, arts and culture, and youth.

All grantees are required to be registered 501c3 organizations.

NonProfit information

  • History and Purpose of the organization.
  • Description of the project or program to be funded, including a needs statement and objectives.
  • Copy of the organization’s informational brochure and project brochure (if available.)
  • List of the corporations and foundations that provided funding to your organization in the previous year, along with their contribution amounts.
  • Roster of the organization’s board of directors, advisory board members, and administrative staff.

Amount & Length Of Funding

JA Community Foundation grant sizes range from $2,500 to $50,000 for new projects or improvements to existing programs. Grants cannot be used for ongoing operating costs.

Organizations may apply for one-time or multi-year grants. For one-time grants, grantees may reapply for a new project if demonstrative goals were achieved.

Multi-year grants are contingent on submitted project budgets and determined on a case-by-case basis. Grantees may not reapply for funding while a current grant is open.

Financial information

  • Line-item budget for project to be funded
  • Organization’s current annual budget (revenues and expenditures); and
  • Organization’s most recent audited financial statement (if none, please provide organization’s most recent complete IRS Form 990)
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Reporting Requirements

Grantees are required to acknowledge receipt of all grant checks upon receipt. Grantees are required to submit a report of project accomplishments on or before the project end date. Multi-year Grantees are additionally required to submit an interim report within one (1) year after the project start date. For multi-year grants, continued funding is dependent on these progress reports.

In addition, after receiving a grant, when events that have a significant impact on the project occur before the scheduled reporting date, we should be notified immediately. Reports are required to contain the full project budget as proposed by the Grantee in its grant application and the same expense categories as the budget proposed in the grant application. An officer or other authorized responsible individual of Grantee is required to review the grant report for financial reporting and verify the report by signing the report and indicating the date reviewed.

Should Grantee fail to acknowledge receipt of a grant check and/or timely submit any grant report, the following procedures and penalties shall be applied: (i) The Foundation shall notify the Grantee in writing (the “Notice”). Grantee shall have thirty (30) days from the date of the Notice in which to submit the grant report and/or acknowledge receipt of the check, as the case may be. Grantee shall be restricted from applying for another grant for one (1) year after acknowledgement of receipt of payment and/or after submission of the report, whichever is later; (ii) Should Grantee fail to acknowledge receipt of the grant check and/or submit the grant report, as the case may be, within thirty (30) days from the date of the Notice, Grantee shall be restricted from applying for another grant for two (2) years after acknowledgement of receipt of payment and and/or after submission of the report, whichever is later.

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Restrictions - We do not fund:

    • Individuals
    • Political parties, candidates, or partisan political organizations
    • An organization’s endowment
    • Labor organizations, fraternal organizations, athletic clubs, or social clubs
    • K-12 schools, school districts, or school foundations
    • Scholarships
    • Sectarian or denominational religious organizations, except where the organization demonstrates that their programs are broadly promoted, available to anyone, and free of religious orientation
    • Sports leagues or teams

Changes to these Guidelines

JA Community Foundation reserves the right, at any time and in its sole and exclusive discretion, to amend the foregoing Grant Application and Reporting Guidelines in a manner consistent with JA Community Foundation’s mission statement.