The Foundation's deadline for Fall 2010 letters of inquiry is July 15, 2010.
The Foundation announces winners of its 2010 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award. link here
The Foundation awarded Hon. Robin Chandler Duke with its Distinguished Service Award. link here
Our annual reports are available here: link here
The Application Process
After carefully reviewing the Notes and Limitations section below, please submit a Letter of Inquiry of 3-4 pages. This should include: a brief description of the proposed project and its objectives, any necessary background information on the project and applicant, and a brief budget estimate. Letters of Inquiry may be written in either Japanese or English. The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to discuss projects with prospective grantees. Click here for contact information.
Letters of Inquiry will be reviewed by the Foundation's staff upon receipt and a response will be sent as soon as possible.
If the Letter of Inquiry fits within USJF's funding guidelines and there is interest, the applicant will be invited to prepare a Full Proposal. Click here to see a description of the Full Proposal format and content guidelines. Please note that unsolicited Full Proposals will not be reviewed and will not be returned to the applicant.
Application Deadlines
The Foundation welcomes Letters of Inquiry anytime during the year, but not later than January 15 for the Spring Grant Cycle and July 15 for the Fall Grant Cycle. The Foundation cannot gurantee that Letters of Inquiry received after these dates will be considered for the current grant cycle. Letters of Inquiry will be reviewed and decisions to invite a Full Proposal will be sent as soon as possible .
Full Proposals must be received by February 28 for the Spring Cycle and August 31 for the Fall Cycle. The USJF Board meets in April and October when funding decisions are made. Funding decisions are announced shortly after these meetings.
| April Funding Cycle (Please note amended dates) |
| By January 15 (December 15 for the Spring Round) |
Suggested submission
date for Letters of Inquiry. Please note that in spite
of this deadline, applicants are encouraged to submit a Letter
of Inquiry as early as practicably possible for review. We
are unable to guarantee that those submitted close to the deadline
will be reviewed and they may have to wait for the next cycle. |
| January 15-February 1 (December 15 to January 3 for the Spring Round) |
Letters of Inquiry will be reviewed and responses sent as soon as possible. |
| February 28 (January 31 for the Spring Round) |
Deadline for receipt
of Full Proposal (only invited Full Proposals will
be considered) |
| March (February for the Spring Round) |
Internal / External
review of Full Proposals |
| April |
USJF Board of Trustees
meet to review Full Proposals, make funding decisions |
| May |
Funding decisions
announced |
| October Funding Cycle |
| By July 15 |
Suggested submission
date for Letters of Inquiry. Please note that in spite
of this deadline, applicants are encouraged to submit a Letter
of Inquiry as early as practicably possible for review. We
are unable to guarantee that those submitted close to the deadline
will be reviewed and they may have to wait for the next cycle. |
| July 15-July
31 |
Letters of Inquiry will be reviewed and responses sent as soon as possible. |
| August 31 |
Deadline for receipt
of Full Proposal (only invited full proposals will
be considered) |
| September |
Internal / External
review of Full Proposals |
| October |
USJF Board of Trustees
meet to review Full Proposals, make funding decisions |
| November |
Funding decisions
announced |
Notes and Limitations
Before applying for a grant, please take the time to carefully review the following notes and limitations:
- The following types of projects fall outside of the Foundation's guidelines: undergraduate education, cultural performances or exhibitions, student exchanges, sports exchanges, publication subsidies (unless directly related to a current USJF project), and scientific research. Grants cannot be made to individuals or for-profit organizations. Foundation grants may not be used for lobbying or to support election to public offices. The Foundation does not award grants as contributions to capital campaigns, endowment funds, deficit operations or for the construction or maintenance of buildings or other physical premises.
- The Foundation accepts no responsibility for keeping any part of a request confidential and reserves the right to discuss a proposal with outside consultants to assist the program staff in its evaluation.
