JCIE launched the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund on March 14, 2011, to collect donations from the general public. It has raised more than $1.7 million from individuals, corporations, schools, churches, and philanthropic foundations. The range of people who have organized special fundraising drives is extraordinary, from American schoolchildren to Japanese artists to healthcare professionals in Taiwan, and it includes people from all walks of life. While this was fund was intended to be JCIE’s major conduit for receiving donations, it would end up being one of the several funds managed by JCIE to aid Japanese organizations taking part in the immediate and long-term relief and recovery efforts.

Initially, half of the funds donated via the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund was allocated to the Center for Public Resources Development’s GiveOne initiative for groups providing emergency relief, while the rest was set aside for the long-term recovery. As the situation on the ground evolved, JCIE began directing the remaining contributions to the recovery stage. As part of the fund, JCIE also operated two special initiatives, the BTMU Americas Community Recovery Award, and the MetLife Alico Employees’ Children Support Program.

JCIE is no longer accepting donations for this fund, however contributions can be made to a number of other organizations doing good work to support Japan’s recovery.

 

Grantees

Emergency Relief

Half of the initial general contributions, a total of $304,000, was distributed through the Give One campaign to six of Japan’s leading nonprofit organizations that played key roles in the relief effort.

Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR, Japan)—An organization that provides emergency assistance to those in need around the world, AAR provided food and other goods to 3/11 victims with a particular focus on people with disabilities.

Association of Medical Doctors in Asia (AMDA)—An organization of health professionals, AMDA dispatched doctors and nurses to the earthquake zone to provide desperately needed medical attention.

Japan Platform—A coalition of 32 humanitarian NGOs, Japan Platform coordinated the emergency response by NGOs, corporations, and government agencies, appealing to all sectors in Japan for support.

JEN—An NGO dedicated to building global peace by helping those affected by natural disasters, JEN provided hot food to people in shelters, organized volunteers from around the country, provided psychosocial care, and more.

Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCO)—A Kyoto-based disaster response organization, NICCO provided mobile clinics and portable toilets and distributed hygienic goods.

PeaceWinds Japan—A humanitarian organization providing support for victims of natural disasters, PWJ provided free access to satellite phones and distributed food, water, blankets, and medical supplies.

 

Long-Term Recovery

Once the need for relief support had subsided, the remaining funds were used to help Japanese nonprofit organizations that were not likely to receive sufficient support from government, business, or other sources, but that were tackling issues essential for a sustainable recovery. These focused on three key issue areas—Rebuilding Community Ties, Economic Revitalization, and Supporting Senior Citizens—and one aim was to encourage the recipients to strengthen their organizational capacity and become self-sustaining. Much of the funding took the form of multiyear grants, which are still uncommon in Japan.

@Rias NPO Center (Community Bus Project)—In the town of Kamaishi (Iwate Prefecture), much of the public transportation was destroyed, so the @Rias NPO Center purchased and began operating community buses to allow local youths to take part in after-school activities, sports, and educational programs. The buses are also used for senior citizens who have no transportation. This grant was made possible by special funding from Bingham, LLC.

AidTAKATA (Radio FM Rikuzentakata)—Support was given for the operations of Radio FM Rikuzentakata, one of the region’s only local radio stations, in order to better engage community members in the reconstruction process and to provide information and entertainment for residents. The radio station broadcasts a wide range of programming including area news and community affairs, local folklore, interviews with residents, and city council meetings. For more information…

Art Revival Connection TOHOKU (ARCT)—ARCT is an arts group active in the disaster recovery efforts in Miyagi Prefecture. This grant helped the organization create and host participatory programs each month for senior citizen facilities in the city of Higashi-Matsushima, and it also supported performances by a 20-person theater troupe that consists of senior citizens from Sendai. The performances encourage interaction and help strengthen community ties. For more information…

Fuji Social Welfare Foundation (Kitchen Car Project)—Funding was given for the “Kitchen Car Project,” which offers low-fee rental food trucks to local chefs in Kamaishi who lost their restaurants. The project, funded in part by the Japan America Society of Indiana, is intended to eventually provide a path back to restaurant ownership for these chefs, and more immediately helps employ them and keeps them from leaving the region. For more information…

Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network—The Fukushima Organic Agriculture Network is working to integrate farmers displaced by the nuclear accident—many of whom are senior citizens—into the local community by matching them with local farmers who need employees. They also run a number of other programs to strengthen farming communities, such as teaching safer farming techniques and distributing accurate information on Fukushima produce. For more information…

Kamaishi Platform (Coastal Community Project: Support for Artisanal Oyster Farming)—Kamaishi Platform has been working to help revive Kamaishi’s oyster industry, which was devastated by the 14-foot tsunami that struck the town. This grant supported an initiative to restore that industry by building connections between small artisanal oyster producers in Kamaishi and Tokyo-based consumers and restaurants. The customers make contributions to support the rebirth of the industry and in return receive an allocation of oysters for the next 10 years. For more information…

Leading Aging Society Forum—Funding was provided to support the forum’s “Coordination Platform for Senior Citizens Health and Welfare,” an initiative to survey the actual needs of seniors and ensure that none slip through the cracks as different agencies try to respond to their various needs. They focused on seniors who remained in their homes rather than living in temporary housing, compiling a database of people’s health and needs in an effort to prevent isolation and suicides and to help revive the community. For more information…

SakuraNet (Pilot Project of Rural Senior’s Center)—SakuraNet coordinated a joint effort by several groups to rebuild a community center to be used primarily by senior citizens in an isolated area outside of Miyako City. Reconstruction funds for senior centers are typically focused only on urban areas, but this center provides care closer to the hamlets where many of the region’s seniors live. For more information…

Sanaburi Foundation (Nonprofit Capacity Building)—The Sanaburi Foundation was launched in 2011 as the Tohoku region’s first community foundation, and funds were given to strengthen its institutional base, conduct outreach, and reach sustainability. The aim of the foundation is to channel funds from inside and outside the region to community-based projects and, by doing this, strengthen Tohoku’s nonprofit sector. For more information…

Sankaku Planning Iwate (Delivery Care Project)—The “Delivery Care Project” hires unemployed women affected by the disasters to provide shopping services to other survivors—many of them disabled senior citizens—who have lost their homes and now live in temporary housing without transportation or other means to go out to purchase groceries and daily necessities. Through regular contact, the project staff can also keep track of the physical and mental health of their clients, who may otherwise be at risk of becoming isolated from their community. For more information…

Shanti Volunteer Association (Gather ’round, Beach Kids!)—A grant was given to support the “Gather ‘round, Beach Kids!” program, which promotes emotional healing by giving children who were traumatized by the tsunami the opportunity to experience and learn about the sea through various nature-related activities. For more information…

Takagi Fund for Citizen Science—The Takagi Fund received a grant to educate and promote collaboration among mothers’ groups, neighborhood associations, and other grassroots organizations that are dealing with radioactive contamination following the accident at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The goal is to help communities make informed decisions that will help them lead healthy and secure lives. For more information…

World in Asia (WiA)—This nonprofit, which was created shortly after the 3/11 disaster, received a grant to solidify its efforts in support of social entrepreneurship. WiA’s mission is to offer a new model for scaling up the work of local entrepreneurs to address the critical challenges facing the Tohoku region as they try not only to recover from the devastation of the earthquake, but also to create employment, provide services for the aging population, and encourage the rebuilding of community ties. For more information…

 

MetLife Alico Employees’ Children Support Program

JCIE and MetLife Alico Japan launched a special one-year program to help children and their families to cope with the recovery process. The program is made possible by donations from MetLife Alico employees, and it provided one-year grants to 21 Japanese groups for the grant period April 1, 2012—March 31, 2013. For more information…