Selection Criteria

JUSFC’s mission is to raise awareness about the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship. Commissioners will evaluate projects based on their proposed ability to advance JUSFC’ mission by contributing to continuing to strengthen the United States’ relationship with Japan. The agency seeks applications from organizations that are committed to supporting the U.S.-Japan relationship through their programming.

All applications will be evaluated based on the following specific criteria:

• How will the proposed project contribute to raising awareness about the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship? How does it propose to contribute toward cultivating and/or maintaining knowledge of Japan in the United States?
• If the project has a transnational component, how does it specifically address U.S.-Japan relations?
• What is the significance of the proposed project? Is the project designed to make a specific contribution to the field that it is addressing?
• How does the project propose to bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to existing knowledge or resources related to Japan?
• Does the proposed project plan to address underserved areas of the United States and Japan, as well as audiences that have not been previously exposed to U.S. or Japanese culture/issues?
• What is the proposed outcome of the project? How does the applicant propose to measure success (qualitative or quantitative, as applicable)?
• What is the project’s potential for medium/long-term impact, or to awareness about Japan? How does the applicant plan to monitor and share program progress?
• What is the level of need for JUSFC’s support?
• Has the applicant sought other funding? Will the applicant be able to leverage JUSFC funding to seek support from other organizations?
• Does the proposed project’s budget include cost sharing with another organization?
• Are the project coordinators able to maintain the project after the JUSFC grant ends?

Project Narrative

The project narrative must not exceed 1,500 words and use double-spaced 12-point Garamond font. The project narrative must be organized as follows:

• How will the proposed project contribute to raising awareness about the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship? How does it propose to contribute toward cultivating and/or maintaining knowledge of Japan in the United States?
• If the project has a transnational component, how does it specifically address U.S.-Japan relations?
• Does the project engage or involve the next generation of U.S.-Japan leaders? If so, how?
• If the project involves people-to-people exchange, how does the applicant propose to manage exchange programs going forward?
• How does the project propose to bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to existing knowledge or resources related to Japan?
• What is the proposed outcome of the project? How does the applicant propose to measure success (qualitative or quantitative, as applicable)?
• What is the anticipated impact of the project for the United States and for the U.S.-Japan relationship? How will the applicant monitor implementation and communicate impact?
• What is the greatest need for JUSFC funding? Will the applicant be seeking other funding?
• How will the applicant cost-share and leverage JUSFC funding to seek support from other organizations?

Application Process

Applications must be submitted using this LINK by 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 1.  Please note, 5:00 p.m. EDT is an inflexible receipt deadline. The system will stop receiving applications at 5:01 p.m. EDT.

We are not accepting hard copies or Emailed copies.  The system will confirm receipt of your application. If you do not receive confirmation within 4 business days of submitting your application, please contact jochoa[at]jusfc[dot]gov.

All proposals must include the following:

1. JUSFC institutional grants application cover sheet.
2. Project narrative not to exceed 1,500 words, double-spaced 12-point Garamond font.
3. Letters of intent from project and/or cost-sharing partners.
4. Budget page Excel format (Please note that JUSFC is a federal agency and must abide by the “Fly America Act” All travel budget numbers must be calculated based on fares on U.S. carriers).
5. Brief half-page to one-page biographies of the principal project participants and/or organizers (in English or in Japanese).
6. Any background and explanatory material to support project design, budget request and statements and claims made in the application narrative (this may be submitted by email or via a file transfer protocol/sharing site if they are not uploadable to the application site. Flash drives or any external hardware will not be accepted).

Applications must be submitted using this LINK by 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 1.  Please note, 5:00 p.m. EDT is a receipt deadline.  We are not accepting hard copies or Emailed copies.  The system will confirm receipt of your application. If you do not receive confirmation within 4 business days of submitting your application, please contact jochoa[at]jusfc[dot]gov.

JUSFC has only one grant cycle per year.  Grants are typically decided at the JUSFC Grantmaking Meetings in September. Please see FAQs for details.