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Japan America Society (JAS) Initiative 2014

Japan America Society of Hawaii (Honolulu, HI)
Project Reach Out: Community Outreach & Membership Development through Engagement with and Integration of Young Professional Organizations Project (Year 1)
Project Director: Lenny Yajima
$34,760
During this project, Japan America Society of Hawaii will implement Project Reach Out in order to enhance its new member prospects. The project plans to achieve this goal by deepening engagement and relevancy with the young professionals within the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program Alumni Association of Hawaii (JETAA Hawaii) and Sakura Hawaii Alumnae (SHA).

Japan America Society of San Diego Tijuana(San Diego, CA)
Capacity Building – Fundraising, Membership, & Program Development (Year 1)                                    
Project Director: Keiko Suzuki
$26,400
JAS San Diego Tijuana will plan to build organizational capacity in the areas of fundraising, membership and program development in a strategic and sustainable way by hiring a part-time coordinator, who will focus on managing and coordinating larger programs. By doing so, this will increase time that the President and Membership Coordinator to spend towards raising funds and increasing membership.

Heart of America Japan America Society(Kansas City, MO)
Greater Kansas City Japan Festival Management (Year 1)                                                                 
Project Director: Patty Woods                                                                                           
$22,000
HAJAS plans to professionalize the management of the annual Greater Kansas City Festival through the hiring of a paid Executive Director.                                                     
           
Japan America Society of St. Louis Missouri(St. Louis, MO)
Strategic Planning and Capacity Building (Year 1)
Project Director: Chikako Usui                                                                                          
$28,072
During this project, the organization plans to hire a part-time Project Manager who will lead and implement the strategic planning process by working with the leadership team consisting of the board of directors and elected officers as well as to develop capacity building programs.

Japan America Society of Minnesota(Minneapolis, MN)
JASM Outreach and Sustainability Project (Year 2¬)
Project Director: Ben van Lierop
$16,720
Through this three year grant, JASM will develop a solid fundraising campaign, hire a Program Manager, develop programs and outreach initiative to engage communities in Western Minnesota, and create opportunities to engage a more diverse audience.

Japan America Society of Kentucky(Lexington, KY)
Expanding the Mission of JASK – Bowling Green (Year 2)
Project Director: David Carpenter
$10,637
The intention of this project is to establish a JASK presence in the Bowling Green, South Central and Western regions of Kentucky in an effort to expand the society’s membership and programming.

Japan America Society of Tennessee(Nashville, TN)
Sustained Membership & Strategic Partnership (Year 2)
Project Director: Leigh Wieland
$30,000
During this two year project, JAST will enhance its reach to new member prospects from local businesses, local Japan-related organizations, young professionals, and other groups with the goal of increasing organizational membership by 60%.

Japan America Society of Alabama(Birmingham, AL)
Project JASA Beacon (Year 2)
Project Director: Tamara Moriya
$15,801
During this three year project, JASA Executive Director, President, Membership Committee Chair and members will regularly visit regions throughout Alabama, where there is a heavy Japanese company presence. The purposes of the visits are to develop JASA’s infrastructure through new and renewed memberships.

Japan America Society of Southern California(Los Angeles, California)
Campaign for Sustainability (Year 3)
Project Director: Douglas G. Erber
$44,880
The Japan America Society of Southern California will plan, implement, and evaluate an empirically based JAS Membership campaign for Sustainability, with the objectives of increasing JAS SoCal’s corporate and individual membership by 50% over the course of two years and hiring a full-time membership coordinator to continue to enhance membership levels once the Campaign has ended.

Japan Society of Northern California(San Francisco, CA)
JSNC Organizational Strategic Planning Project (Year 3)
Project Director: Tomas Logan
$8,097
The Japan America Society of Northern California intends to embark on a three-year project consisting of annual offsite board meetings planned to be conducted in January 2013, 2014, and 2015. The objectives of the first meeting will be to increase board cohesiveness through workshops and small group breakout sessions, and determine a new board structure consisting of a smaller actively engaged board and a council of advisors.

Japan America Society of Pennsylvania(Pittsburgh, PA)
Infrastructure Development (Year 3)
Project Director: Amy Boots
$10,230
The Japan Society of Pennsylvania seeks to face the challenges of sustainability by 1) hosting a fundraiser training/seminar with the objective of developing a case statement template that will be presented to and can be used by all NAJAS members to develop a new revenue source, and 2) hire a part-time employee with a deep understanding of Japanese pop culture, in order to develop programming and membership for unreached segments of the Western PA community.

Japan America Society of Central Ohio(Columbus, OH)
Strategic Planning & Infrastructure Development (Year 3)
Project Director: Akisa Fukuzawa
$22,160
The goal of this capacity building project is to position the Japan America Society of Central Ohio as a leader in fostering mutual understanding between the U.S. and Japan, by working collaboratively with corporations and individuals. JASCO is located in the center of Japanese investment in the Midwestern United States, making the organization poised for growth by providing relevant programs and networking opportunities resulting in sustainable strategic outcomes. The project methodology is comprised of four interwoven parts: 1) strategic planning; 2) professional infrastructure; 3) communication, membership and development; and 4) networking.

Japan America Society of the State of Washington(Seattle, WA)
Japan-America Society of the State of Washington Strategic Planning (Year 2)
Project Director: Dale Watanabe
$11,363
The overall project objective is to implement public forums on U.S.-Japan economic relations, in order to raise the Society’s profile, generate membership, introduce participants to others with international interests, and enhance program development by creating interest in the subject matter. Year 1 of the project will be a strategic planning exercise for board members. Steering committees of community leaders will be formed in each city, garnering input to make the forums locally relevant and providing introductions to individuals, business associations, and prospective corporate and individual members. In Year 3, large-scale public forums on Washington-Japan economic relations will take place, with direct collaboration of leaders from Japan- or internationally-focused organizations.