SEEDCap JAPAN
2004–2011
The Social Entrepreneur Enhanced Development Capital Program (SEEDCap Japan), a funding initiative that was launched in 2004, offered a new model for nonprofit financing in Japan. Voyager Management, a socially conscious American “fund of funds” investment company that aggregates and invests funds for small and mid-sized hedge funds, contributed 10 percent of the incentive fees from its transactions on behalf of several Japanese corporations to JCIE. This contribution was then regranted by JCIE to exemplary Japanese nonprofit organizations that were pioneering innovative new approaches to pressing social issues. This innovative arrangement was conceived by the investment advisory firm Shibusawa & Company.
SEEDCap attracted media attention for the innovative way in which it mobilized support for the civil society sector in Japan, where funding can be especially difficult to obtain. The model addresses the interests of three sets of stakeholders. Investors take part because their investments yield solid financial returns and, as an added benefit, they realize a social return. Meanwhile, investment companies like Voyager Management are able to make social contributions, which may also appeal to socially conscious investors, with the confidence that their donations will be properly managed and distributed. Finally, nonprofit organizations receive much-needed funding for their programs. SEEDCap enabled recipient organizations to launch new activities to meet underserved societal needs and to scale up their operations.
From 2007, SEEDCap recipients were eligible to apply for two additional years of funding at reduced amounts after the completion of their first year of activities. This multiyear funding, which is not common in the Japanese context, was designed to enable the organizations to make their programs financially self-sustaining. In 2009, SEEDCap shifted from a closed application process to an open grant application process to allow organizations across Japan to apply for funding.
During the span of the program, SEEDCap funded the activities of six innovative Japanese organizations.
Read about the origins of the SEEDCap program in Civil Society Monitor, no. 10
Civil Society Monitor | Issue 10
ABOUT THE GRANTS
OurPlanet-TV
The first SEEDCap grant of several million yen was awarded for the “Torch Project” of OurPlanet-TV, an independent media portal that enables “citizen journalists” to produce programs on the social problems they are working to alleviate.
OurPlanet-TV was established in 2001 by two former television producers, women who felt it is critically important to cover issues that are being overlooked by the mainstream media. It was also intended to provide a venue for independent media from Japan to distribute their work. The organization maintains a website with web broadcasting capability, conducts workshops on media skills (video production, media relations, webcasting, etc.), and offers consulting on image editing, streaming technology, and other relevant issues. Their work focuses on encouraging nonprofit and social responsibility initiatives.
A SEEDCap grant of several million yen was made to support the “Torch Project,” a nationwide competition to select and produce films that shed light on new issues, that would have a clear focus, that are ideologically balanced, and that would not otherwise be made. Eight projects were selected out of 62 entries.
Documentaries Supported by the Torch Project
The Leprosy that Japan Wants to Forget—The stories of elderly patients in the leper colonies that Japan set up in Taiwan during the wartime occupation who are still feeling the effects of Japanese policy on leprosy.
New Test for Cancer Support Group Trying to Help Children Return to School—Exploration of the issues facing children who leave school for cancer treatment and how they can be reintegrated into the school system.
The Werewolf Returns to Tokyo—The Werewolf, a B-29 bomber, was downed in 1945 in Fujinomiya City during a bombing raid on Tokyo, and the three surviving American aviators were imprisoned and perished four months later in the firebombing of Tokyo. The daughter of the co-pilot visits Japan 60 years after the war to trace her father’s last steps and speak with the citizens of Fujinomiya.
Osaka Puppet Theater for the Homeless—Formerly homeless volunteer workers, with an average age of 72 years old, try to stage a traditional puppet theater performance in Tokyo.
Three Years After the Nagoya Prison Incident—Have Japanese Prisons Changed?—Update on the status of abused prisoners and prison reform in the aftermath of the Nagoya prison abuse scandal.
Haraken—The mother of a son who refused to attend school since he was in second grade deals with the epidemic of children dropping out of school for psychological reasons by opening a “play space” for dropout, bullied, and handicapped children.
Noriko’s Flamenco—A look at the growing popularity of flamenco in Japan and the culture that surrounds it through the eyes of Noriko, a devoted flamenco dancer.
Alarm Bells from the Denture Factory—An investigative report of the economics and self-dealing involved in the production and distribution of dentures and false teeth in an aging nation.
