Applying For 2025 Keiro Grants

Keiro’s 2025 Grants Cycle is now open for submissions. Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, September 6, 2024.

This year, Keiro is once again prioritizing programs, services, and projects that focus on enhancing the quality of life for older adults and caregivers in the Japanese American and Japanese-speaking community of Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties.

Keiro fulfills its mission by supporting culturally-sensitive programs, services, and collaborations that incorporate key elements contributing to a high quality of life for older adults and their caregivers, as listed below:

Health/Wellness: A person’s health/wellness is defined by their physical, mental, and emotional state of being. Health/wellness includes both the presence, absence and/or risk of disease and symptoms, and the individual’s perception of their health status.
Purpose: An older adult should have at least one self-defined purpose – something that brings meaning and joy to their life. Purpose can include family and friends, community engagement, hobbies, and spirituality. While it is often revisited throughout one’s lifetime, a lack of purpose can contribute to a decline in wellbeing.
Connectedness: Humans are inherently social and need engagement through social networks to thrive. Connectedness – whether at an individual, family, or community level – is vital to physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Lack of social connection, including in-person and virtually, has been shown to have significant negative impact on overall health/wellness.
Security: A sense of security is necessary for older adults to live a healthy and fulfilling life. Security includes financial stability; consistent housing; a reliable social network; and access to high quality, affordable services. A lack of security in even one of the previously listed areas can impede an older adult’s quality of life.
Autonomy: As older adults age, autonomy and the ability to choose how to live life the way they want should be maintained as much as possible. Although physical and/or cognitive limitations may make this difficult, lacking even a feeling of autonomy can lead to a decline in quality of life.

Applications must share information on how at least one of these areas of quality of life is being enhanced for the community’s older adults and caregivers.

Keiro will prioritize:

Applicant organizations with annual operating budgets of less than $1 million, to support grassroots organizations
Funding for recurring or periodic programs (versus funding for one-time events) to provide sustained, accessible support for quality of life of older adults and caregivers

There will be one funding level of up to $20,000. Although organizations may apply for more than one grant, funding will be limited to a maximum of $20,000 per organization.

The grant period is up to 10 months (March 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025).

Grant funds can be used for:

Program development to design new programs and/or enhance existing programs and services
Capacity building to help organizations plan, effectively manage, retool systems or methods, and/or build sustainability
Core operations to maintain provision of high quality, high demand services with demonstrated outcomes and strong participation

For the 2025 cycle, capital projects will not be funded. Capital projects include facility renovations; purchase, lease and/or maintenance of vehicles and related costs; and purchase, lease and/or maintenance of large equipment (including but not limited to stoves, refrigerators, HVAC systems, etc.) and related costs.

All applications must be submitted in English.

The submission period for the 2025 Grants Cycle is now open. Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, September 6, 2024. For any questions, please contact [email protected].

Announcement of the results of the 2025 cycle will be made by February 2025.

The Grants Program enables Keiro to advance its mission of enhancing the quality of senior life in Our Community by providing support for new and ongoing programs. Grantmaking allows Keiro to extend its resources by investing in local organizations and agencies providing services to Japanese American and Japanese-speaking older adults in Southern California.

Keiro’s Grants Program has funded over 70 organizations through program development, capital improvements, capacity building, and core operating support.

Grant applications are evaluated by an independent review committee comprised of members of the Japanese American and Japanese-speaking community, with experience in nonprofits, business, and health care.

For any questions about the program, please email [email protected] or call 213.873.5711 and leave a message.

Application

2025 Keiro Grant Application
2025 Keiro Grant Application – Project Budget Worksheet

Grant Workshops

Keiro will be offering two, one-hour informational online workshops to discuss eligibility requirements, program goals, the application process, and changes to the 2025 grants program. Registration is required to attend a workshop and can be completed here.

Workshops are scheduled as follows:

Thursday, July 25 | 10:00 a.m.
Monday, July 29 | 2:00 p.m.*

*Denotes that the workshop will be offered in Japanese and English

Sign-Up for Workshops

Guidelines and FAQ

Please refer to the guidelines and FAQ for more information.

2025 Keiro Grant Guidelines (English)

2025 Keiro Grants FAQ (English)

2025 Keiro Grant Guidelines (Japanese)

2025 Keiro Grants FAQ (Japanese)

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible organizations must meet one of the following criteria:

Nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt under IRS Section 501(c)(3)
Community groups that have a 501(c)(3) organization serving as their fiscal sponsor
Faith-based nonprofit organizations that welcome and serve all members of the community

Eligible proposals must be for programs, services and projects that:

Primarily serve older adults and/or caregivers in the Japanese American and Japanese community
Serve Los Angeles, Orange, and/or Ventura Counties

Ineligible Submission Types

Funds will not be granted to the following:

Programs, services, and projects that are focused outside of the three identified communities (Los Angeles County, Orange County, and Ventura County)
Government agencies and institutions
Medical research
Individuals
Fundraising events
Endowments
Political campaigns and/or lobbying
Grantmaking institutions and/or pass-through grants

Resources

These resources may provide helpful statistics and facts that can assist organizations when applying for Keiro grants: