August 4-7, 2013, Tokyo

Strategy Conferenceof ACT
Report and Plan of Action

Asian Community Center 21(ACT Secretariat)

Introduction

Established in 1979 with an initial trusted funds of 15 million yen (154,671 US dollars based on theexchange rate of May 1, 2013) from MRA Foundation and the late Mr. Yasutaro Imai, Asian Community
Trust (ACT) is Japan’s first Charitable Trust which accepts bequests and funds donated by Japanese individuals and organizations. The trusters designated seven trust banks and one bank as trustees.
I myself have been involved with ACT since the beginning, when the Japan Center for International
Exchange (JCIE) was commissioned to be its first Secretariat by the above group of trustees. There,
I worked as ACT’s Executive Secretary for eight and a half years. Ten years after I left JCIE, I became
involved again with ACT, this time with the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC),
where at the time I was working as Managing Director, being commissioned as ACT Secretariat from thetrustees. Having been unable to concentrate on ACT under the JANIC scheme and wanting to pursue theidea and the mission of ACT and to develop further its activities, in 2005, after I left JANIC, I establishedthe Asian Community Center 21 (ACC21), an NGO for international cooperation which took over therole of ACT Secretariat.
From more than twenty years of involvement with ACT, I was able to come up with four challenges
ACT must face. First is the lack of funds that will allow ACT to evaluate either its funded projects or ACT
as a whole. There are no such funds (donations) within ACT itself, nor does ACC21 have the ability tospare its own financial resources for the purpose mentioned above. This is why, conducting an overall
evaluation of ACT and of outcomes of the projects it funded in the past proved to be impossible.
Second is the relationship between ACT (a provider of grants) and grantees (recipients of grants).
Ideally, the relationship between Asian local NGOs, which design and implement projects, and ACT,
which provides financial support to those projects, should be that of equal partners. However, being in
the position of reviewing the details of the proposed projects, there are times when the ACT Secretariat
shows strictness to the applying local NGOs. On the other hand, there are cases in which local NGOs
requiring funds to implement projects take an amenable behavior towards the ACT Secretariat. I would
sometimes ask myself if donors with financial power are superior after all. Even within such a hierarchicalrelationship, I believe the donors should possess a sense of humility and should respect the autonomy
and independence of the applicant and implementing organizations.
Third is the fund-raising scheme of ACT. With the rapid economic growth of Asian countries, webegan questioning whether in ACT, only Japanese citizens and/or companies should remain to be theproviders of funds, or whether we should start considering a system in which citizens and/or companiesof each country in Asia would also contribute to ACT. Thus, ACT could start a system of “ACT Country
Funds” in each country in Asia to which the local communities and business companies can donate, transforming ACT into a Trust for a genuine “Asian Community”.
Fourth is the utilization of the networks with Asian local NGOs that ACT has cultivated over the years.
Up to the present day, ACT has provided financial support to more than 190 local organizations in 14
different countries in Asia. Through this valuable networks, local NGOs can effectively make full use of
their knowledge and experiences by learning from each other as well as developing a relationship to support each other. By creating networks like this, we will be able to make full use of the funds provided by
the donors of ACT.
I believe ACT could only expand further if these challenges are met. We planned this “ACT Strategy
Conference” with the objective of formulating strategies on the future roles of ACT. We invited four leaders of local NGOs funded by ACT and the leader of Asian Farmers’ Association to a week long conference,in which many from Japanese NGOs, funding organizations and companies participated. From the fruitful discussions, we received valuable advice and the suggestions. Please allow me to use this opportunity
to express my gratitude to everyone who participated.
Lastly, we would like to thank the Toyota Foundation for sharing our vision and for providing us the
grant to turn our plan into reality. We are also grateful to the MRA Foundation which endowed the very
first fund to establish ACT and also for providing support to this project, and to the Niwano Peace Foundation for their generosity to provide us the grant.

Michio Ito
President & CEO
Asian Community Center 21(Executive Secretary, ACT)1

Table of contents

Page

Introduction1
Table of contents

2~3

I. Overview

4~7

1. Overview

4~5

2. Schedule

6~7

II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted
1. ACT at Present and its Challenges
2. Results of the Survey on ACT Grantees		Charts of Survey Results

8 ~ 228~9
10 ~ 13
14 ~ 15

3. Study on the Flow of Capital from Japanese Grant making
Foundations to local NGOs in Asian countries andthe Position of ACT in the context
of Japan’s International Cooperation Efforts in Asia

216 ~ 22

Page

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities
1. Summary

23 ~ 4023

2. Accomplishment Report and Experience-sharing of
ACT-funded projects

24 ~ 29

3. Group Discussions

30〜33

4. Sum-up meeting of ACT Strategy Conference

34 ~ 35

5. Experience Sharing (Individual Programs)

36 ~ 40

IV. Recommendations (Creating a frameworkof mutual support in Asia and the role of ACT)

41 ~ 48

V. Appendices49 ~ 53



1. List of participants

49 ~ 50

2. Profiles of overseas participants

51 ~ 52

3. About ACC21 and ACT

53

3

I. Overview
I. Overview

1. Project title
New Paradigm of Collaboration among Asian
NGOs and the Role of Asian Community Trust(ACT) - Strategy Conference of ACT Secretariat
and Leaders of its Local NGO Partners in Asia -2. Organizer

Asian Community Center 21（ACC21）(“Specified non-profit corporation” status holder)

Address:
ABK Bldg, 2-12-13, Honkomagome,
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8642, JAPAN
TEL:+81-3-3945-2615 FAX:+81-3-3945-2692
E-mail:info@acc21.org
URL:
ACC21 website: http://www.acc21.org/
ACT website: http://www.acc21.org/act/
Mr. Michio ITO (President & CEO)Ms. Mari SUZUKI (Executive Secretary)

3. Dates and Place of Conference andExperience-sharing Activities
Place: Tokyo and Miyagi Prefecture
Dates (Conference only*): August 4-7, 2013
*Excluding arrival and departure dates of overseas participants, survey period, and post-conference follow-up activities

4

4. Outline of the project(1) Background of the project
Characteristics, Achievements and Challenges of
ACT
Pursuing a vision of developing a sense of “community” in the Asian region where people help one another,
Asian Community Trust (ACT), the first Japanese charitable trust which accepts donations and bequests, was established in 1979 to support various non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) involved in social development
and other related activities through funds donated by
Japanese individuals and organizations. Over a span of 33
years from 1980 to 2013, ACT has provided grants totaling
to around 625 million Japanese yen (approximately 6.44
million US dollars based on the exchange rate of May 1,2013) for a total of 536 projects, a majority of which were
supported for several years, by more than 190 local NGOs
in 14 countries/region in Asia.
In recent years, ACT has been providing grants ofaround 35 million yen (approx. 360,000 US dollars) intotal annually and the average amount of the grant per
project is 2 million yen (approx. 20,000 US dollars), with amaximum of 3.5 million yen (approx. 360,900 US dollars)
and a minimum of 500 thousand yen (approx. 5,000 US
dollars). Project grants continue for at least three years,
and if the project seems to have a fruitful outcome, ACT
encourages the project’s expansion and diffusion andmay provide support for another 2 years (total of 5 years).
The total annual number of beneficiaries who received
support from ACT-funded projects is more than 200,000
people (as of 2012).
The four characteristics of ACT are: (1) It allows the
local NGO to play the main role in the project (ACT isa supporting partner); (2) It supports the poor throughactivities that vitalize the community based on community
participation; (3) It has a wide network of recipient organizations (mainly local NGOs) across countries in Asia; (4)It is possible to set up within ACT a “special fund” where,
through a donation of 10 million yen (approx. 103,000
US dollars) or more, the Japanese donor can specify the
project area as well as target countries/region.
On the other hand, due to the Charitable trust system
of ACT, there are some conditions which limit the waysof using donations (trust fund). Therefore, even if it has
a wide network of NGOs in different countries in Asia,
ACT cannot sufficiently carry out its role in terms of disseminating and sharing the success stories of model cases
which had realized their goal of creating self-sustaining
developed communities.

Challenges for Japan and Developing Countries inAsia
In developing countries in Asia, civic voluntary organizations, which are created to help the poor by implementing projects using grants from international funding
agencies or other funding sources, are playing a very important role. However, many of these organizations lackthe financial resources to implement continuous and selfsustaining projects, and therefore depend on the financial
support from international funding agencies such as ACT
for long periods of time. At the same time, there is a question of whether even a part of the wealth of the growing
middle and upper classes in the countries experiencing
rapid economic growth is actually being channeled to theprojects of local NGOs working towards poverty eradication.
Japan, on the other hand, had to suffer damages fromthe Great Eastern Japan earthquake and tsunami andthe nuclear accident, amid its problems of aging society
with a falling birth rate and economic stagnation. Withaccumulating domestic problems, the citizens’ interest inproviding support towards developing countries in Asia is
expected to wane for a while. Similar to other developed
countries that are suffering economic stagnation, ODA(grant aids, among others) from EU or North America, as
well as funding from international NGOs or international
institutions may also decrease. Due to the slowing downof the economic growth of developed countries, a harsheconomic environment is expected for medium and small
scale local NGOs in Asia.

(2) Purpose of the Project
Under the aforementioned conditions, this project
has two major purposes. First, it aims to study and sharethe experiences of ACT grantees participating in the conference, that is, how they tackled problems and overcame
difficulties, especially the successful ones, leading to a sustainable development in their own local communities.
Second, it aims to search for new ways of partnership
between communities in Asia via the sharing of experiences of model cases across the region which were successful in tapping financial resources including local ones,
especially in this period of rapid economic growth in theregion; thus, paving the way for the shift from the one-way
provision of financial support by the Japanese citizens to
the mutual support between actively participating locals
of an Asian “community.”(3) Summary of Project Activities
Leaders of local partner NGOs of ACT, which succeeded in expanding their projects in their home countries,
and the leader of regional network NGO from 4 different countries in Asia * gathered in Tokyo, Japan at the
beginning of August 2013 to take part in conferences,public symposia, a meeting with the donors of ACT and
its trustees, and to meet and interact with concerned Japanese NGOs as well as to make field visits. The results ofthe conferences, public symposia, meetings, and surveys
conducted before the Strategy Conferences will be summarized into a report-cum-plan of action which will be
widely distributed inside and outside Japan (*The reportin Japanese was completed in December 2013 and was distributed to the individuals and organizations concerned).
* Dr. Saing Koma YANG, President of CEDAC (Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture)
in Cambodia was expected to participate in the conference but had to cancel due to the unstable political situation in Cambodia following the national elections held at
the end of July 2013.

5

2. Schedule(1) ACT Strategy Conference* (August 4th, 5th and 7th 2013)
Aug. 4 (Sun)Introductory meeting of the ACT Strategy Conference (1)15:00~17:30-Orientation-Reporting of results of the survey/research done by ACT Secretariat/ACC21(held at Asia Bunka Kaikan (ABK) Room 101)

Aug. 5 (Mon)ACT Strategy Conference (2)9:15~9:30

Opening Remarks, Orientation and Introduction of the participants by Mr. Michio Ito (President &CEO, ACC21/Executive Secretary, ACT)
(Venue: JICA Global Plaza)

9:30~12:30

Experience-sharing of ACT funded-projects
1) Ms. Prateep UNGSONGTHAM HATA (Thailand): “Mobile Learning Center Project” (1985-87)
2) Mr. Jaime Aristotle B. ALIP (The Philippines): “The Landless People’s Bank Project” (1989-91)
and “Building Capacity for Local NGOs and Microfinance Institutions in Cambodia” (2008-10)3) Ms. Karunawathie MENIKE (Sri Lanka): “Income Generation Programmes for Women Victims of
Tsunami for Self-reliance Development” (2005-13)5) Ms. Annie GEORGE: “Knowledge Management, Networking and Coordination for Enhanced
Disaster Resilience” (2012-13)
6) Ms. Ayako FUJII (Japan) (President, WE21 Japan): “Save the life, lifestyle and culture of the Indigenous Peoples (IP) –Environmental Activity of Abandoned Mines in Benguet, Philippines”(2010-12)
Question and Answer Session

13:30~14:00

Special Address: “Endogenous Development and Role of Farmers’ Organizations (FOs) in Asia”
Speaker: Ms. Ma. Estrella PENUNIA (The Philippines)

14:10~16:30

ACT Strategy Conference (3)Group Discussion: “Challenges for Endogenous Development and People’s Collaboration
across National Borders and Resource Mobilization: Expected Role of ACT”Topics for discussion by group:a. What is endogenous development?
b. Relations with overseas donors and impacts to endogenous development
c. Partnership building across borders and challenges
d. How can Asian NGOs/POs (CBOs) secure sustainable financial sources for their activities to pursue endogenous development?
e. Recommendations to ACT

6

I. Overview

16:50~18:10

ACT Strategy Conference (4) –Plenary Session: “New Paradigm of Collaboration among Asian
NGOs and Roles of ACT”
-Sharing of the results of group discussions-Recommendations to ACT for Plan of Action

18:10~18:15

Closing Remarks

18:30~20:00

Buffet dinner hosted by ACC21 (Venue: Cafeteria in JICA Global Plaza)Aug. 7 (Wed)Sum-up meeting of ACT Strategy Conference (5)18:00~19:00* Closed-door meeting(2) Open seminars/Fora/Symposia and Experience-sharing& Networking
Aug. 2 (Fri) – 3 (Sat): Field trip to the affected areas of the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami(Tome City, Minamisanriku Town and Kesennuma city), Meetings with the affected people and local
NGOs/POs (CBOs)
Aug. 3 (Sat)16:00~18:00

Aug. 6 (Tue)
09:15-11:30

Meeting with Filipino communities in Japan(Organized in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and the Japan-Philippines
NGO Network (JPN))
Meeting with ACT Trustees (trust banks), donors and members of Executive Advisory Committee(Organized in cooperation with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Ltd., the Chief Bank of Board of Trustees)

13:00-15:00

Visit to the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation(Tour of the Foundation museum & Seminar by Mr. Masahide Shibusawa, President of the Foundation)

17:00-20:00

Open Seminar “Increasing Interest in BOP Business in neighboring Asian countries by JapaneseCompanies: Expectations and Advice from NGO Leaders in Asia”(Co-organized with Japan Philanthropic Association in cooperation with Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)

18:00-20:45

Symposium “Linking peoples engaged in Reconstruction Efforts: The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami”(Co-organized with Daiwa Securities Group Co.*, Joshi Kyoiku Shoureikai (Empowering Women Em
powering Society) and Japan NPO Center)*Donor of ACT Special fund “The Daiwa Securities Group Tsunami Reconstruction Fund”

Aug. 7 (Wed)09:00-11:00
13:30-17:00

Visit to the Japan Civil Network for Disaster Relief in the East Japan (JCN), Tokyo
Public Symposium “Magsaysay Awardees Share Their Experiences and Future Perspective of
Asia: The Role of NGOs/Social Enterprises in Promoting Endogenous Development and Symbiotic Communities in Asia”(Co-organized with the Graduate School of Social Design Studies and Social Design Lab, Rikkyo
University)7II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted
1. ACT at Present and its Challenges(1) ACT at Present
Over a span of 33 years from the time it started its
grant-making activities in 1980 until March 2013, ACT
has provided grants totaling to around 625 million Japanese yen for a total of 536 projects by more than 190 local
NGOs in 14 countries/region in Asia. Focusing on local
NGOs as recipients, a grant may amount from half a million yen to 3 million yen, with an average amount of 1.6
to 1.7 million yen and an average grant period of 3 years.
Even with this small amount, ACT grants support projects that are initiated by locals and that address the needsof the locals. In recent years, the beneficiaries of ACT
grants have reached up to more than 100,000 individuals
in Asia every year.

(2) Strengths of ACT: Four Characteristics
ACT has the following four characteristics:① Direct support for local NGOs
In Asia, local NGOs led by local champions, are implementing projects for the benefit of the public in different
fields such as basic education, health and medical care,environment conservation and others, and are thus, playing a very important role in social development in the region. ACT has been providing financial support to such
local NGOs from the time of its establishment in 1979.
This kind of support scheme and approach is nothing newfrom the Western perspective but in Japan, it is quite rare;hence, it can be said that since its establishment, ACT has
been performing a unique role among Japanese funding
agencies.
② Support for community development based on
the initiative and active participation of the locals
ACT gives priority in funding projects that are basedon the initiative of the locals and are implemented utilizing the human resources, wisdom and technologies of thecommunity.
③ Support for the network building with Asian
NGOs and the collaborative relationships among
these NGOs
With a track record of working with more than 190
NGOs from 14 countries/region in Asia, ACT makes useof its extensive network and supports international cooperation and partnerships among local NGOs beyond
national borders, and also between Japanese and other
Asian NGOs.
For instance, ACT had supported the sharing of
the methodologies and experiences of the largest

8

microfinance institution in the Philippines, CARD, which
was supported by ACT during the period of its establishment, to other ACT grantees in Vietnam and Cambodia.
ACT has been recently supporting collaborative projects
that promote grassroots exchange and knowledge/experience-sharing between Japanese and other Asian people
or organizations, which result in the growth and development of both parties (grants from ACT Special Fund
“Asian People’s Partnership Support Fund”).
④ ACT “Special Funds” that reflect the wishes ofthe donors (Field of interest, country/region canbe specified)
All funds of ACT come from donations from the Japanese private sectors composed of individuals and privatecompanies. There are two methods of donating: (1) Donating any amount which will go to the “General Fund”;or (2) Donating 10 million yen (approx. 100,000 USD)
or more which will allow the donor to set up a “Special
Fund” in which the donor can specify which country, areaor field the funds will be used in. “Special Funds” can be
set up in a simplified process, and as mentioned above,
the program areas (field of interest, country/region) tobe supported by these Funds can be specified. As of August 2013, there are 25 Special Funds set up within ACT,
in which 8 Funds had already terminated.

(3) Challenges for ACT① Principles and strategy-making of ACT
Unlike other grant making foundations that possess
the principal funds and are allowed to design their own
grant-making programs, ACT provides grants based on
the agreement made with the donors (the trustors/founders of the ACT Special Funds) who specified the field(*1),
country or area where the fund will be used in.
Since the target field, country, and/or area of a majority of the Special Funds are loosely stated, local Asian
NGOs have the liberty in designing their projects as longas the projects meet the minimal requirements specified
by the Special Funds. However, ACT itself only plays therole of mediator between the donors of the Special Funds
and applicant organizations, and is therefore limited in
putting forward its own ideas. Only the “General Fund”
which provides grants to more project types or fields allows ACT to plan and design policies and strategies on
the grant program based on its experiences on the field.
However, at present, the fund is very limited in scale.
② Finding new funding sources
While some of the ACT Special Funds were createdthrough the efforts of the ACT Secretariat, many were created by clients of the trustee banks who wanted to create
a trust fund with the money from will or inheritance, andTotal number of ACT-funded Projects and Grant
Amount per Annum (Fiscal Year 1980 – 2012)
5,000

50

Total number of projects

40

4,000

Total grant amount

3,000

30

2,000

20

1,000

10

0

1980

85

90

95 2000 05
Year

Fields of ACT-funded Projects(Fiscal Year 1980-2012)

10 12

Number of projects

Amount (in units of JPY 10,000)

was referred to ACT by the Trust Banks. However, cases
where people contact the ACT Secretariat (ACC21) to inquire about donations after coming across ACT throughthe website or by other means have been increasing recently. For the past two years, a total of 4 Special Funds,
with each Fund amounting from 20 million to 138 million yen (approx. 200 thousand to 1.42 million USD) havebeen created. However, the ACT Secretariat spent a considerable amount of time consulting with the clients until
contracts were exchanged with the particular trustee bankin charge and the Special Fund was created.
There are several challenges ACT faces in actively
looking for funding sources. First, trustee banks of ACT
cannot actively campaign for ACT because the banks arehandling many other Charitable Trusts as well. Second, before obtaining its status of “Certified Charitable Trust” towhich donations are tax-deductible, the ACT Secretariat
had relatively more freedom in deciding specific themes
for its donation campaigns, such as its “Donation drive for
Oshins (*2) in Asia” or “Green Nepal Campaign”. However, after obtaining such status, campaigns such as these
had become disallowed which is a big constraint for the
ACT Secretariat since it considers raising funds for an abstract reason such as “the benefit of the Asian people” difficult in attracting people to donate to ACT.
In the face of these challenges, the ACT Secretariat(ACC21) should call more attention to the activities androle of ACT by investing money, time and manpower on
publicity and activities disseminating information andraising public awareness. In particular, aside from the recent increase in non-for-profit organizations to which donations are tax-deductible and are possible candidates forrecipients of donations from will or inheritance (e.g.: Certified Specified Nonprofit Organizations to which donations are tax-deductible under the Law to Promote Specified Nonprofit Activities, Public Interest Incorporated
Foundations, Public Interest Incorporated Associations),
there is the Japanese version of “Planned Giving” trust
which was started based on the 2011 Revised Tax Law. The“Planned Giving” trust allows trustors (donors) to specify
organizations to which the trust will make donations bya legal trust contract for specified donation. As a result,
ACT has lost its comparative advantage in terms of receiving tax-deductible donations and must therefore intensify
the publicity of its activities. ACT cannot simply continue
its publicity activities such as publication of Annual Report or introduction of grant projects on its website; fromhere on in, it should hold more events such as symposiathat will introduce and appeal the achievements of ACT aswell as the current situation of the Asian people
Based on the strengths and challenges mentioned
above, two types of surveys were conducted: one is to
grasp the current situation of flow of money (in the formof grants and others) from Japan to local Asian NGOs,

0

Conservation of
Human Environment (2)Academic Research (8)Promotionof Culture (1)Protection of Natural
Environment (24)Others (4)SocialDevelopment (49)
Appropriate
Technology
(55)
Rural
Development(132)(Some projects are
considered under two
fields or more.)

Education &YouthDevelopment( 268 projects)

Health &Medical Care
(171)

and to locate the current position of ACT within this flow;
and another is to evaluate the current and past funded
projects of ACT and to ask for comments and suggestions
from the grantees to ACT. Please refer to the succeeding
pages for details.
─────────────────────────
*1 Based on its original agreement with the initial trustors of ACT,ACT provides financial support to projects conducted in Asian
countries that fall under any of the following fields: Promotion ofagriculture, social development, academic research, promotion of
education/culture, medical care, health, improvement of social welfare, healthy development of the youth, and protection of naturalenvironment and conservation of human environment. In setting
up an ACT Special Fund, the donor can choose any of these fields.
*2 “Oshin” is a Japanese serialized morning television series on the
Nippon Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) which tells the story ofShin Tanokura, or Oshin, a girl born in a very poor rural family in Japan, who through hard work and perseverance eventually triumphs
over pain and adversity to achieve fame and success.

92. Results of the Survey on ACT Grantees

The survey was conducted by sending a questionnaireby email, fax or post to one hundred forty-nine (149) local
NGOs that had received or are currently receiving grants
from ACT. Thirty-four (34) NGOs responded to the survey. The results were presented to the internal meeting
between overseas participants, facilitators (three membersof the ACT Executive Advisory Committee) and the ACT
Secretariat held in the afternoon of August 4, 2013. The
participants in the meeting discussed and made someclarification about the results as well as provided theircomments and suggestions. It was strongly suggested thatsome of the questions be reformulated to conform to the
DAC Criteria for Evaluating Development Assistance *which are (1) Relevance; (2) Effectiveness; (3) Efficiency; (4)Impact; and (5) Sustainability.
As suggested, the survey questionnaire was revisedand sent to the 34 respondents. Out of the 34 NGOs,
twenty-two (22) NGOs responded to the additional questionnaire. The results of both the original and additionalquestionnaires are reported below.
* Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Criteria for
Evaluating Development Assistance(1) Summary of Responses
a. Countries, Fields of Projects, and Group of Beneficiaries of the Respondents
The 34 respondents came from 9 different countries,in which the top three are the Philippines, Indonesia, andCambodia. The average length of years in which they received grants from ACT is 2.7 years, and the total amountof grants these 34 respondents received is 167 million yen(approx. 1.722 million US dollars). The target fields ofthe respondents are (in descending order): “education,”“rural development,” “gender,” “microfinance,” “agriculture,” “medicine and health care,” and so on, while forthe target group of beneficiaries, the group with the most
responses is “women,” followed by “children and youth,”and then “farmers.”b. Self-evaluation on ACT-funded projects
In terms of “rate of achievement of final goals (longterm)”, 43% of the respondents answered “100% of theirgoals were achieved” while the other 43% answered “75%achieved”. In terms of “rate of achievement of objectives(short-term)”, 48% of the respondents answered “75%achieved” while only 46% answered “100% achieved”.
For “rate of achievement of proposed activities”, 89% of the
respondents claimed that they conducted “100% of theiractivities” while the remaining 11% replied that they conducted “75% of their activities”. From the statistics given
above, it can be concluded that more than 80% of the respondents achieved more than 75% of their project goals, objec-

10

tives, and activities.
On the other hand, in terms of “number of beneficiaries reached”, 62% of the respondents said that they wereable to reach “100% of the intended number of beneficiaries”, 30% responded with “50%”, and 8% said “75%”.
From these figures, it can be concluded that 60% of the
respondents had a 100% coverage of the intended number ofbeneficiaries while 30% had covered only half of the intended
number of beneficiaries.
For “success rate of the project”, 51% of the respondents
evaluated their projects as “quite successful” while 46%
evaluated theirs as “very successful”. Therefore, it can besaid that 97% of the respondents evaluated their projects as
successful. 3% were “neutral” on the matter.
When the respondents were asked about the “factorsthat contributed to the success of the project”, most of themanswered “Good project team” and “Well-conceived plan”(19% each), followed by “Cooperative efforts of beneficiaries/other stakeholders” (17%), “Good leadership of the
project leader” (15%), “Sufficient funding” (14%), and“Sufficient time” (12%).
Conversely, when asked about “aspects where the project
was lacking”, most of the respondents answered “Funding”(30%), “Time” (25%), and “Cooperation from the beneficiaries/other stakeholders” (22%). Other responses
were “Others”, “Planning,” and “Coordination within theteam”.
In terms of “Rate of satisfaction of beneficiaries on the support provided by the project”, 51% of the respondents said
their beneficiaries were “very satisfied”, 43% said “moderately satisfied” and 6% said they “don’t know”. In otherwords, 94% of the respondents feel that their beneficiaries are
satisfied with the support provided by the projects.
When asked how much the project has developed
from the end of the ACT grant up until present, 32% of
the respondents replied that their project has developed“75%”, 22% answered “100% developed”, 19% respondedwith “50% developed” and 3% said “25% developed”. It
can be concluded that more than half of the respondents wereable to develop their projects up to 75% even after the grantfrom ACT has finished.
c. Evaluation on ACT Funding Scheme
In terms of ACT funding, the respondents were asked
if the “grant was sufficient for the implementation of the project”, and 70% of the respondents said that “Yes” while theremaining 30% said “No”. When those who said “No”
were asked “how they overcame the problem of insufficient
funds”, 57% replied that “the project was adjusted to fit
the budget”, which means the local NGOs might havecut down costs or reduced the scale of the project. Other
ways mentioned were “Grant(s) from another fundingorganization(s)”, “Solicitation for donations”, and “Others” (14% each).

II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted

The respondents were also asked about the “positive
and negative aspects of ACT”. In terms of the “positive aspectsof ACT”, the following aspects were highly regarded by the
respondents: (1) communication with the Secretariat; (2)ACT remittance procedures; and (3) the application andreport requirements. On the other hand, the question on
the “negative aspects of ACT” received fewer responses, but
the following answers were still recorded (order according to number of cases): (1) “Information regarding application could/cannot be easily obtained”; (2) “It was/isdifficult to apply for”; (3) “Secretariat was/is difficult tocontact and consult with”; (4) “It did/does not make thebeneficiaries/local NGOs feel close to ordinary Japanesecitizens”; and (5) “The application and report requirements were/are inadequate”.
The respondents also provided suggestions for the
improvement of the funding scheme of ACT in terms ofamount of funding, duration, program details and so on.
Positive aspects of ACT (Multiple answers):• Secretariat was/is easy to contact and consult
with. (30 cases)• The remittance procedures of the grant were/aresmooth. (29 cases)• Information regarding application could/can beeasily obtained. (27 cases)• The application and report requirements were/areappropriate. (27 cases)• It makes/made the beneficiaries/local NGOs feelclose to ordinary Japanese citizens (donors). (27cases)• The grant was/is sufficient for the program. (25cases)• It was/is easy to apply for. (23 cases)• Others. (4 cases)
Others:• Flexible, understanding and trustworthy• Helped in building the confidence of the partner
engaged in the development task.
• Timely interventions.
• ACT staff has commitment, sincerity and straightforwardness.
• Monitored all activities regularly and gave necessary support.

Suggestions to ACT• Increase fund size
• Be involved directly in program/project formation• Support partner organizations (POs/CSOs)• Support analysis of the organizational strength
and weakness and build them in to programs/
projects to overcome the weaknesss• Strengthen its South-Asia program in the future,facilitating more positive people’s initiatives toemerge.
• Provide more information about the present priorities of ACT• Longer-term commitment (3-5 years) ** The respondent who suggested might have received grantfrom ACT long years ago because currently ACT provides
grant to one project for three years on average.

d. Support from Japanese funding agencies (aside
from ACT) and other international funding agencies
Out of all the projects of the past and present grantees of ACT that responded to the survey, 20 projects havebeen or are being supported by Japanese funding agencies/organizations other than ACT. Among the funding
agencies, “government agencies” had the most numberof cases (Official Development Assistance (ODA) such as
Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects(GGP)/JICA (9 projects)), followed by “NGOs” (6 projects), “labor/trade union” (2 projects) and “grant-making
foundation”, “business company”, and “rotary club” (1project each). On the other hand, in terms of length of
support, most of the projects were supported for “2 years
and below” (14 projects). Projects supported for 3 years or
longer were funded by labor/trade union (18 years and 12
years), rotary club (6 years), the Social Welfare Council ofJapan (17 years) and NGOs (16 years and 8 years). From
the responses above, it can be concluded that although
Japanese government agencies provide funding to most projectsof the respondents through ODA, funding agencies other thangovernment agencies, grant-making foundations, and businesscompanies tend to provide funding for longer periods of time.

Negative aspects of ACT (Multiple answers):• Information regarding application could/cannot beeasily obtained. (4 cases)• It was/is difficult to apply for. (3 cases)• The grant was/is insufficient for the program. (2cases)• Secretariat was/is difficult to contact and consult
with. (1 case)• It did/does not make the beneficiaries/local NGOs
feel close to ordinary Japanese citizens. (1 case)• The application and report requirements were/are
inadequate. (1 case)• Others. (4 cases)

11Types of Japanese funding agencies (aside from ACT)
from which respondents received funding
Type of JapaneseagencyNo. ofName of agencies
projects
supported*

Government Agency

9

NGO

6

Grant-making
Foundation
Business Company
Rotary ClubODA(GGP), JICA

1

Niwano Peace Foundation

1
1

okyo Electric Power Company
Tokyo Seinan Rotary Club
All-Japan Prefectural and Municipal
Workers Union (JICHIRO),
Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO)

Trade/Labor Union

2

Total

20
projects* A project supported for multiple years is counted as one (1) project only.

e. Types of International Funding Agencies (aside
from those from Japan) and Number of Projects
these Agencies Supported
In contrast to the 20 projects funded by Japanese funding agencies other than ACT, a total of 111 projects of the
respondents were funded by funding agencies in Westerncountries such as the United States of America (17 projects), Canada, and European Union member nations.
Number of projects supported by international funding agencies (aside from those from Japan): 111 projects
Types of funding agencies (number of funded projects): International NGO (31), ODA/Regional ODA (13),Religious organizations (11), Grant-making foundation(10), United Nations (8), Business company (2), Regional
development bank (1) and others (political 1, and others
1)
Countries where the funding agencies are located:
United States of America (17), Canada and France (6each), Germany and Switzerland (5 each), the Netherlands (4), Australia, Belgium, Indonesia*, Spain, and Regional (ADB, etc.) (2 each), Bangladesh*, Italy, Nepal**,New Zealand, Thailand**, and the Vatican (1 each)* Donor and recipient NGO are from the same country.
** Recipient NGO is from another Asian country.

Average number of years of funding: 4.6 years
In addition, 35 of the projects of the respondents
were funded by local funding agencies (with the exception of national and local government agencies). These
local agencies are mostly foundations and funds createdby local business companies. From these responses, it was
found that options for sources of funds are also available locally, but it is also possible that these foundations/funds themselves are receiving financial support from international funding agencies.

12

Number of projects supported by local funding agencies:

35 projects
Country

Funding Agency

The Philippines

Foundation for the Philippine Environment, Peace andEquity Foundation, Johnson & Johnson (Philippines),
Inc., etc.

India

Jamsetji Tata Trust, Salem Steel Plant,
M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, etc.

Sri Lanka

Janasaviya Trust Fund, Tissa de Silva Trust, Alliance
Lanka, Microsoft Company, Doctors of Sri Lanka in
USA, etc.

ThailandThai Health Funds/National Research Funds

f. Self-evaluation of ACT-funded Projects based on
the OECD-DAC Criteria for Evaluating Development
Assistance (ACT Additional Questionnaire)
An additional questionnaire based on the five OECDDAC Criteria for Evaluating Development Assistance wasdesigned and sent to the 34 past and present ACT grantees that responded to the initial questionnaire. Out of the
34 NGOs, 22 responded to the additional questionnaire.
The five criteria are as follows: 1. Relevance; 2. Effectiveness; 3. Efficiency; 4. Impact; and 5. Sustainability.
• Relevance(1) To what extent are the objectives of the ACT-funded
project(s) still valid at present (after the project has
finished)? ⇒ “100% valid” (57%), “75% valid” (28%),“0% valid” (5%), “Not valid” (10%)(2) Consistency of the activities and outputs of the
project(s) with the overall goal and the attainment of
its objectives ⇒ “Yes” (95%), “No” (5%)(3) Are the activities and outputs of the project(s)consistent (matched) with the intended impacts andeffects? ⇒ ”Yes” 90%, “No” 10%• Effectiveness
Major factors that influenced the achievement of theobjectives:• Development and application of skills learned by thebeneficiaries (5 cases)• Higher awareness of the problem by the beneficiaries(3 cases)• Support from the local government (5 cases)• Availability of appropriate technology (2 cases)• Accurate comprehension of situation and needs of thecommunity (4 cases)• Well-thought-out plan (2 cases)• Implementation of income-generating activities (3 cases)• Professional and committed staff (3 cases)• Collaboration among stakeholders (8 cases)

II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted

Major factors that affected the non-achievement of theobjectives:• Climate change (2 cases)• Lack of cooperation from stakeholders (3 cases)• Efficiency(1) How cost-efficient was the implementation of theactivities of the project?
⇒ “Substantial (Spent 100% of the original budget)”
94%“Modest (Spent more than 100%, but 150% or lessof the original budget)” 6%(1)-1. Please state the reason(s) for spending more thanthe original budget.
⇒ “Funds from other donors were used to coveroverhead costs and to some extent, operationa lcosts.” (1 case)(2) Were the objectives achieved on time?
⇒ “Yes” (90%), “No” (10%)(3) Was the project implemented in the most efficient
way compared to alternatives (alternative project
considered)?
⇒ “Yes” (91%), “No” (9%)• Impact(1) Positive and negative impacts
Positive impacts:• Access to basic government services (5 cases)• Improved habits and attitudes of the locals towards the
problem (6 cases)• Marginalized people are recognized by the government(1 case)• Beneficiaries found alternative sustainable sources of income (3 cases)• Active participation of locals in community activities (2cases)• Expansion of the project to other communities (1 case)
Negative impacts:• Objectives were not sustained due to lack of funding.
(1 case)• Impacts were not realized due to short period of implementation. (1 case)• Differences in views/opinions resulted in tension anddiscomfort among participants. (1 case)• Non-target individuals also took interest in the benefitsof the program. (1 case)• Traditional customs and practices such as dowry arequestioned by the people as education for girls became
widespread. (1 case)• Non-conformity with the norms resulted in non-cooperation due to fear of punishment (1 case)(2) What are the tangible improvements in people’s lives?
What have been the most important changes brought
about by the project?
• Improved economic situation of beneficiaries. (2 cases)• Improved facilities providing basic needs in the communities. (2 cases)• Improved social status of women in society. (2 cases)• Access to basic rights of the beneficiaries. (1 case)• Mutual understanding of cultures among participants (1case)• Improved understanding and raised awareness of the
problem (3 cases)• Expansion of the project to other communities. (1 case)(3)-1 Number of people affected by the positive impacts:⇒ “More than 1,000 people” (36%), “More than 500
but less than 1,000 people” (14%), “More than
100 but less than 500 people” (18%), No response(32%)(3)-2. Number of people affected by the negative impacts:⇒ “Less than 100 people” (23%), “More than 100 but
less than 500 people” (9%), No response (68%)• Sustainability(1) Extent to which the benefits of the project continued
after funding from ACT ceased:⇒ “Substantial” (41%), “High” (18%), “Modest”(14%), “Low” (9%), Not applicable/No response(18%)(2) Major factors which influenced the achievement of
the sustainability of the project:• Development and application of skills learned by thebeneficiaries (2 cases)• Cooperation among the stakeholders (4 cases)• Financial support for the beneficiaries (2 cases)• Higher awareness of the problem by the beneficiaries (2 cases)• Active participation of the beneficiaries (2 cases)• Support from the government (1 case)
Major factors which influenced the non-achievementof sustainability of the project:• Lack of credential which allows access to foreign
funding (1 case)13

Charts of Survey Results* Respondents were asked to evaluate their project using the following five-point Likert scale: Very successful/Quite successful/
Neutral/Quite unsuccessful/Not successful at all/Don’t know

a-1. Number of respondent organizations by country

Nepal 3%

Bangladesh 3%
South Korea 3%

Thailand 3%

50% achieved

Philippines

Vietnam6%
India

b-2. Rate of achievement of objectives (short-term)

Others3% 3%100%achieved

29%

46%

9%
9%

Sri Lanka

48%

20%

15%

75% achieved

Indonesia
Cambodiaa-2. Fields of ACT-funded Projects
SocialDevelopment

NeutralAppropriate Technology

7%
MedicalCareb-3. Success rate of the project *

29%

11%

51%
46%

12%
Health

20%

15%

Very
successful
YouthDevelopment

Rural Developmentb-1. Rate of achievement of final goals (long-term)

50% achievedb-4. Rate of satisfaction of beneficiaries on the
support provided by the project

others8%

Don't know

6%

6%

100%
achieved
43%

43%

14

Very satisfied
51%

43%
75% achieved

Quite
successful

3%

Education

6%

Moderately
satisfiedII. Results of the Survey/Study Conductedc-1. ACT grant was sufficient for the implementation of the projectf-4-1 (Impact). Number of people affected by the
positive impacts
More than 500
but less than
1,000 people

No response

No
18%

30%

32%
14%

70%
Yes

36%
More than 100
but less than
500 people

More than 1,000 people

f-1 (Relevance). To what extent are the objectivesof the ACT-funded project(s) still relevant to thepresent situation of the locals?
Not valid(The project ison-going)
0% valid

f-4-2 (Impact). Number of people affected by thenegative impacts

Less than
100 people

Not valid(The project was
terminated)

5%
5%
5%

23%

9%

100%
valid

68%

More than
100 but lessthan 500
people57%

28%

No response

75%
valid

f-3 (Efficiency). How cost-efficient was the implementation of the activities of the
project?
Modest (Spent morethan 100%, but 150%
or less of theoriginal budget)

f-5 (Sustainability). Extent to which the benefits ofthe project continued after funding
from ACT ceased

No responseHigh

Not applicable
14%

6%

Low

5%

18%

9%
14%

94%

ModestSubstantial(Spent 100% of the original budget)

41%
Substantial

15

3. Study on the Flow of Capital from Japanese Grant making Organizations
to local NGOs* in Asian countries and the Position of ACT in the context ofJapan’s International Cooperation Efforts in Asia
* including Community-based Organizations (CBOs) and People’s Organizations (POs)

1. Preface
The economic and social situation in Asia is changing substantially. The relationship between Japan as theprovider of development fund and the developing countries as the recipients of those funds had been establishedsince the 1960s. However, the situation has been changing
as the world entered the 21st century, due to various factors such as the rise of emerging countries, the economic
recession in Japan, the advance of globalization and theincreasing borderlessness of the international community.
In this context, constant reassessment of international cooperation efforts to other countries in Asia becomes necessary. Based on these changes taking place in the international arena, this study was conducted to obtain an ideaof the current position of Asian Community Trust (ACT)in the international cooperation efforts of Japan towards
Asia and to identify the issues which ACT should address.

(1) Grant-making organizations that support
		 local NGOs/CBOs/POs in Asia
• This category applies to grant-making organizations
which accept applications directly from local NGOs /CBOs/POs in Asia, and have provided grants with anaverage of, 10 million yen or more for the past three
years.i• Of the four organizations listed in the [Table 1] below,
the funding schemes of ACT and the Toyota Foundation International Cooperation Program specialize in
Asia. However, the latter’s Asian Neighbors Program
was concluded in FY2012. On the other hand, the Nippon Foundation Overseas Program and the Sasakawa
Peace Foundation provide grants to local NGOs not
only in Asia but in other parts of the world as well. For
the purposes of this study, only the amounts of grant
implemented in Asia were selected and summarized. ii• With regard to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the actual amount of grants provided can be assumed to beless than the declared amount of project expenditures.

(2) Scale of international cooperation efforts
		 by private grant-making organizations
Based on [Table 1] below, the amount of grants provided annually by private grant-making organizations engaged of international cooperation to local implementing
organizations in Asia (local NGO/PO, etc.) can be estimated to be between 1.5 billion yen (15 million US Dollars) and 2 billion yen (20 mil. USD). This figure is about
1/30 of the total amount of grant provided by Japan as awhole, including domestic grants; about 1/8 of the total
project expenditures of Japanese NGOs engaged in international cooperation; and about 1/10 of the total amountof Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to
NGOs (local NGOs and NGOs engaged in international
cooperation).
In terms of scale of grant, the biggest provider was (1)The Nippon Foundation, followed by (2) The Sasakawa
Peace Foundation of The Nippon Foundation Group,(3)The Toyota Foundation and (4) ACT.

(3) Asian Community Trust (ACT)ACT is a first Japanese Charitable Trust which specializes in providing assistance to developing countries in
Asia. vii

[Characteristics of ACT]a. Partnership with local NGOs
ACT is a rare case because since its establishment, it
has been supporting projects that are implemented by local NGOs in Asia.

b. Promoting community development based on
the active participation and initiatives of thelocals
ACT provides grants to projects proposed and implemented by the locals. ACT selects projects for funding by
screening 2-paged concept papers (condensed form ofproposals)as well as conducting preliminary field survey.

[Table 1] Amount of grant assistance allocated to Asian countries
Name of grant-making organization and its program /Fiscal Year

FY2009FY2010FY2011FY2012The Nippon Foundation
Overseas Grants (for network building and Basic Human Needs) iii

1,647

1,732

1,341

1,703

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation(Pan Asia Fund, Japan-China Friendship Fund, Regular Projects dedicated to Asia) iv

127.7

132.1

134.9

119.35The Toyota Foundation
International Cooperation Program (Asian Neighbors program was concluded in FY 2012) v

108.5

62.01

71.15

49.80

Asian Community Trust (ACT) vi

28.68

33.62

37.34

42.02

Total

1,912

1,960

1,584

1,914

Source: Annual Report of each grant making organizations and other relevant reports

16(unit: million yen)II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted[Figure 1] Japan's ODA Performance at
grass-roots level in Asia

c. Broad network with local NGOs in the countries in Asia

50

Over a span of 33 years from 1980 up to March 2013,
ACT has provided grants totaling up to around 625 million Japanese yen (approximately 6.44 million US dollars
based on the exchange rate of May 1, 2013) for a total of
536 projects*.

Hundred Million JPY

ACT has a good track record in supporting local NGOsin their early stages before they grow and expand their operation to larger scales. Some examples are CARD-MRI,
which is now the biggest microfinance institution in thePhilippines and Duang Prateep Foundation, which provides educational and welfare assistance in the biggest
slum area in Bangkok, Thailand.

• As of August 2013, there are 25 Special Funds set up
within ACT, in which 8 Funds had already terminated.
• Donating 10 million yen (approx. 100,000 USD) or
more which allows the donor to set up a “Special Fund”
in which the donor can specify which country, area or
field the funds will be used in.
• Special Funds can be named after donors (e.g.: namesof individuals/business companies).

30

20

10

0

2009

2010

2011

2012

Fiscal Year
Source: The ODA website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan(MOFA), schematized by the Author.

[Figure 2] Flow of fund of ODA and Private grantin Japan to Non-profit organizations in developing
countries

ODA

800

Reference: Special Funds that had been set up in recent years are the“The Daiwa Securities Group Tsunami Reconstruction Fund” (set up
in 2005), “Asian People's Partnership Support Fund” (2009) and“Support Fund for Asian Students in Japan” (2012).

Private grant

700
600

(4) Japan’s ODA to NGOs (Direct/
		 Indirect assistance)

500
Milllion USD• There are two major grant schemes in Japan’s ODA:
“Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects,” which supports non-profit organizations in developing countries directly and “Grant Assistance forJapanese NGO Projects,” which supports developing
countries indirectly through Japanese NGOs. According to [Figure 1], the annual amount of grants from thetwo schemes to projects in Asia (East Asia and SouthAsia) is about 4 billion Japanese Yen (around 40 mil.
USD).
• On the other hand, an OECD-DAC study shows that the
total annual amount of assistance from Japan (ODAand private grant) to non-profit organizations in developing countries is about 1 billion US Dollars (around100 bil. yen) (Refer to [Table 3]).

Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots
Human Security Projects (GGHSP)

40*: Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Korea, Malaysia, Mainland China and Taiwan

d. ACT “Special Funds” that reflect the wishes ofthe donors

Grant Assistance forJapanese NGO Projects

400
300
200
100
0

Year 2009

2010

2011

Source of ODA data: ”Aid for CSOs” p11 Private Grants Dataset:
Total flows by donor (ODA+OOF+Private) [DAC1] IV.

17

[Table 2] Grant framework of four Japanese grant making organizations
Name of organization/
program

Form of Call for applications

Eligible Applicants

Other details

Other details

The Nippon Foundation
Overseas grants

Open call for proposals.

Non-profit organizations
based outside Japan only.

After proposals
are screened andapproved by the
Board, it must be
acknowledgedby the Ministerof Land,Transportation andInfrastructure.

No specific deadline forapplications. It supports projects
of BHN and network building
benefitting, in particular people
with disability, and leprosy,
utilization and promotionof alternative medicine andeducation.
Notable long-term support forparticular projects.
Applicants are recommended
to submit their documents 6months before the target date ofcommencement of the proposed
project.

The Sasakawa Peace
Foundation
Pan Asia Fund,Japan-China Friendship Fund, Regular
Projects targeting
Asia

Open call for proposals

Applicants, regardless ofnationality, should be any of
the following: Public interest
incorporated or General
non-profit Foundations/
Associations,
Specified non-profit
corporation, School
corporation (i.e. university)
and Non-profit privateorganization).
Individuals, commercial
companies and corporations
are not eligible to apply.

The following
procedures
are taken after
proposals arereceived:
Screening of
documents Screening is done
by a committee thatconsists of outside
experts - Finaldecision is made by
the committee after
having approval
from Full-time
Executive Board.

It supports projects that fallunder the field of international
understanding, international
cooperation, and international
exchange.
It usually takes 4-6 months fromapplication to the final decision.

The Toyota Foundation
International Grant
Program(Asian Neighbors
Program was concluded in FY 2012)

Open call for proposals

A group or a networkorganization of members
from various backgrounds,
with a track record in one of
the thematic areas. Priority inscreening is given to residents
of five target countries(Indonesia, Philippines,
Thailand, Vietnam and Japan)
in the FY2013 Program.

Screening is doneby the Selection
Committee which
consists of experts.

Under the Asian Neighbors
Program, the Foundation had
supported hands-on type of
projects which tackle issues facedby the communities in Asia.
In FY2013, the International
Program supported projects
for policy recommendation.
Personnel of the foundation
visit project sites to monitor the
progress.

Asian Community
Trust (ACT)Open call for proposals

Local NGOs, community
groups, civil society groups
from Asian countries.
In principle, organizations inJapan are not eligible except
projects supported by theSpecial Fund “Asian People’s
Partnership Support Fund”.

Screening isdone by the
Executive Advisory
Committee, a groupof experts in thefield of international
cooperation.

Secretariat visit project sites tosee validation of the proposed
projects in cooperation with local
NGOs.

Identification of new
projects for the benefitof disadvantaged people
such as people withdisabilities and leprosy isdone through a joint study
with WHO. The Foundationis also active in advocacy
in international conferences, thus it attracts many
proposals designed torespond the needs of thedisadvantaged people.

Source: Revised from Application Guidelines found on the website of each organization[Table 3] The flow of Japan’s ODA and private funds towards non-profit
organizations in developing countries(unit: million USD)
Type of Development Fund/Year

FY2009FY2010FY2011ODA (Direct or via private organizations)

321

457

369

Private Grant

533

692

497

Source: OECD-DAC CRS, OECD aid at a glance 201318

II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted

2. Discussion[Figure 4] Amount of assistance of grant making
organizations to local NGOs in Asia
FY2009

A comparison of private grant making organizations
with open calls for proposals, international cooperation
NGOs with self-implemented projects, and Special Funds
established in international organizations can be considered unreasonable. However, such comparison is still significant because whatever the process or source of support, the most important concern is whether the needsof the marginalized and vulnerable beneficiaries are being met or not. Thus, despite the differences in funding
schemes, a comparison among these institutions could
provide us an idea on the present situation of Japanese assistance to developing countries. It could also shed somelight on the weak points of ACT, and help in the identification of appropriate funding approaches it can adopt.

a. Comparison of ACT and grant making organizations focused on Asia
As shown in [Figure 4], although grants from ACT
did not reach 100 million yen (1 mil. USD), its trend wasstrong among grant making organizations focused on
Asia. ACC21, which serves as its Secretariat, is commissioned by ACT trustees (Trust Banks) upon conclusion ofcontract. It can be pointed out that ACT has a substantial
presence among funding/assistance organizations thatmainly support Asian countries.

FY2010200
million yen (ten million for The Nippon Foundation)(1) Position of ACT among Funding/		 Assistance Groups focused on Asia

FY2011FY2012

180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

ToyotaFoundation

ACT

The
The
Sasakawa Nippon
Peace Foundation
Foundation

Source: Annual Report of each grant making organization[Figure 3] Japan’s aid to developing countries via Japanese NGOs/Local non-profit organizations(local NGOs/CBOs/POs)ODA

Private Grant

GOJ contribution via international institutions - 1
Grass-roots assistance by Governmentof Japan (GOJ) -1

Grass-roots
assistance by Government of Japan(GOJ) - 2

Private Grant Making
Foundations-1(Opencall for Proposal) - 2

GOJ contribution via international institutions - 2

International Cooperation NGO
International Cooperation NGO-1

Private Grant Making
Foundations-1(Opencall for Proposal) - 1

International Cooperation NGO - 2

Non-profit organizations, etc. in developing countries

Response to issues such as poverty reduction in developing countries

19

[Table 4] Comparison of framework of assistance by organizations/funds which provide direct support or cooperation to
local NGOs/CBOs/POs
Type

20

Name of organization (program example)

Characteristics① Private grant-making organization
with open call for proposal - 1(Direct funding to organizations inoverseas)

The Nippon Foundation (Overseas
grant program), The Sasakawa
Peace Foundation (Regular projects/
Funds), ACT, The Toyota Foundation(International Program), The Niwano
Peace Foundation

Accepts applications from and provides grants directly to local
NGOs/POs② Private grant-making organization
with open call for proposal– 2(Support for overseas projects
through Japanese organizations)

The Imai Memorial Charitable Trust
for Overseas Cooperation, The
Ajinomoto International Cooperationfor "Nutrition and Health" Support
Program, The Japan International
Cooperation Foundation

Supports projects that tackle issues in developing countries
through Japanese NGOs engaged in international cooperation,
many of which implement projects in cooperation with local
partner organizations③ International Cooperation NGO-1(In principle, projects are selfimplemented)

World Vision Japan, Plan Japan,
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
Japan

Implements own projects. Supports organizing POs/CBOs in
community development projects.

④ International Cooperation NGO-2

Japan International Volunteer Center,
Shapla Neer

Operates by providing fund to specific local partner organizations.

⑤ Grass-roots assistance byGovernment of Japan (GOJ) -1

Grant Assistance for Grass-roots
Human Security Projects (GGHSP)

Accepts applications at The Japanese Embassy/Consulate-General
in developing countries and provides grants to local non-profit
organizations (including local governments).

⑥ Grass-roots assistance by GOJ -2

Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO
Projects

Supports projects that tackle issues in developing countries
through Japanese NGOs engaged in international cooperation,
many of which implement projects in cooperation with local
partner organizations⑦ GOJ contribution via international
institutions – 1

The World Bank “Japan Social
Development Fund (JSDF)”, AsianDevelopment Bank “Japan Fund for
Poverty Reduction (JFPR)”

Emphasizes partnership with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
Although most of the projects of WB and ADB are implemented by
the national governments, in many cases, the Special Fund grants
support projects by CSOs and local governments. Task leader will
apply and manage the project.

⑧ GOJ contribution via international
institutions - 2

The Japan Committee for UNICEF,
Japan Association for UNHCR,
National Federation of UNESCO
Associations in JapanThe organizations were established to contribute funding tointernational institutions like UNICEF. However, after the funds are
released to the institution, the institution cannot designate specificnon-profit organizations in developing countries as recipients ofthe funds.

II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted

50
45
40
Number of funded projects• The Nippon Foundation (overseas cooperation projects) is the biggest private grant making organizationthat is focused on developing countries while World
Vision Japan (WVJ), an international cooperation
NGO which implements its own projects with the largest amount of expenditures in developing countries.
The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), on theother hand, is the Special Fund established throughthe contribution of the Japanese government to theWorld Bank for the purpose of poverty reduction. [Figure 6] shows the total disbursement of the regular program grant and special grant of JSDF. Lastly, the Japan
Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) is the Special Fundestablished by the contribution of the Japanese government to the Asian Development Bank for the same
purpose as JSDF. [Figure 6] shows the disbursement of
JFPR.
Despite the fluctuations in the support/grantamount provided by each organization every year, except The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, these organizations are generally vying with each other in the record ofgrant amounts of around 3-4 billion yen (around 30-40
million US dollars) on an annual basis. (Note: Rapid
growth can be observed in the figure for WVJ in 2011
because it contains support for the 2011 Great East
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. However, without
the portion of donations for the disaster victims, theamount of expenditures is around 3.4 billion yen (34mil. USD)).
• Looking at the figures of FY2010 just before the 2011
disaster, the total amount of the expenditures of WVJ,The Nippon Foundation and The Sasakawa Peace
Foundation is around 8 billion yen (around 80 million
US dollars). On the other hand, the total amount of
the Special Fund of International Organizations supported by the Japanese government is around 6 billion
yen (around 60 million US dollars). The total amountof these 5 organizations/funds is about 14 billion yen(around 140 million US dollars). If the performancesof the Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security
Projects and the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGOs(a total of 13 billion yen in FY 2010) are taken into account, the total amount will reach around 27 billion
yen (around 270 million US dollars).
• In the Asian context, looking at the figures of 2010,
the amount of support by grant making organizations
provided directly to local NGOs in developing countries is 2.8 billion yen from the Grant Assistance for
Grass-roots Human Security Projects and 1.7 billion
yen from The Nippon Foundation, while the total
amount of assistance provided by Special Funds cre-[Figure 5] Number of projects by grant-making
organizations in Japan that directly fund non-profit
organizations in Asia

The Nippon Foundation

35
30
25

ACT*1

20
The Toyota Foundation

15
10

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation

5
0

Y2009

Y2010

Y2011

Y2012

Source: Annual Report of each organization*1: For the ACT funded projects in FY2012, 24 small-scale projects arecounted as one project under the Support Fund for Asian Students
which provides financial support to students from Asian countries to dointernship in non-profit organizations in Japan.

[Figure 6] Organizations with large-scale financial support/self-implemented projects (Including
countries out of Asia)
70
WB JSDF60WVJ
50The Nippon Foundation
100 million JPY

b. Comparison of large international cooperation organizations including self-implemented
projects

40
30
ADB JFPR

20
10
0

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation
ACT*2
Y2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Source: Annual Report of each organization*2 ACT’s average amount of grant per year ranges from JPY 24 million(2007) to JPY 37 million (2011).

21

II. Results of the Survey/Study Conducted

ated for self-implemented projects by local NGOs in
Asia (in the broad sense) such as JSDF is around 800
million yen and JFPR is around 4.1 billion yen. ACT,on the other hand, provides only 30-35 million yen worth ofgrants per year, and this amount cannot compete in scale ifcompared with the above-mentioned major organizations.
ACT is therefore recommended to demonstrate its strong
points other than in scale of financial assistance. However,
it is still necessary for ACT to explore how to increase its
funding resources by taking into account the emergence of
new environments surrounding fundraising brought about
by the IT age, if it intends to increase its grant amount.

c. Towards expansion of financial resources
Based on the results of this study, the trends in fundraising approaches taken by international cooperation
NGOs are as follows:• Funding/assistance organizations with a strong presence in implementing projects enjoy stable financial
resources.
• New styles of fundraising for grant making organizations such as the following are gaining attention:① The creation of financial products which generate profit to
be used as donation② Private organizations, which make contributions tointernational organizations and major internationalNGOs, recently started to focus on fundraising targeted at
donation of inheritance or bequest, thereby intensifying thecompetition in this area.
③ Crowd funding, which solicits donations through theInternet for specific objectives appealing to the empathy or aspirations of ordinary citizens. In Japan, theamount of assistance reached around 300 million yen
during the recent years. Although the amount which
may be considered used for international cooperationis 20 million yen or less, crowd funding neverthelesscontinues to expand in scale and performance.
④ Although fundraising through impact investment islarge in scale and speedy, as of August 2013, (more than
600 billion yen (6 bil. US dollars) was raised within Japan through bond sales for the past five years) it is stilli.

investment; hence, it will be difficult for ACT, which isa Charitable Trust, to benefit from it.

3. Suggestions for the future activities of
ACT(1) Diversification of the fundraising approach
Fundraising strategy that targets the baby boomer generation with sufficient economic assets, visualization andestablishment of two-way interaction between donors andfund recipients using IT, study of new fundraising method
such as crowd funding(2) Focus on fields
Strengthening of support to implementing organizations by studying the needs of the fields, as well as theabilities and situation of the organizations.

(3) Expansion of the impacts of grant assistance
Maximizing the convening power of ACT by connecting business companies, which possess the interest andtechnology but not the foothold in private markets in Asiawith emerging local development groups, thereby paving
the way to South-South Cooperation.

(4) Differentiating own support from support provided by the government orinternational institutions
Support that conveys the message which embodies thewishes of each donor.

(5) Learning and evaluation of past funded
projects
Maintaining and revitalizing the relationship with previous recipient organizations through follow up and evaluation of past funded projects and by identifying new needs
and expectations.

The grant making organizations studied in this survey are those that are not mainly engaged in the following fields: international cultural/artistic exchange, youth exchange, research/academic exchange, sports exchange support, environment protection. However, some of the studiedorganizations may include elements of the abovementioned fields as part of their projects.
ii. The amount of grants disbursed to Asia is extracted from the Annual Reports and other official documents released to the public, but are only
estimates of the actual amount.
iii. The amount of grant disbursed to Asia by The Nippon Foundation is the amount extracted and totaled from projects that are considered targeting Asia from the whole list of projects
iv. The amount of grant disbursed to Asia by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation is the amount totaled from the grants of the Pan Asia Fund, JapanChina Friendship Fund, and the regular projects that target Asia. The ratio of self-implemented projects and commissioned projects of the
Sasakawa Peace Foundation is large.
v. Projects in Asia include those in the Middle East, as well as projects within Japan.
vi. Countries eligible for grants are all countries form Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia
vii. Fundraising-type Charitable Trusts are Charitable Trusts that were not initially created from the seed money of a Settlor, but were created andoperated from the donations (trust money) of citizens.
viii. The exchange rate is based on the rate used by the DAC-OECD. Unit is yen per 1 US dollar (2007:117.8, 2008:103.5, 2009:93.4, 2010: 87.8, 2011:
79.7)

22

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities
1. Summary

Three main activities were conducted on the first weekof August 2013 as follows:
1. “ACT Strategy Conference”
2. Public seminars, fora, and symposia
3. Sharing experiences and knowledge(through field visit)
I. “ACT Strategy Conference” (August 4-7)
True to its objectives, the “ACT Strategy Conference,”
a series of internal meetings between parties involved in
the activities of ACT were conducted based on the following themes: (1) Experience-sharing of ACT-funded projects(presentations by leaders of local NGOs in Asia); (2) Challenges for Endogenous Development and People’s Collaboration
Across National Borders and Resource Mobilization: Expected
Role of ACT; and (3) New Paradigm of Collaboration among
Asian NGOs and the Roles of ACT.
On the first day (August 4), a total of 20 participants
composed of the 5 overseas participants, 3 members of
the ACT Executive Advisory Committee, and the ACT
Secretariat gathered for the introductory meeting. Selfintroductions were made, followed by an overall orientation on the course of the Conference and succeeding
individual programs. Afterwards, an interim report on the
results of the evaluation study about the impacts of ACT
on its funded projects as well as on the trends on overseas
aid by international funding agencies including ACT were
presented to the participants.
The plenary session held on the 5th were attended by a totalof 40 participants: the 5 overseas participants, members of the
ACT Executive Advisory Committee and Secretariat, JapaneseNGOs and foundations engaged in international cooperation.
The plenary session was opened by Mr. Michio Ito,
President and CEO of Asian Community Center 21, which
serves as ACT Secretariat and the host of the Conference.
He explained the Charitable Trust system that legallybinds donors and trustees for the benefit of the public. He
also shared the story of the birth of ACT: ACT was createdin 1979 with an initial endowment of 15 million yen (approx. 155,000 US dollars) from MRA Foundation and Mr.
Yasutaro Imai, and was set to support projects that comeunder fields such as rural development or social development in Asia. It was also arranged so as to be able to accept
bequests and funds from Japanese individuals and organizations. Thus, ACT became the first Japanese Charitable
Trust which accepts donations and bequests from the general public.
Next, Mr. Ito enumerated the four challenges that the
Secretariat (ACC21) has been struggling with for many
years now, and explained that the Conference is its way offacing these challenges.

First, the ACT Secretariat had been unable to conduct
a comprehensive evaluation of funded projects due to the absence of funds within ACT or the lack of grants outsidethat will allow such endeavor. Second, while the ideal relationship between provider and recipient of funds is an “equal
partnership,” in reality, the provider tends to exhibit strictness
to the recipient of funds. Third, with a track record of morethan 190 past and present grantees, ACT needs to make aneffort in building networks and sharing the experiences among
these grantees. Fourth, with the rapid economic growth of
Asian countries, ACT hopes to find a mechanism in which
locals can share a certain amount of the financial burden
to fund projects in their home countries..
Afterwards, representatives of one Japanese and four
overseas NGOs which had received grants from ACT presented the accomplishments of the ACT-funded project
for the remainder of the morning. The afternoon session
was opened by a special address by the Secretary Generalof AFA from the Philippines (details on page 29), followedby the group discussions, where the participants divided
into three groups to exchange their views on the following
five topics:(a)What is endogenous development?
(b)Relations with overseas donors and impacts to endogenousdevelopment(c)Partnership building across borders and challenges(d)How can Asian NGOs/POs secure sustainable financial
resources for their activities to pursue endogenousdevelopment?
(e)Recommendations to ACTAt the closing session themed “New Paradigm of Collaboration among Asian NGOs and the Roles of ACT”, the participants shared the results of the discussion of their respective groups with the rest of the participants and a Planof Action was drafted based on their recommendations to
ACT. This Plan of Action was more thoroughly discussed
at the Sum-up Meeting on the 7th of August between thefive overseas participants and the ACT Secretariat, where
the challenges and recommendation of ACT were consolidated into a final Plan of Action (details on pages 34-35).

23

2. Accomplishment Report and Experience-sharing of ACT-funded projects

On August 5th, five representatives from organizations(4 from overseas and 1 from Japan) that had received
grants from ACT in the past presented the accomplishments of their ACT-funded projects in the morning. In theafternoon, Ms. Ma. Estrella Penunia, Secretary General of
Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) opened the afternoon session with a special
address focusing on “endogenous development,” one of
the important keywords of the ACT Strategy Conference,
to foster a deeper understanding on the concept. AFA isa regional network organization of national federations
and organizations of small scale farmers that implement
projects organizing farmers and strengthening farmer organizations. For the profiles of the overseas participants,
please refer to pages 51-52.

Ms. Prateep
UNGSONGTHAM-HATA(Secretary General of
Duang Prateep Foundation(DPF), Thailand)
Ms.Ungsongtham-Hatagrew up in the slums of theKlong Toey District of Bangkok,
where she worked in teaching
the slum children. In 1978,
she received the Ramon
Magsaysay Award for her
outstanding public service. andwith the award money, sheestablished the Duang Prateep
Foundation (DFP), becoming its Secretary General. ACT supported
DFP’s three projects for a total of five years, from 1985 until 1988 andagain in 1991.

Case Report 1“Mobile Learning Center Project”(1985-1987, Total grant: JPY 2,200,000)
Ms. Prateep Ungsongtham-Hata“Mobile Learning Center Project” in the slums officiallystarted in 1986. At present, the project is active not only inslum areas, but also in rural areas along the border sharedwith neighboring countries. The project also extended
its reach to areas devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami. Moreover, another organization
was established in Southern Thailand to further expand
the activities of the project, and one of the female teachers who were sent to train in Japan in 1985 through the
ACT grant was appointed Representative of this organization. The project continues to expand until present. For
27 years of implementing the Mobile Learning Center activities,
more than 1 million children (see table below) has benefitted
from its storytelling and puppet shows, and in the process improved their skills and widened their horizons.

Founder/Secretary General, Duang Prateep Foundation(Thailand)

Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF) is working in the
Klong Toey slums, the biggest slum area in Bangkok, andhad received a grant from ACT for the “Mobile Learning
Center Project” for three years from 1985.*1 This project
which goes to different slum areas to put up storytelling,
puppet, music and dance shows for children, aims topromote (1) education, (2) the imagination of children,(3) the creativity, curiosity and emotional developmentin children. More than being just a mere entertainment
show and a way to let children enjoy reading, this project is also a way to teach children the importance of discipline, diligence, patience, and reasoning skills.
Before starting the mobile learning center the ACT
grant was first used in the improvement of facilities andhuman resources development by sending the kindergarten teachers from the slums to Japan to train in the
Ohanashi Caravan Center, an organization which ran
puppet shows within Japan. Then the activities of the*1 Aside from the “Mobile Learning Center Project,” the “New Life
Project” (Rehabilitation for the youths in slums who were addicted tothinner. 1988, Grant: JPY 150,000), and the “Building Klong Toey Community Center Project” (1991, Grant: JPY 3,200,000) were also supported by ACT (Total amount of ACT grant is JPY 5,500,000 for 5 years).

Number of beneficiaries of the storytelling and puppet shows activities of the“Ohanashi Caravan”
(Unit: person)
Years

24

Urban Slum Areas

Rural Areas

Total

Children

Teachers

Children

Teachers

1985-1992

94,5006,300

73,5004,900

179,200

1992-2003

198,000

9,900

154,000

7,700

369,600

20032013 (ongoing)

300,000

12,000200,000

8,000

520,000

Total

592,500

28,200427,500

20,6001,068,800

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

Case Report 2

The Landless People’s Bank Project(1988-1994, Total grant JPY17,170,000)*2
Mr. Jaime Aristotle AlipFounder/Managing Director, CARD MRI (Philippines)

The Center for Agriculture and Rural Development(CARD) was established in 1986 with the idea of creating a bank for the poor, landless farmers. However, after
two years of failing to find donors who expressed interestin this idea again and again, it was ACT which provided
CARD its first financial support in 1988.
With the ACT grant, CARD started to provide loans to
the poor, landless farmers. Mr. Alip emphasized providing
loans to women, because “poor women will use the borrowed money for their family, for the education of theirchildren. Men, on the other hand, will just use the moneyfor drinking”. CARD tried several approaches to ensurethat the poor can repay the money they borrowed. Aftermuch trial and error, it adopted a system in which clients
repay their loans in small installments during meetings
done weekly. In addition, CARD provides its clients meticulous services such as constant updates on their repayment status and training on how to make use of the loan
for livelihood activities. As a result, CARD is able to maintain its high repayment rate.
ACT continued to support CARD (NGO) during its
first seven years (1988-1994), and provided funding forthe establishment of CARD Bank and the expansion of
its projects. In 1997, CARD Bank obtained its license tooperate as a Rural Bank from the Central Bank of thePhilippines, making it the very first microfinance institution in the country. As of August 2013, 11 different CARD
institutions had been created, forming the present CARD

Mr. Jaime Aristotle B.
ALIP(Founder/Managing Directorof CARD MRI, Philippines)

Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), which
provides a wide range of services such as microinsurance,
capacity-building, business development and others. At
present, CARD MRI has provided loans to more than 2
million women, boasts of a 99.35% repayment rate, andhas grown into the largest microfinance institution in thePhilippines.
*2 In addition to “Landless People’s Bank Project”, “Building Capacity for Local NGOs and Microfinance Institutions in Cambodia”(2008-2010, Grant: JPY 5,080,000) was also supported by ACT (Totalamount of ACT grant is JPY 22,250,000 for 10 years).

Please refer to the boxed article “CARD: Walking
together with women” on page 38.

Dr. Alip established CARD in
1986, and CARD Bank, a bankowned and managed by the poor
in 1997. He created CARD MRI,
which is currently composedof 11 institutions (as of August2013). ACT had supported CARD
for a total of ten years during its
starting years.

25

Case Report 3“Income Generation Programs for
Women Victims of Tsunami for Selfreliance Development”(2005-present, Total grant JPY 2,3060,000)*3
Ms. H. H. A. D. Karunawathie MENIKE
Founder/Chairperson ,Women’s Savings Effort (WSE),(Sri Lanka)

The Women’s Savings Effort, Wilpotha (WSE) was established in 1978 to help rural women of Sri Lanka become self-reliant and has been implementing projects that
support women and children for 35 years.
When the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami occurred at the end of 2004, WSE immediately initiated relief operations and disaster damage assessment. Damages
extended up to more than 1,000km along the Sri Lankan
coast. More than 35,000 Sri Lankans were killed while
200,000 people lost their jobs. Damage costs incurred
totaled up to USD 1.8 billion. Since May 2005, WSE has
been using the ACT grant to implement savings and credit
projects to support the self-reliance of women living in disaster affected areas in 3 provinces (Puttalam District inNorth Western Province, Galle District in Southern Province, and Mullaitivu District in Northern Province*4).
The women were passive beneficiaries at first but
through the provision of trainings not only in knowledge but also in skills and awareness raising and throughmicrofinance services putting emphasis more on sav-

Ms. H. H. A. D.
Karunawathie MENIKE(Founder/Chairperson of
WSE, Sri Lanka)
Ms. Menike founded the
Women’s Savings Effort,
Wilpotha (WSE) which
implements programs developing
the livelihood and self-relianceof women, as well as ruraldevelopment in 1978. She has
more than 40 years of experience
working as a development
worker. ACT has been funding
WSE’s project that supports
women affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
since 2005.

ings, the women were able to free themselves from debt
and become self-reliant. However, men have the tendency
to stop working when their wives receive loans; therefore,both husband and wife must be present when applying fora loan, signifying their shared responsibility in repaying
the loan.
This project produced significant outcomes such asincrease in the income of the beneficiaries per household by 30 to 40%; increase in their savings by 25 to 30%;
women gaining more power in decision-making in morethan 90% of the households; improvement of children’s
education and decrease in the cases of domestic violence.
Ms. Menike explained that “the key to the success of the
project lies in the women themselves who initiated savingsand livelihood activities, resulting in the improvement of
their lives,” and emphasized the importance of the roleof the poor and disaster-affected women as main actors in
the project.
*3 Total amount of ACT grant from August 2005 until July 2013. The
project is ongoing as of August 2013.
*4 Implementation of the project in Mullaitivu District in Northern
Province started in 2011. Mullaitivu was under a civil war when thedisaster occurred and was severely damaged by both the civil war andthe earthquake and tsunami. The civil war ended in 2009.

26

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

Case Report 4“Knowledge Management, Networking and Coordination for Enhanced
Disaster Resilience”(2011-present, Total grant JPY 6,500,000)*5
Ms. Annie George
Founder/CEO, Building and Enabling Disaster Resilience of
Coastal Communities (BEDROC) (India)

Ms. Annie GEORGE(Founder/CEO of BEDROC,
India)
Ms. George worked as theCEO of the NGO Coordination
and Resource Centre (NCRC)
immediately after the 2004 Indian
Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami.
The NCRC was formed to allow
for the smoother coordinationand interaction among NGOs,
the local government units, andinternational institutions in thedisaster-affected areas. After the
dissolution of NCRC, Ms. George
established BEDROC in 2008. ACT has been supporting BEDROC
in building resilient communities in the disaster-affected areas since
2011*6.

In Nagapattinam, a small coastal district in southern
India, 190,000 people were affected by the 2004 disaster.
After the disaster, more than 500 NGOs came to Nagapattinam to conduct relief operations, and a large amountof money and goods poured in. However, due to the lackof knowledge on the area, as well as the uncoordinatedactivities of the NGOs, the district was in chaos and faced
problems more serious than the damages caused by thedisaster itself. Ms. George saw the need for a neutral platform that can represent the community’s voice and share
information among NGOs and other stakeholders so thatappropriate support could be provided to the people inneed.
Learning from this experience, BEDROC, with support from ACT, is helping Nagapattinam become a disaster

resilient community, since aside from the damages causedby the tsunami, it is burdened by many other problems
such as flooding and soil salination. In particular, BEDROC is facilitating the creation of an information portal
where the features and problems of the communities
identified by the residents themselves are consolidated.
Through the portal, residents and supporting agencies
can pinpoint vulnerable areas during a disaster and othertypes of information. Residents can also check the statusof welfare services such as disability insurance, pension,and other services provided by the government.
Ms. George stressed the fact that “(after the NGOs
leave) it is the disaster victims who will continue living in
the affected areas. It is therefore important that the victims themselves are involved in the reconstruction process.” BEDROC is helping the residents learn how to manage and update the information portal, so that they areable to make use of the information when the need calls
for it.
*5 Total amount of ACT grant from August 2011 until July 2013. This
project is ongoing as of August 2013.
*6 While ACT started to provide financial aid to BEDROC in 2011,it had been supporting projects in Nagapattinam District since 2005,
namely the "Rehabilitation Project for the Tsunami affected physically handicapped children" (2005-06) by Trust for Rural Upliftment
and Empowerment (TRUE), the "Capacity building and rehabilitation of the physically handicapped in the Tsunami affected village"(2007-10) by Social Service Sericulture Project (SSSP) Trust, and the"Community Empowerment of Tsunami Victims through Education,
Economic Development and Health Improvement" (2011-14) by Social Need Education and Human Awareness (SNEHA).

Case Report 527

“Save the life, lifestyle and culture of
the Indigenous Peoples (IP)
– Environmental Activity of Abandoned Mines in Benguet, Philippines”(2010-2012, Total grant JPY 2,480,000)
Ms. Ayako Fujii
President, WE21 Japan (Japan)

With the support of one of the Special Funds of ACT,the “Asian People’s Partnership Support Fund”, *7 from2010 to 2012, WE21 Japan conducted a project sharing
the experiences of Japan on sustainable environment conservation with the residents of Benguet Province in thePhilippines, where theresidents are affectedby the mining development. Benguet Province
is a mountainous areain the north which had
been damaged during
the World War II, andat present, is home to
many indigenous peoples (IPs). Because of
the rich undergroundresources found in
more than half of theland, mining became
Ms. Fujii of WE21 Japan remarked, “The mining issues in
the Philippines taught me about
the same issues Japan had in thepast.”

Profile of Ms. Ayako FUJII
President, WE21 Japan

WE21 Japan was established in 1998 when a groupof women who visited the charity shop ran by the international NGO Oxfam and emulated its system of volunteering and donation of goods, opened the very first
WE Shop in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Affiliateorganizations were then created one after another inother areas in Kanagawa, of which 37 became independent as community NPOs (non-profit organizations) andthese community NPOs are currently running a total of
57 “WE shops” all over Kanagawa.
WE21 Japan takes the lead in risk management
and support for community NPOs; engages in peopleto-people cooperation projects mainly in Asia; cre-28

active in the province. However, despite the IP’s culture ofcommunal sharing of land and resources, the current law
bestows residency rights to IPs but its natural resources belong to the Philippine government; therefore, even if IPs
appeal for the rights to use the land, they are prohibitedfrom doing so. As a result of this restriction to their rights
as well as the continuing destruction of the environment
caused by mining, the quality of lives of the IPs continues
to deteriorate.
In order to share Japan’s experience, WE21 invited
Filipinos to former mining sites in Japan to show how theJapanese improved the environment in those sites. They
also conducted tree planting activities and environmental
education to restore the environment in Benguet. Moreover, in order to introduce the people to alternative livelihood activities after losing their traditional ways of living
as well as their sources of livelihood due to the development of mining in the area, WE21 sent Japanese specialists to the affected area and conducted trainings on organic farming, making use of available resources in the area.
Through this project, WE21 is not only sharing to theFilipino people the experiences of Japan, but also conveying to the Japanese citizens including its supporters what
Japan should learn from the Philippines. WE21 plans tocontinue facilitating the mutual learning between thepeople in the two countries.
*7 The “Asian People’s Partnership Support Fund” was set up in August 2009 as one of the Special Funds of ACT, with the purpose of
supporting activities that promote networking and sharing of knowledge and experiences resulting in the mutual growth and development of both citizens of Japan and other countries in Asia particularly those that received massive damage from Japan during WorldWar II.

ates learning spaces to educate Japanese citizens on
problems concerning the environment, poverty, humanrights and other related issues; and works towards theresolution of these problems by doing survey and advocacy work.
Ms. Fujii has worked as a nurse for the current
National Hospital Organization for six years and after
a decade-long experience as a housewife she worked
as Chairperson for the Seikatsu Club Shonan, and has
worked for the Kanagawa Net (a local party). In 1998,
she participated in a study tour on social services in
the United Kingdom and visited the international NGO
Oxfam. She became WE21 Japan’s Vice President in2006, and President from May 2010, supporting thefurther expansion of the organization.

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

Special Address

Ms. Estrella PENUNIA“Endogenous Development and Roleof Farmers’ Organizations (FOs) in
Asia”(Secretary General of AFA,
Philippines)

Ms. Estrella Penunia
Secretary General, Asian Farmers Association for
Sustainable Rural Development (AFA)

AFA was established in 2002 as a response to the needfor an alliance of Asian farmers as seen during the exchange visits of 30 farmers from 10 countries, organizedby the AsiaDHRRA (Asia Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas. The Headquarters is located in
the Philippines). During these exchange visits, farmers
from different countries realized that they face common
problems such as the danger of the influx of cheap agricultural products threatening the domestic market andfelt the need of gaining influencing power in numbers
on policies at the local, national, and international levels.
At present, AFA is composed of 12 Farmer Organizations(FOs)* from 10 different countries in Asia, where morethan 11 million farmers are joining.
Ms. Penunia explained that People’s Organizations(POs) are different from NGOs which are third party organizations that conduct projects that serve the poor, inthe sense that POs serve their own members such as small
scale rural farmers. Decisions are made by themselves andby implementing activities using support from outside,
the farmers are able to improve their condition in an endogenous and sustainable way.
2008 until 2012 was a period of growth for AFA. Agriculture, food security and nutrition was raised again in theinternational agenda due to interrelated crises in food,
fuel, hike in prices, and climate change, which are caused
partly by intensive farming using chemical fertilizers andpesticides. AFA participated in all conferences organized
by ASEAN and UN and played its role of representing therural farmers. AFA plans on working on the following activities: (1) increase the social recognition of farmers; (2)promote investments on sustainable approaches; (3) promote agro-ecology; and (4) increase in the market powerof farmers and its significance.
For overseas NGOs engaged in international cooperation, their partner organizations tend to be limited toEnglish-speaking local NGOs because it is quite difficult
to directly collaborate with POs since they speak only the
local language. However, if former NGO workers who arewell experienced are to take responsibility in managing
POs, they can mediate between overseas NGOs and POs.
If this happens, it is just a matter of time before POs become main players on the international scene.
* At the time of presentation. As of September 2013, AFA is composed of 13 organizations.

Asian Farmers Association for
Sustainable Rural Development(AFA) is a network of 13 Farmers’
Organizations from 10 different
countries in Asia. 11 million
farmers are affiliated with AFA.

Q&A and Open Forum
Audience: For overseas NGOs engaged in international
cooperation, directly collaborating with POs is difficult
because English is required, so partnering with NGOs thatare proficient in English is the only choice. If NGO staff
like you (Ms. Penunia) become the Manager or Directorof POs, he/she can become link the POs with local andoverseas NGOs as well as international institutions suchas UN agencies. If so, POs can be expected to become amajor player in the future.
Ms. Penunia: It’s just a matter of time before POs become“stars,” shining brightly, attracting attention and becoming a vital presence. If this happens, POs can decide to stayin the same field as a part of the NGO, or go into otherfields. A constant dialogue between the “parent” (NGO)and the “child” (PO) is necessary. One option is that the
NGO staff joins the PO.
Audience: How different are the programs of AFA fromthose of a Farmers’ Cooperative?
Ms. Penunia: The members of AFA are at present, all national-level Farmers Associations. We do not have national
cooperative organizations as members yet. The membersof AFA’s member organizations, the national-level Farmers Associations, are mostly cooperatives at the town orprovincial level, but at the national level, they are organized as “associations” not as “cooperatives.”
At present, the Farmers’ Associations are more activein policy advocacy but we cannot simply rely on funds
from the government. Sustainability of the organization
is a key issue. We have several options: We can transform
our national-level associations into cooperatives; We can
ask our member organizations to pay for membership fees
which can be used to cover operation costs; We can alsoestablish a money-making enterprise to sustain advocacy
works, and so on.
We can also emulate a successful model case practiced
by two members of AFA in Cambodia: the Farmer and Nature Net (FNN) and the Cambodian Center for Study andDevelopment in Agriculture (CEDAC). They establishedbusiness enterprises and the profits earned from the business are becoming the financial benefits of the farmers,
and also used for the policy advocacy work of the POs.
29

3. Group Discussions(2) Summary of the Group Discussions
Group discussions based on the 4 challenges for the
ACT Secretariat (ACC21) below were held in the afternoon of 5th August. The participants were divided into
three groups, Groups A, B, and C, and they exchanged
views on items 2, 3, and 4 below. Members of the ACT Executive Advisory Committee acted as facilitators for eachgroup: Mr. Terumasa Akio for Group A, Ms. Mitsuko Horiuchi for Group B, and Mr. Ryokichi Hirono for Group C.
In the case of Group C, where organizations engaged inprojects providing support for disaster-affected areas weregrouped together, issues of disaster resilience and related
topics were also discussed in addition to those listed below.
Challenges:
1. Evaluation of funded projects (This issue is tackled
through the implementation of the survey.)
2. While the ideal relationship between provider and recipient of funds is an “equal partnership,” in reality, theprovider tends to influence the recipient in terms of values andpriorities in project planning.
3. With a track record of more than 190 past and present grantees, ACT must work hard in building networks andsharing the experiences among these grantees.
4. With the rapid economic growth of Asian countries,
it is time to explore the possibility of local NGOs securing
counterpart funds from within the country, that is, throughthe donations from fellow citizens or from local businesscompanies.
Common themes (Group A and B)(a)What is endogenous development?
(b)Relations with overseas donors and impacts to endogenous development(c)Building partnerships across borders and its Challenges(d)How can Asian NGOs/POs secure sustainable financial resources for their activities to pursue endogenousdevelopment?
(e)Recommendations to ACT(a) What is endogenous development?
Group A“(In funding activities) The communities (which the
project supports) should pave the way towards development with their own capacity and efforts.”
Ms. Prateep introduced a way of thinking in Thailand based on the principles of Buddhism: people put
a good amount of effort into increasing their senseof inwardness in order to develop qualitatively. One
should attain a peaceful mind through meditation,cultivate their inner resources, and then make efforts
for the betterment of culture, environment and others.
Group B
• Empowerment by the “insiders”. This can start from
empowering them financially. (“Insider” refers
to residents of the village/community/province/
country.)• Locals of the community have access and control
over important resources such as natural resources,
manpower, traditional wisdom, restoration of lost
indigenous species such as local seeds and others.
• Local groups in the communities are able to conduct activities independently even after grants from
NGOs and/or other third parties have terminated.
(Empowerment from inside)• Projects are conceptualized by the locals, not outsiders. Locals will define and decide the projects
themselves. Hence, even after the termination of
the project when the NGO or the leaders have left,
the locals have the mind, spirit, and confidence tocontinue and develop the project on their own.
Others may influence the locals by sharing theirideas and analyzing the results, but the final decision must rest in the hands of the locals.
• CBOs (Community-Based Organizations)/POs(Peoples Organizations) are also concerned with
global issues. CBOs/POs, local NGOs and international NGOs share each other’s experiences andMembers of Group A exchange views on the concept of “partnership.”30

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

learn from each other, and tackle issues together.
• “South-south cooperation” truly supports the people. In “North-south cooperation,” both exchange
views, work and grow together.
(b) Relations with overseas donors and impacts
to endogenous development
Group A
It is possible to effect changes in terms of thephysical and technological, but it is almost impossible to do so in terms of values. However, changes
are bound to happen as long as they are involved.
What is important is reviewing the processes by whichchanges took place, and studying how to drive thesechanges to a better direction.
Group B
Farmers must find markets where they can sell
their own produce. NGOs and companies can support the farmers in marketing the products, and inproviding technical assistance in food processing.
(c) Building partnerships across borders and
its Challenges
Group A
• In Cambodia in the past, and in present Laos, thepartner of the NGOs is the government so the target fields and areas are limited due to the bureaucratic system. As a result, direct collaboration withthe locals has been difficult and a gap between
the needs of the people and the intentions of theNGOs appears. In Thailand, on the other hand,international NGOs have more freedom and areeven involved directly in the field.
• In Bangladesh, NGOs have branches and operate nationwide like business companies, and are
implementing development projects systematicallyand simultaneously in large scales.
• Some local NGOs rely on consultants in developing projects because their abilities to design a
project and produce a decent proposal are limited
even if some of them may have high English proficiency.
Group B• Capitalize on the convening power of ACT. Mobilize people, companies, and NGOs and build
networks. ACT can set the right agenda without
exploiting the people from developing countries.
Reference: On Partnerships (Based on the discussions in Group A)• The provider of funds (the donor) is stronger, andif the applying organizations do not comply withconditions set by the donor, they cannot receive
grants or donations. Therefore, applicant/recipient organizations must often adjust the project design/details in order to conform with the wishes ofthe donor.
• The requirements of the donors are continuously
becoming stricter, demanding accountability andobliging organizations to submit reports on time,
to adjust expenditures within the approved budget, to submit receipts and other proof of expenditures and other documents. This way, the donor
takes the leading role in the project.
• Some NGOs working in the communities which
are genuinely in need of help have difficulty inmaking proposals and reports well and most of thetime cannot produce more than a single-paged paper. In some cases, NGOs would like to extend the
project beyond the original schedule. However,such small or newly-formed NGOs may be more
conscious of contemporary social changes.
• On the other hand, the donors’ incapability to directly access the local community, thereby requiring them to go through intermediary organizations such as local or Japanese NGOs in order toprovide financial support, poses a problem as wellbecause of many unknown factors such as whether
the NGO is truly representing the locals, or whether the NGO is only moving based on its interests,
among others.
• In the case of ACT, the members of the Secretariat(Program Officers) are experienced personnel,
having been to project sites in the developing
countries or having worked in NGOs themselves.
They gather information about the needs of the local communities and other necessary details about
the project, speculate on the possible outcomes ofthe project (social investment with grants), andrecommend candidate recipient NGOs for grants.
• Goods, money and technical know-how are involved in the relationship among the donor, the intermediary organization and the field (local community), but there is a Buddhist philosophy which
denies thinking who is the superior and who isthe subordinate in the relationship. The Buddhist
teaching “sanrinku” tells us that we should not be
attached to any of the three elements (donors, recipients and donated goods). ACT is expected to
do its best efforts so that this relationship will remain unchanged.
• The partnership may not be based on complete
equality between the parties concerned, and weare nowhere near solving this problem, but awareness of the issue is still very important.
• Problems also lie in whether the organizations, be
it local or international ones, can appropriate theneeds of the community, and in the awareness ofthe donor providing financial support to these or-31ganizations.
• NGOs do not wish to use money inefficiently, too.
However, indigenous development is a slow process
and may take decades before being fully achieved.
Aside from NGOs, donors should also be flexible sothat there is leeway for failure, and should aim for
medium-to-long-term cost-effectiveness.
(d) How can Asian NGOs/POs secure sustainablefinancial resources for their activities topursue endogenous development?
Group A
• NGOs cannot always depend on the grants that terminate after three to five years. One way of obtaining
self-sufficiency is by implementing income-generating projects which may develop to social business sothat there is no need to apply for grants, similar towhat Dr. Alip did with CARD-MRI. However, NGOs
need to put more efforts on finding more partners
that will support their activities through donations,membership fees, and other forms of financial support as well; gaining the support of the civil society;persuading people to join through their activities. Efforts of Japanese NGOs are still lacking in this aspect.
• It is also important for grant-making institutions tocreate a diverse system which allows for the releaseof funds to support fresh and innovative ideas without much formality, similar to the case of venture
capital. For agencies like ACT, it is better if they haveschemes which have more relaxed rules in releasing
funds (as well as framework for disseminating information which can be utilized in everyday situations).
Group B
• How many years will it take to achieve endogenousdevelopment? It takes 5-8 years to escape from pov-

The members of Group B are mostly from NGOs engaged in agriculture and rural development.

32

erty and another 5-8 years to be able to develop internally. Expansion to a small and medium enterprisetakes another 5-8 years. Therefore, it will take a generation or two before one can realize endogenousdevelopment.
• Who will reap the benefits: the local partner NGO
in the south or the Japanese NGO? The southernNGOs are learning from the Japanese in terms ofwork attitude and stringency of discipline.
(e) Recommendations to ACTGroup A• Grants are another form of social investment on people.
Therefore it is necessary for the providers of the grants
to have people who are able to make professional assessments of leaders who will be responsible for managing thecandidate/recipient NGO and its staff in charge of handling the projects.
• ACT is expected to take the role of advocating policy recommendations to the Japanese government and international institutions.
• The information gathered and networks (among NGOs,
CBOs, POs, and people) built by ACT from its 33 yearsof grant-making activities are very important assets andshould be shared with others.
• ACT should make use of its convening power in creating
partnerships among Japanese NGO, other Asian NGOs,
and business companies.
Group B• ACT should establish its convening power as a strategy.
It should bring various stakeholders such as Japanesecompanies and NGOs, and southern NGOs/CBOs/POs
together.
• Institute “South-South cooperation” and strengthen “networking of South-South cooperation.”• Support income-generating projects such as those of
microfinance, and expand their impacts.
• Share indigenous/appropriate technologies. Promote
peoples’ exchanges. Support BOP (Base/Bottom of the
Pyramid) projects – exploring collaboration with Japanese companies. Provide grants to collaborative projectsof NGOs/POs/CBOs that are past or present ACT grantees from different countries working together in the same
country• Develop project evaluation tools.
• Develop an indicator to assess intangible and invisible
forms of empowerment which are very difficult to showin figures. ACT should continue supporting projects whichbring such invisible impacts.
• Continue taking the role as a “partner” and not as a mere
“donor”.
• ACT can connect with national POs/CBOs especially when
Japanese NGOs would like to work with local groups inother Asian countries.
• Support projects with innovative and “crazy” ideas.

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

Results of discussions and recommendations ofGroup C(i) Main issues when a disaster occurs• Lack of preparedness• Too many overseas NGOs
• Inequitable and inappropriate distribution of goods• Lack of concern for marginalized people (women,children, etc.)• Lack of networking among local NGOs(ii) Actions needed at the local level(disaster-affected areas)• Disaster preparedness• Capacity building/training• Networking among local NGOs
• Strategic alliance• Information management (Database building andmaintenance)

Ms. Annie George from India (second from the left) shares herviews during the discussion in Group C(iii) Actions needed (Japan’s case)• Safety within the house• Communication among family members• Provisions during disaster• Local community preparations• Training of all residents within the community• Networking• Setting up of evacuation area(iv) Recommendations to ACT
1. Funding support for capacity building/training related tosustainable disaster management program.
2. Providing the seed fund that will pave the way for the selfsufficiency of the local NGOs. (Build a sustainable financial base for sustainable projects. It is important for the
locals to be able to complete the projects by themselves.)(1) ACT is expected to provide seed funds to local NGOsin creating their own funds, while monitoring of use of
the funds will be done by ACT.
(2) ACT shall support the creation of a partnership fundby NGOs from different countries or regions.
3. Strengthen ACT’s convening power for a comprehensive
collaboration between various stakeholders, organizations
including governments.
4. (For ACC21) Creation of disaster management platform.
5. Support for the creation of an Information database andmanagement on disaster prevention in Asia.

33

4. Sum-up meeting of ACT Strategy Conference

The Sum-up Meeting was held in the eveningof the 7th of August, 2013, the last day of the Strategy Conference. The overseas participants finalized the list of recommendations to ACT based on
the results of the discussions held on the 5th ofAugust.
It was suggested that the ACT should focus its
support on four main areas, namely “South-South
cooperation,” “capacity building of local champions,” “capacity building and utilization of IT”,
and “promotion of social enterprises” while making use of its expanding network and knowledge
about local NGOs, which is the greatest strengthof ACT.
With regard to the improvement of the ACT
funding scheme and its process, in order to bringabout greater impact of the projects but for lower
costs at the same time, suggestions such as “decreasing the number of grantees (projects),” and“extending the tenure of funding to at least five
years,” were given, along with other suggestions
on the process of how to make the remittance ofgrants faster and minimize losses due to fluctuations in the exchange rate. It was suggested that
ACC21 will implement some of the suggestions
which are difficult to be realized by ACT, which isbounded by the regulations of Charitable Trusts.
In addition, local NGOs, for their part on the
proposed south-south cooperation, were suggested to “become focal points for their areas of expertise”. In terms of strengthening their financial
capacity, the local NGOs were suggested “to work
together with other ACT grantees from the same
country and set up a common fund whose seedmoney may come from ACT, and to which the local NGOs will contribute to make it grow”.

34(1) Summary of Recommendations to ACT◾ South-South Cooperation
1. Promote and fund projects based on South-South
cooperation that will enhance sharing of data, information, and collaboration among local NGOs in the
Asian region.
2. Introduce the successful cases among the projects of
ACT grantees to other Asian countries such as Myanmar, and support the sharing of knowledge and experiences. (For example, bring the areas of expertiseof past ACT grantees, such as Education through thepuppet theater of Duang Prateep Foundation (Thailand), or Microfinance through CARD to Myanmar◾ Capacity-building for local and regional champions
3. Identify local and regional champions (individuals
or organizations) and prioritize support for building
their capacities in selected sectorial expertise.
4. Continue supporting innovative ideas that will empower the local people.
◾ Building of IT capacity of NGO and utilizationof the technology
5. Support the building of IT capacity of NGO staff
6. Tie up with local NGOs and support their development of free and open source software◾ Promotion of Social Enterprise
7. Support the promotion of social enterprises (social
business/projects).
8. Provide support for the sustainability of local NGOs.
(Take an approach that will make the NGOs self-sustaining even after the ACT grant has terminated. Build
the capacities of NGOs so that they will develop skills
on microfinance or social business.)

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities◾ Improvement of ACT Funding Scheme/Process
9. Reconsider tenure of funding: commit 5 years.
10. Decrease the number of grantees/projects (Moregrantees means less amount of grant per NGO.)
11. Allow 20% of the ACT grant to be used on venturelike social enterprises/projects. Allot a portion of the
ACT funds to support projects with innovative “crazy”
ideas.
12. Shorten the period from the conclusion of the agreement to the remittance of the grant.
13. Allocate 5% of the grant for miscellaneous fees,
adjustment fee for fluctuations on the currency exchange rate, auditing fee, and evaluation fee.
14. Set up contingency “risk fund” within ACT to be used
to cover losses due to fluctuations in the exchangerate.
15. With regards to the grant money, approve proposed
budget and remit in USD.

(2) Recommendations to ACC21
1. Maximize use of convening power.
2. Create an interactive multilingual website for data andinformation sharing.
3. Promote BOP business by supporting collaborative
projects between local NGOs and business companies.
4. Support the marketing of products manufactured
through the ACT-funded projects such as those for the
livelihood and business development of women, etc.

(3) Role of local NGOs
1. Make use of the strengths, field of expertise of the local
NGOs that participated in the Conference in promoting south-south partnership and cooperation between
ACT grantees by becoming the focal NGOs in the following fields:• Education through puppet shows (Duang Prateep
Foundation, Thailand)• Disaster resilience (BEDROC, India)• Capacity-building of farmers (AFA, The Philippines)• Microfinance, BOP business (CARD MRI, The Philippines)• Improvement of livelihood of poor women (WSE, Sri
Lanka)
2. Create a common fund using a seed fund from ACT andmanage it together with other ACT grantees from thesame country by contributing to make the fund grow.

35

5. Experience Sharing (Individual Programs)(1) Public Seminars, Fora, and Symposia“Increasing Interest in BOP Businessin neighboring Asian countries by JapaneseCompanies: Expectations and Advice
from NGO Leaders in Asia” (August 6)
A seminar on the development of new business models
by Japanese companies that will serve the lowest stratumof society in Asian countries was held on the 6th of August. Invited as speakers were Dr. Aristotle Alip (Philippines), Ms. Prateep Ungsongtham Hata (Thailand), andMs. Esther Penunia (Philippines).
In this seminar, the three speakers shared their experiences and the outcomes of their projects, which deal withmicrofinance and small scale enterprise development indifferent countries in Southeast Asia; children from economically poor families; and agricultural and rural development for small scale farmers, in front of an audience
composed of around 60 participants from different Japanese companies. In addition, Mr. Okita, General Managerof the CSR Department of Ajinomoto Co., Inc. made apresentation about their Nutrition Improvement Projectin Ghana as a sample case of BOP business conducted bya Japanese company.
In the open forum held following the presentations,the three speakers gave the following suggestions regarding the BOP business by Japanese companies: “appropriate the needs of the locals”; “ensure that there are noharmful effects on the lives of the locals”; “collaborate
with the local NGOs and/or CBOs/POs”; and “make useof the local resources and ownership should belong to the
local residents.”
It is hoped that this seminar would pave the way forthe collaboration of Japanese companies and local NGOs,
eradicating poverty and creating a rich and sustainable society in Asia through BOP business.
This event was co-organized with the Japan Philanthropic Association in cooperation with Ajinomoto Co.,
Ltd.

36

“Linking Peoples Engaged in Reconstruction
Efforts: The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
and Tsunami and the 2011 Great Eastern Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami” (August 6)
Ms. H.H.A.D. Karunawathie Menike (Sri Lanka) and
Ms. Annie George (India), two leaders of NGOs that undertake reconstruction efforts in the areas affected by the2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami and grantees of “The Daiwa Securities Group Tsunami Reconstruction Fund,” took center stage at the forum linking the2004 natural disaster with the 2011 Great Eastern Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami. They presented the progressand outcomes of their respective projects, and also shared
their impressions and the lessons they learned after visiting the affected areas in the Tohoku region.
During the panel discussion, Ms. Menike and Ms.
George, together with some of the local NGOs working
on reconstruction projects in the Tohoku region shared
their activities, accomplishments, and problems, and exchanged opinions on the common issues between Japanand the affected area in Asia, and on their experiences withreconstruction efforts. Ms. George emphasized the following points in order to attain sustainable development in
the affected areas after reconstruction: (1) The affected
people (locals) are involved in planning, implementation,and monitoring; (2) Collect and manage accurate information about the local residents and share this with theresidents themselves and outsiders; (3) Involve and coordinate all stakeholders, including the government; (4) Reconstruction efforts are something that are planned in every stage. Risk reduction is just the first step. One should
also pay attention to growth and development, and take
into consideration evacuation, self-reliance, resettlement,
and what to do under normal circumstances.
Ms. Yoshida of the “Iwaki-Otento SUN” Business
Union remarked, “After listening to Ms. Menike and Ms.
George, I thought ‘Why didn’t we have the chance to listen to the people like them who had accumulated experience and knowledge in the 2004 Tsunami?’. Ms. George’s
words, ‘only the affected people in the area are the ones
who can engage with the problems on a long-term basis’made me realize the importance of sharing information
with the stakeholders, and collaborating with them in thelong run. In terms of reconstruction in gender equality,
Ms. Menike commented the following based on her own
experiences: “Men and women have their own importantroles. It is important for men and women to work together
in reconstruction process when you think about sustainable development. In our projects, men and women haveequal involvement and participation. This equality will
become natural with the next generation.” Finally, withregards to mental care, Ms. George explained “Recovering livelihoods means recovering the mental stability andconfidence of the affected people. While long-term employment is important, we should also secure short-termmeans of earning a living. In the initial stage, ways of making easy money such as removing debris and rebuilding
infrastructure are important to make enough for food toIII. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

put on the table that day. Secure medium-term (1 to 2
years) employment. In the end, the people restoring theirlives to their original state would be the most ideal case.”
Many agreed to this statement, which came from someone experienced with rebuilding projects after the 2004
tsunami.
More than 100 people attended the forum and listened intently to the discussion between the panelists.
This forum was co-organized with Daiwa Securities
Group, Society for Women’s Education and Leadership(Jyoshi Kyoiku Shorei Kai: JKSK), and Japan NPO Center(JNPOC).

“Magsaysay Awardees Share their Experiencesand Future Perspectives of Asia: Rolesof NGOs/Social Enterprises in Promoting
Endogenous Development and Symbiotic
Communities in Asia” (August 7)
A public symposium with guest speakers Dr. Alip and
Ms. Ungsongtham-Hata, awardees of the “Ramon Magsaysay Award,” also considered as Asia’s Nobel Peace Prize,
was held in the afternoon of 7th of August.
In the first part of the symposium, Ms. UngsongthamHata made a presentation about her humble beginnings.
While growing up in the slums, she had always pondered
why there were no schools in her neighborhood and why
the children could not receive education like other children. When she turned 16, she and her sister started aschool at their home, for which she received the Ramon
Magsaysay Award for Public Service. With the award money, she created the “Duang Prateep Foundation,” which
implements comprehensive programs such as runningkindergarten schools, providing education scholarships,
operating mobile libraries and puppet theaters (this project received grants from 1985 to 1987 from ACT), developing human resources, implementing “New Life Project”(a school where children from dysfunctional families live

together to train in farming to learn the spirit of cooperation) development of slum communities, and many others.
Next, Dr. Alip narrated how he established CARD
27 years ago with the initial financial support from ACT.
Since then CARD has grown into the largest microfinanceinstitution serving around 2 million poor women in termsof financing, medical care, business development, provision of housing and other types of services.
In the second part of the symposium, both speakers
shared their views on the future roles of NGOs and social
enterprises, and the prospect of collaboration between
companies and NGOs through BOP business for the benefit of the poor. In the third part, the audience listened asboth speakers voiced their expectations and messages to
the Japanese people.
More than 100 persons, mostly students and thosefrom the academe attended the symposium which led toan active and fruitful exchange between the speakers andthe audience. Some of the questions from the audience
were: “Is literacy education for adults being implemented
in Thailand?” “Why are there many landless farmers in thePhilippines?” “Why is the repayment rate for poor people
in the Philippines high when in Japan it is the opposite?”“Where does the cause of the widening gap between therich and the poor lie?”This forum was co-organized with the Rikkyo University Graduate School of Social Design Studies and Social
Design Lab.

(2) Experience-sharing and networking
during field visits
Meeting with Filipino communities
in Japan (August 3)
In the afternoon of the 3rd of August, ACC21 held aseminar on microfinance and social entrepreneurship at
the Embassy of the Philippines in Minato Ward, Tokyo,
with Mr. Aristotle Alip as Guest Speaker. Around 50 Filipinos attended the seminar, who received Dr. Alip and his
ideas with great enthusiasm. Some of them were eager tointroduce CARD to their family and relatives back in thePhilippines. They also asked questions about the annualinterest rates of accounts with CARD Bank (2% for regular savings and 3-5% for time deposits), the coverage of
insurance, and education scholarships (educational loans
for elementary and high school).

37

In his closing remarks, Ambassador Manuel M. Lopez
emphasized the following: “Some say that Filipinos are notentrepreneurially minded. Many are afraid to take risks
because they have heard of many failure stories after investing all of their hard-earned money on business ventures. However, foreign direct investments such as thosefrom Japan are surging in the country, and job openings
are increasing. Being entrepreneurial is something that
our country needs to develop. It does not have to be big.
You can start like how Dr. Alip described, with a small business like a sari-sari store.”

Visit to the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial
Foundation (August 6)
Shibusawa Eiichi (1840-1931) introduced business
management to Japan and is widely known as the “father
of Japanese capitalism.” He played a pivotal role in theestablishment of numerous companies and contributed toimportant fields such as social welfare, education, private
diplomacy and many others, which paved the way for the

CARD: Walking together with women(Excerpt from Dr. Alip’s Presentation in the Meeting with
Filipino communities in Japan)
The phrase “world-class” is included in our present vision. If
you’re going to dream, you have to dream big.
Our vision was formed together with our members, the clients. We call them “nanay” (the Filipino word for “mother”). Our
vision used to be “to serve the poor Filipinos in the Philippines,”
but the nanays changed this wording. They said it is very insulting to call them such because it is not their fault that they wereborn poor. They wanted to be called “socially and economicallychallenged women and families” instead.
CARD has been developing innovative systems that challenge traditional practices in insurance and banking. For example, our micro insurance company, which insures more than
8.5 million Filipino poor (about 21% of the entire population),
uses a 1-3-5 payment system. This means we pay the benefits
within 1 day. If there are inquiries, we pay in 3 days. If there areissues in the documents, we pay in 5 days. We also give loans
without any collateral, and we release loans within 24 hours. At
present, CARD has more than 1,500 offices nationwide, withthe exception of Batanes islands up in the north.
In Hong Kong, CARD is working closely with the Philippine
Consulate-General in conducting a financial literacy program
for the OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). OFWs send theirmoney to their families back in the Philippines, but their husbands often use all the money for their vices, so there is nothing left for savings. When the OFWs go back home, they havenothing. No house. No business. Their children cannot go toschool. They’re in a very pitiful situation. I’ve seen the problems
faced by OFWs: dysfunctional families, teenage pregnancies,
drug addiction, and school dropouts. In CARD, once the OFWs
send their remittance home, we give 80% of the money to thefamily, while the remaining 20% goes to their savings. When
the OFWs return home, we give them loans with the sameamount as their savings so that they can start a family businessor house construction. To make sure the family is getting themoney, our staff visits the families in the Philippines, recruits
them as members and train them in business and savings formation. Because of the success of our program in Hong Kong,

38

modernization of Japan after the Meiji Restoration.
After many decades, interest in Shibusawa Eiichi’s philosophy rose again due to the search for solutions to economic problems such as the collapse of the bubble economy in Japan in the early 1990s, and the Lehman Shockwhich shook the global economy in 2008.
In the afternoon of the 6th of August, the five local
Asian NGO leaders visited the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation in Kita Ward, Tokyo. They explored the
Shibusawa Memorial Museum which houses documents,
artifacts, photographs and other images from Shibusawa’s
life in a guided tour led by the museum’s English-speaking staff. After the tour, they engaged in an active discussion with the President of the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial
Foundation and great grandson of Mr. Eiichi Shibusawa,
Mr. Masahide Shibusawa. Managing Director Mr. Jun’etsu
Komatsu also joined the discussion.
The overseas participants were greatly impressed by
the fact that “social enterprises,” which aims to gain profits for the purpose of social development, has only beengarnering attention recently, when in Japan, it was alreadywe plan to replicate it in Singapore and in Malaysia.
When you give loans to women, they have the capability totransform it into productive and income-generating activities.
With every income increase, every peso they earn, their firstpriority is always the family. Men, on the other hand, will calltheir friends and say “let’s go and have a drink!” I think thisnature is not only true for Filipinos but for all Southeast Asians.
The Filipinos are known for “fiestas” (festivals) and during fiesta season, they use up all their money at once. This is why
discipline when it comes to saving is important. Our clients are
disciplined, so we are able to get a very high repayment rate.
CARD Bank is fueled by their savings and therefore does notborrow from anybody anymore. CARD MBA (CARD Mutual
Benefit Association Inc.), on the other hand, is owned 100% by
our members.
Women in the Philippines like making small talk. If you go
to the riverside, you can see women in small groups washingclothes together and gossiping. In one day, they meet up to
three times just to chat, to exchange information. What we didin CARD is to just formalize this natural grouping into a 45-minute center meeting, where they get or pay their loans. Our payment system is very open; the period varies from 3 to 6 months,
even one year. They pay their loans weekly in any amount theycan: 20, 50 or 100 pesos. When we started 27 years ago, we
started with 500-peso loans only. Now we have increased it
to 3,000 to 5,000. If they succeed, we increase their loans to
10,000, 20,000, 50,000. That way, we give them confidence.
What we are doing here is not just business, but the most important thing: you bring back their lost dignity, giving them backtheir confidence, and they feel that they belong.
The issue in poverty is not about access, but about controlof resources. If the poor could control their resources by giving
them equity in establishing the bank, that is empowerment. I
am proud to say, there are many among our clients who wereable to escape from poverty. From landless poor, they now
have rice fields, coconut plantations. They own cars, houseand lot. Some of them are the biggest handicraft suppliers in
SM malls. Some are in Ayala stores. We have many successstories.
This seminar was organized in cooperation with the Embassyof the Republic of the Philippines, and the Japan-Philippines
NGO Network.

III. Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

The Life and Works of Shibusawa Eiichi(Abridged excerpt from Mr. Shibusawa Masahide’s
speech)Shibusawa Eiichi was sent to Europe in 1867 by the Tokugawa Shogunate and stayed in France for a year or so. When hereturned to Japan, he served as Head of the Reform Office ofthe Meiji government, where he took part in 35 major projects
ranging from the mapping of the country, establishment of themodern postal service, construction of railways, and the establishment of tariff scheme, among others. In 1873, he resigned
from his position and joined the private sector as the Superintendent of Daiichi Bank (presently known as Mizuho Bank),
Japan’s first privately owned Western-style financial institution.
He was then 33 years old. Apart from these, he also established
Shoshi Kaisha (present Oji Paper Company), the first Japanesemanufacturing venture in 1874.
Eiichi believed that the founding and managing of companies are essential to a modernizing Japan. He was involvedin establishing around 470 companies, contributing a part ofthe startup capital; giving guidance to those wanted to start a
company on how to draw loans from the bank, or how to makefinancial statements; and lending his name as co-founder.
After making sure that the company’s operations are runningsmoothly, he would sell his share of the stocks and use thatmoney to help start yet another enterprise.
Eiichi showed little interest in making the companies his own
and was more committed in helping the nation’s growth andbeing taken into consideration by Eiichi more than 170
years ago. The local Asian NGO leaders who are engaged
in the eradication of poverty in their respective countries,
learned a great deal from Eiichi’s experiences such as thecreation of the basic foundations for the establishmentof Hitotsubashi University (One of the leading national
universities in Japan specializing in social sciences); theeducation of women; and disaster response after the 1923
Great Kanto Earthquake, the 1931 Central China floods,
and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
Dr. Alip from the Philippines remarked, “His philosophy is very timely. Mr. Masahide Shibusawa mentioned thecollapse of Lehman brothers and how that affected theglobal economy. Everyone has to look at Eiichi’s story because there are lessons to be learned.”
Reference: http://www.shibusawa.or.jp/
http://www.shibusawa.or.jp/research/newsletter/newsletter_30.html

Photo taken at Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation

development. He wanted to create a system or an organization
where entrepreneurs, bankers, or manufacturers with common
goals and a spirit of independence can work together and whenneeded, persuade the government as a group to improve thebusiness environment.
Eiichi propounded his own style of capitalism he named“Gappon Capitalism,” by which he meant creating a system
where money, manpower, and resources are drawn widely fromthe general public to be used to invest in a series of public or
private enterprises, which (1) increases the nation’s wealth and(2) returns profits to society and public as dividends. In otherwords, it is “a philosophy which gathers human and financial
resources to promote enterprises that will benefit the society”.
In terms of poverty alleviation, Eiichi helped manage the Tokyo Youiku-in as its CEO for nearly 60 years. Tokyo Youiku-in
is a public organization which inherited a part of the system ofhelping the poor who were left behind by the Tokugawa Shogunate. He visited its branches in different parts of the country tohelp the homeless and orphaned children. In terms of education, the prejudice that merchants do not need a formal education was still prevalent during Eiichi’s time. He got involved withthe project of the Chamber of Commerce which establishedthe Institute for Business Training in 1875, which later on became Hitotsubashi University. He was also passionate about
education for women, and he created the Society of Promoting
Women’s Education and Leadership (Joshi Kyouiku Ikusei Kai:
JKSK), and Tokyo Jogakkan (Tokyo Women’s School).

Visit to the 2011 Great Eastern Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami disaster-affectedareas in the Tohoku region (August 2-3)
On the 2nd and 3rd of August, Ms. Menike and Ms.
George, leaders of NGOs engaged in reconstruction efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami, visited Minamisanriku and Kesennuma in Miyagi
Prefecture, areas both heavily damaged by the 2011 Great
Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. They met andtalked with local NGO workers, local government officials,
teachers and residents of the temporary settlements provided by the national government. The visit was arranged
in cooperation with Women’s Eye (WE), an NGO working
with women in the visited areas, and the guided tour was
led by Ms. Ishimoto, the Director of WE.
On the first day of field visits, Ms. Menike and Ms.
George met with Mr. Kudo, an assistant to the chief priestof the Kamiyama Hachimangu Shrine, who works as the
Sub-Leader of the Working Group on Parks of the Minamisanriku Shizugawa Town Development Council and as
one of the organizers of the “Kamome no Nijiiro Kaigi”
which is a series of meetings on town development held
based on the initiative of the townspeople. Mr. Kudo related stories of the disaster, and of the active participationof local residents to the rehabilitation plans. Next, they
visited the temporary settlement “Heisei no Mori” andlistened to the residents talk about their experiences during the disaster. They also went to Café Azuma-re, where
they held an informal dialogue with people who are supporting the residents of the temporary settlements. Afterwards, they went to the Shizugawa Junior High school
where the teachers who are putting much effort in disasterprevention, taught them the importance of implementing
an all-day drill simulating the events when a disaster occurs with the participation of the locals. Lastly, they paid avisit to “moco made,” a novelty shop selling hand-knitted
goods, and listened to the stories of the storeowner Ms.
39

III.Conferences and Experience-Sharing Activities

Yano, of women who formed a group of mothers taking
care of small children, and of a man who is involved withthe online selling of seafood.
On the second day, Ms. Menike and Ms. George had
dialogues with workers of NGOs engaged in international cooperation and with youth organizations working in
the disaster-affected areas. At the Kesennuma Branch of
the Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA), the two learned
about SVA’s relief and evacuation operations immediately
after the disaster, and about the network association comprising of NGOs conducting rehabilitation projects in thearea. Next, they visited the office of Peace Winds Japan,
and learned about their “Furusato Gakushūkai (Hometown Classroom)” project where adults of Minamisanriku
teach the younger population about their hometown: its
industries, natural environment, and various other topics.
They also went to Minamisanriku Reconstruction Network (373NET), founded by a group of young people active in the area. 373NET’s Representative, Mr. Oikawa, introduced the organization’s vision and mission, activities,
and community development plans following the hopes
and wishes of the locals themselves. Ms. Menike and Ms.
George also shared their own experiences with the young
leader. During their visit, they continued to hear stories ofhardships experienced by the affected peoples and theirhopes of rebuilding their lives.
Ms. Menike and Ms. George returned to Tokyo in theevening of the 3rd of August. On the 8th of August, they
paid a courtesy visit to the Japan Civil Network for Disaster
Relief in the East Japan (JCN) and exchanged information and opinions about networking and other topics relevant to disaster response.

Ms. Menike (left) and Ms. George (right) visited the Keimeimaru restaurant in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture. Its buoy was swept away by
the tsunami and found in the coast of Alaska 5,000 kms away.

40

Meeting with ACT trustees, donors,
and members of the Executive Advisory
Committee (August 6)
In the morning of the 6th of August, ACT trustees, donors of the ACT Special Funds and General Fund, andmembers of the Executive Advisory Committee gathered
to listen to the presentations made by the four leadersof NGOs that are past and present grantees of ACT on
the success and issues of ACT-funded projects. An open
discussion followed the presentations where the participants exchanged views on the achievements of the aforementioned projects, thereby allowing the participants todeepen their understanding on the significance of funded
projects, and the challenges faced by ACT grantees andproviding them new prospects about the future roles of
ACT in Asia.
A total of 26 participants joined the session: the 5 overseas participants, donors of the initial endowment to ACT,
donors of the ACT Special Funds, members of the ACT
Executive Advisory Committee, a representative fromTrust Companies Association of Japan, ACT trustees, and
the ACT Secretariat. One of the ACT donors remarked,“The money from Japan is being put to good use. A great
majority of the projects are aimed towards the improvement of the living conditions of each individual, but whenpeople carry out activities as a group, it becomes a “movement.” The fact that it contributes to community development is a wonderful thing. From the Japanese perspective,
the amount of the grants may not be that much, but they(the NGO leaders) make maximum use of the grant from
ACT that effect social movement. I would like to use thisopportunity to think more of what I can do as a Japanesecitizen from here on to contribute to the countryside development of our Asian neighbors.”
Praises from other participants were also heard. Oneof the ACT trustees commented, “It was an invaluable
experience for me to hear firsthand accounts of the experiences and achievements of the projects supported by
ACT.” Mr. Ueno, Managing Director of the Trust Companies Association of Japan noted, “At present, there arearound 600 Charitable Trusts in Japan. It is enlightening
to know that Funds like these are being used effectively.
We were able to learn that ACT, with its more than 30 yearsof experience, has achieved and is continuing to achieve
great results through its funded projects.”
Mr. Hirono, a member of the ACT Executive Advisory Committee commented, “Every year, we receive reports from the ACT Secretariat. However, hearing about
the projects from the NGO leaders themselves gave us aclearer picture of the projects’ activities, results and outcomes.” He further suggested, “I hope seminars like thiswill be conducted nationwide. It will not only promote
ACT and its activities to the Japanese citizens; it can also
be connected to the improvement of the Official Development Assistance (ODA).

IV. Recommendations (Creating a framework of mutual
support in Asia and the role of ACT)

1. ACT: Its nature, limitations,and challenges
After gathering recommendations from both the participants of the ACT Strategy Conference and the resultsof the surveys conducted prior to the Conference, it isthen necessary to reassess the nature of ACT, its limitations and the challenges it faces.
ACT is a Charitable Trust which follows a trust systemcreated for the use of funds bequeathed by individuals or
corporations to projects for the benefit of the public in
education, international cooperation and other fields. In
the case of ACT, those individuals and corporations thatshare the same vision with the original donors (trustors)
can entrust and set up a Special Fund within ACT by donating over 10 million yen (approximately 100,000 US
dollars) and are free to give the Special Fund a name. The
funds are managed by the Trustee which also provides the
grants (Refer to “Excerpt from the Contract of the Asian Community Trust”).
Due to the trust system and the nature of ACT, ACT
fully respects the wishes of its donors. Four trust banks
serve as the Trustees of ACT and its Executive Advisory
Committee, set by the Trustees and composed of experts
and well experienced people in international cooperation, guides the Trustees and selects applications for funding; and ACC21, an NGO commissioned as the Secretariat

by the Trustees, is engaged in surveying for prospective
projects for funding and in monitoring funded projects aswell as doing publicity work for ACT activities.
However, due to the limitations set by the trust systemand the nature of ACT, ACT itself does not possess funds
nor is it able to set a budget to organize an international
conference or to conduct a systematic evaluation of thefunded projects. Therefore, as in the case of this Strategy
Conference, ACC21, the Secretariat of ACT, took the responsibility of gathering funds, planning, and organizing
the Conference.
Hence, while the recommendations gathered fromthe Conference and the surveys conducted shall be used
towards the improvement of ACT upon endorsement by
the Executive Advisory Committee and approval by theTrustees, there are some recommendations which ACT
cannot put into action because of its nature. In such cases,
ACC21 shall take the appropriate action that will contribute to the further development of ACT.

2. Recommendations to ACT

Let’s take a look at the recommendations to ACT. The
recommendations were gathered from two main sources.
First, two surveys were conducted months prior to the
ACT Strategy Conference. One was a questionnaire-stylesurvey conducted on the past grantees of ACT (pages 1015), while the other was a survey on the flowof money from Japanese grant-making foundations to local NGOs, and the position of ACT[Reference] Excerpt from the Contract of the Asian Comin this flow (pages 16-22). Recommendations
munity Trust(As of November 7, 1979. Provisional translation)
were made based on the results of these surveys. (Unfortunately, the initially planned sur(Intent in Establishing the Trust)
vey on the past and present situation of finanArticle 1
cial support such as donations and grants to
The Settlors, Mr. Yasutaro Imai and MRA Foundation, recognize the significanceof the promotion of mutual understanding between the people of Japan andNGOs within different countries in Asia wasother countries in Asia and its contribution to the development of Japan, as wellwithdrawn due to the absence of a research asas the importance of cooperation at private sector level in the fields of socialsociate in the target countries, and other readevelopment, education, and cultural promotion in these countries. The Settlors
hereby endow their monetary properties and establish this Trust for the benefit
sons.)of projects which contribute to the abovementioned promotion of mutual unSecond, three discussion groups were
derstanding and cooperation, and expect further contribution from the generalformedin the afternoon of the first day of thesociety who identify and agree with the intent and purpose of the Trust.
ACT Strategy Conference. In these discussion(Trustees)groups, Japanese and overseas participants exArticle 4changed views on the role of ACT and listed
The Trustees of this Trust are the Mitsui Trust & Banking Co., Ltd., The Mitsubitheir recommendations to ACT (pages 30shi Trust & Banking Corporation, The Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co., Ltd., The
Yasuda Trust & Banking. Co., Ltd, The Toyo Trust & Banking Co., Ltd., The Chuo
33). The original plan was to organize andTrust & Banking Co., Ltd., Nippon Trust Bank, Ltd., and Daiwa Bank, Ltd. (herediscuss these recommendations at the end of
inafter referred to as “Joint trustees”).
Conference on the first day, but due to time
(Purpose of the Trust)constraints, the participants were not able to
Article 5consolidate the recommendations. The SecreThe Purpose of this Trust is to contribute to the promotion of mutual undertariat (ACC21) therefore requested the overstanding between the people of Japan and other countries in Asia by providing
grants to projects conducted in Asian countries which contribute to the promoseas participants to produce a consolidated list
tion of social development, academic research, education, culture, agriculture,of recommendations based on the ones gathyouth development and so on. The grant shall be provided from the earnings orered from the discussion groups during thethe principal of the Trust based on the Intent stated in Article 1.
sum-up meeting (pages 34-35). The overseas
41participants were, of course, present during these discussion groups and participated in formulating these recommendations. They merged the recommendations withthe ones suggested in the discussion groups, and added
new ideas as well. These new ideas represent the overseas
participants playing a more active role in promoting the
programs of ACT.
The recommendations gathered from the conducted surveys and the sum-up meeting of the ACT Strategy
Conference can be categorized as follows: (1) The grant
projects of ACT (A. Grant framework (funding scheme andprocess), B. Important points in identifying and selecting
new grant projects, C. Details of prospective grant projects
which ACT should be more active in supporting, and D.
Evaluation); (2) The role of the overseas participants as focal
NGOs for their specialized fields; (3) The strengthening of thefinancial resources of ACT; (4) The role of ACC21 (for the activities that ACT itself cannot implement). Based on these,
ACC21 as the ACT Secretariat prepared its recommendations to the ACT Trustees (trust banks) and the Executive
Advisory Committee
The recommendations based on the categorization
above are explained in more detail below.

1) The Grant Projects of ACT
A. Basic Grant Framework (Funding Scheme andProcess)• Based on the results of the questionnaire-based
surveyThe following are the results from the questionnairebased survey on the basic grant framework of ACT conducted with the past grantees of ACT as survey subjects(discussed in more detail on pages 10-15). 34 out of 149
organizations responded to the survey (22.8% responserate).
Based on the results, 70-90% of the respondents gave
positive responses in all questionnaire items. However, it
can be assumed that due to the low response rate and thefact that the ACT-funded projects of most of the respondents produced good overall results (97% of the respondents described their ACT-funded projects as “success-• Recommendations from the Sum-up Meeting
The following recommendations were put forward by
the overseas participants during the sum-up meeting:① Duration of grant: In principle, commit support forthree years; five years for outstanding projects.
② Amount of grant: Decrease number of projects but increase amount of grant per project.
③ Process of grant remittance: Smoother remittance process and shorter period of remittance after concludingof contract.
④ Currency of grant: Remit the grant in US Dollars.
(However, it has been decided that grants would beremitted in Japanese yen during the ACT Executive
Advisory Committee meeting in March 2013.)⑤ Handling of loss from fluctuations in the exchange
rate: Allot 5% of the project budget for adjustments
necessary due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, audit and evaluations fees, to be included to the overall
grant amount. Otherwise, set up a “risk fund” within
ACT that will cover the losses. In case of gain, the excess money shall be returned to ACT.

1. Access to information on grant

Easy to obtain

(27)

2. Application and reporting requirements

Appropriate(27)

3. Application, remittance, reporting procedures

Easy

(23)

• Recommendations on the Basic Funding Policy of
ACT① Strong emphasis on endogenous development
Endogenous development was one of the key themesof ACT Strategy Conference, and its sense and purpose
were actively discussed by the participants. According
to them, endogenous development is “when the locals
achieve development through their own capabilities andefforts,” or “when locals are able to access and control theimportant resources in the community” (A more detailed discussion canbe found on pages 30-33). On the
Negative responses
other hand, participants also agreed
Difficult to obtain (4)that the locals themselves need to deInappropriate(1)velop a sustainable source of income
Difficult(3)
for their sustainable development.

4. Amount of grantSufficient(25)

Insufficient(2)

5. Receipt of remittance

Smooth(29)

Strict(0)

6. Communication/Consultation with theSecretariat

Easy

(30)

Difficult(1)

Question

42ful”), a majority of the responses tend to become positive.
On the other hand, ACT Secretariat sometimes receives complaints from recipient organizations for the delay in the remittance of the grant because they had to wait
for two to three months for the remittance of grants after
the conclusion of contract with ACT. This delay had always
been the issue which ACT should have tackled. During thesum-up meeting, the overseas participants called for the
faster process of remittance of the grant after the conclusion of contract.

Positive responses② Stance of ACT as a “partner”
ACT is suggested to continue its
stance of supporting the local NGOs
not as a “donor” but as a “partner.”IV. Recommendations (Creating a framework of mutual support in Asia and the role of ACT)

B. Important points in identifying and selecting
new grant projects• Identifying new grant projects① Prospective projects that focus on the fields
This recommendation came from the study on theflow of money from Japanese grant-making organizations
to local NGOs. It is important to spend a certain amountof time to identify prospective grant projects through fieldvisits to understand the needs of the beneficiaries and residents of the project sites concerned.
② Projects with innovative ideas
ACT is suggested to identify and support projects with“crazy,” innovative ideas (Recommendation gatheredfrom the discussion groups).
• Selection① Ensuring the sustainability of the projects even after
the termination of the grantThis recommendation came from study on Japanese
grant-making organizations and the sum-up meeting. In
the study, one organization that placed importance in“handover,” followed other organizations and allotted acertain number of years as transition period, or created afund for sustainable development so that the beneficiaries
can become self-sufficient and continue their activities. In
the sum-up meeting, the overseas participants suggested
supporting projects with elements of microfinance or social business.
② Supporting projects with intangible impacts
ACT has been supporting projects which bring intangible impacts or whose results take time to manifest suchas the network building of farmers or capacity buildingof local communities. ACT is recommended to continue
this effort.
③ Supporting projects that cannot be covered by thegovernment or international institutions
In the survey conducted on the position of ACT in relation to other Japanese grant-making organizations, ACT
is suggested to support projects that the government andother international institutions are not able to provide assistance to in order to distinguish itself from the previous
two.

C. Details of prospective grant projects• Grants projects that ACT should be more active
in supporting
Most of the following recommendations were gathered from the group discussions and the sum-up meeting:① Promoting “South-South cooperation”
Recommendations aimed at promoting “South-South
cooperation” were mentioned in the survey results, thegroup discussions, and the sum-up meeting. The following were suggested:a. Maximize the use of the convening power of the ACT
Secretariat and promote “South-South cooperation.”
ACT is recommended to support not just cooperation
among NGOs, but also among various stakeholders, including governments and business companies.
b. Support collaborative projects in a third country (e.g.
Myanmar) by organizations with successful ACT-funded projects. For example, Duang Prateep Foundation(Thailand) can make use of its experience in the fieldof education of children through the use of puppets,
while CARD can make use of its experience in the fieldof microfinance and apply these experiences in a collaborative project in Myanmar.
c. Develop open-source software for the benefit of local
NGOs, thereby encouraging “South-South cooperation.” Build a database (in both Japanese and English)
which contains information such as area of expertise,track record, approaches, resources, and other information on past ACT-funded organizations and projects,
and to which local NGOs can contribute or update.
This could help build “South-South cooperation.”② Building up IT capacity of staff (tie up with groups
dealing with free and open source software)
Support the capacity building of NGO staff in the fieldof Information Technology (IT). Provide funding for thedevelopment of free open-source software for the use ofNGOs.
③ Promoting social enterprises
Allot 20% of the overall funds of ACT for funding
venture-type social enterprises, particularly projects engaged in livelihood development that include elements of
microfinance or social business to ensure the sustainability of the project even after the grant from ACT finished.
④ Supporting innovative ideas
Allot a portion of ACT funds for projects based on“crazy” innovative ideas.
⑤ Nurturing local champions
Prioritize identifying and building capacities of champions (individuals or organizations) at local or regional
level in selected sectorial expertise.

43

⑥ Supporting endogenous development and the establishment of a common fund managed by the local
NGOs
In order to achieve endogenous development, previously mentioned in “Recommendations on the Basic
Funding Policy of ACT” (page 42), ACT is suggested tosupport microfinance-like projects that can possibly leadto the creation of social projects or enterprises. Setting up
a common fund managed by local NGOs is also necessary,and ACT is suggested to provide the seed money for thefund.

② Supporting the establishment of a self-managed fundTo enable the local community to engage in disastermanagement by themselves, the following recommendations were put forward:• The local NGOs themselves shall set up a fund to which
ACT shall provide the seed money. ACT is also expected to monitor the usage of money from the fund.
• ACT grantees from the same country as well as fromother countries shall create a partnership fund. ACTshall provide support to each participating organization.

⑦ Supporting the sharing of indigenous/appropriatetechnologies
Support projects that promote the learning, sharing,and diffusion of indigenous/appropriate technologies beyond local and national borders to promote endogenousdevelopment.

③ Supporting the creation of a disaster management
platform
NGOs engaged in disaster management shall exchange
knowledge and cooperate in building a disaster management platform (This was suggested to ACC21).

⑧ Supporting POs/CBOs, the partners of local NGOs
Continue supporting collaborative projects by local
NGOs and People’s Organizations (POs)/Community
Based Organizations (CBOs) (as ACT has done in thepast) and support projects that will help POs/CBOs become independent from NGOs and capable of continuing
their projects on their own even after the support from
ACT already finished. Moreover, support the building of
national and international networks for the empowerment of POs/CBOs.
⑨ Promoting collaboration with business companies
through BOP (Base of the pyramid) businessIn order for locals to achieve sustainable development,
it is necessary for the project to develop into business thatwill secure them a sustainable source of income. As partof this effort, ACT is suggested to encourage collaboration
between local NGOs and Japanese business companies in
BOP.
• Disaster Response Projects
Disaster response projects are inherently different
from other projects so a separate discussion group on this
topic was created during the ACT Strategy Conference.
The recommendations from this group are summarized
below.
① Supporting capacity building on sustainable disastermanagement
Provide support for the capacity-building (training) ofindividuals that will operate a sustainable disaster management program.

44④ Supporting the building of an information database on
disaster management
Provide support for the management of information andthe creation of a database on disaster management in the
Asian region. Moreover, ACT is suggested to strengthen
its convening power to promote the collaboration among
various stakeholders, including governments.

D. Evaluation
In both the results of the conducted surveys and thegroup discussions, the post-project evaluation system of
ACT was described as “weak” by the participants. The
survey respondents suggested a uniform system of postproject evaluation.

2) The role of the Overseas Participants
as Focal NGOs for their Specialized Fields
During the sum-up meeting on the last day of the ACT
Strategy Conference, the overseas participants expressed
their willingness to become focal NGOs for the fields theyspecialize in, to promote the activities of ACT.
The following are the specialized fields of the NGOs ofthe overseas participants:• DPF (Thailand): Education for children through puppet shows• BEDROC (India): Disaster reconstruction/resilience• AFA (Philippines): Capacity-building of small scale
farmer• CARD MRI (Philippines): Microfinance, BOP Business• WSE (Sri Lanka): Livelihood development of rural
women

IV. Recommendations (Creating a framework of mutual support in Asia and the role of ACT)

3) Strengthening of the Financial
Resources of ACT
According to the results of the study on Japanese
grant-making organizations, ACT is suggested to narrow
down its target of donors and to diversify its approach inraising funds in order to increase the number of donors(both donors of ACT Special Funds and of ACT GeneralFund). The recommendations are summarized below:• Solicit from individuals who are from the baby-boom
generation and their offspring.
• Create a webpage which people can access the programs supported by each Special Fund, and where
both donors and grantees can interact with each other.
• ACC21 (ACT Secretariat): Hold seminars on bequests
and call attention to the strengths of ACT Special
Funds to attract donors.
• Develop financial products which shall generate profits
to be used as donation.
• Create a customized style of donating so that donors(individuals or business companies) can appeal themselves or their companies through their donations.
• Raise funds by crowd funding (a method of raisingmonetary contributions from many people via the Internet).

4) The Role of ACC21(Activities that ACT itself cannot implement)
There was an active discussion on the role of ACC21
among the overseas participants during the sum-up meeting. Their recommendations were:① Maximize the use of convening power.
② Create a multilingual, interactive website for data andinformation sharing③ Promote BOP business by funding collaborative projects between local NGOs and companies.
④ Help find markets for the products created by womenfrom business development/ livelihood development
projects.
In addition, ACC21 is expected to advocate policy reforms to the Japanese government and international institutions, as expressed during the group discussions.

45

3. Summary of Recommendations of the
ACT Secretariat to the ACT Trustee andthe Executive Advisory Committee, andthe Role of ACC21
Creating a framework of mutual support in
Asia and the role of ACT
The recommendations mentioned above were regrouped into 1) recommendations ACT itself can implement, 2) recommendations ACT cannot implement, and
3) recommendations that would take time to implement
but for which ACT is willing to persevere to perform. It isespecially important to consult the ACT Trustee and Executive Advisory Board regarding the recommendations
on the third group. However, ACT, being a Charitable
Trust has limitations in implementing some of recommendations, in which ACC21 shall assume responsibility andstudy the possibility of implementation.

1) Recommendations that can be readily
implemented• Basic Grant Framework (Funding Scheme
and Process) and Funding Policy① Shortening the remittance procedures after conclusion of grant contracts
Efforts are being undertaken by the Secretariat andthe Trustee to make the remittance process shorter; bothshall persevere to improve the speed in remitting grants to
the recipient organizations.
② Duration and amount of funding
ACT has been providing funding to projects for three
years, and if a project is assessed as able to produce outcome with bigger impacts, the funding for this projectis extended for two or three more years. However, theamount of funding is decided on a case-to-case basis.
③ Endogenous development and partnership
ACT shall continue its stance of being a partner rather
than a donor to its grantees, where both parties are committed on equal footing to work on common issues relevant to the project. This partnership is not limited to local
NGOs only but also extends to the locals who are beneficiaries of the projects. ACT shall also continue placing
utmost importance on endogenous development.
④ Project evaluation
At present, organizations applying for an ACT grant
are required to submit a Project Design Matrix (PDM) or
Action Plan with which the Secretariat can check the project’s overall goals, specific objectives, expected outputs,
objectively verifiable indicators, important assumptions,46

inputs and other important aspects of the proposed project. Yet, these remain as reference materials only when
the implementing organization conducts a self-evaluation of the project or when the ACT Secretariat visits tomonitor the progress of the project. Therefore, ACT shalldevelop an effective project evaluation system by using
the evaluation indicators (PDM/Action Plan) to the fullest. However, a system of implementation and budget isnecessary to implement interim evaluation, post-project
evaluation, self-evaluation by the recipient organizations
or even an overall evaluation on the third year of the project; hence, these will be pursued after consulting the ACT
Trustee and the Executive Advisory Committee.
• Important points in identifying and selecting grant
projects① Identifying projects that focus on the community andprojects based on innovative ideas
ACT has been and shall continue identifying prospective grant projects that value the community, and shallpersevere to improve those projects, as well as support
projects with innovative ideas.
② Ensuring the sustainability of grant projects, supporting projects with intangible impacts, and supporting
projects that will distinguish ACT from the governmentand other international institutions
ACT has already been attending to these recommendations in selecting projects. However, ACT shall study moreon the concept of aid and improve its funding scheme to
be able to ensure the self-sustaining development of thelocals (the beneficiaries of the projects).

2) Recommendations that would take time
to implement but which ACT plans to implement
after consulting the ACT Truπstee andthe Executive Advisory Committee• Grant framework (funding scheme and process),and important points in identifying and selecting
grant projects① Handling of loss from fluctuations in the exchange
rate
While it is difficult for ACT to set up a “risk fund” thatwill cover loss caused by fluctuations in the exchange rate,
the ACT Secretariat shall consult the Trustee and the Executive Advisory Committee about the possibility of funding a fixed portion (e.g. 5%) of the project budget for
the audit fee, self-evaluation fee and other necessary fees.

IV. Recommendations (Creating a framework of mutual support in Asia and the role of ACT)

• Details of prospective grant projects: Grants projects that ACT should be more active in supporting① Promoting “South-South cooperation”
Although limited in form, ACT has been promoting“South-South cooperation” as in the case of ACT supporting the technology transfer of microfinance from thePhilippines to Vietnam and Cambodia. The ACT Secretariat shall consult the Executive Committee whether it can
openly call for proposals of projects promoting “SouthSouth cooperation.”On the other hand, proposals of collaborative projects
by NGOs that were ACT grantees are of course, eligible
for screening. However, it is necessary for the Secretariat
to consult the Trustee and Executive Advisory Committee
whether an official call for such proposals can be includedin the grant application guidelines.
In regard to the development of open-source software
for the use of the local NGOs, ACT itself cannot perform
this task due to its nature as a Charitable Trust. However, it is possible for ACT to outsource this task to ACC21
upon obtaining the approval of the Trustee and the Executive Advisory Committee and signing a memorandumof agreement between ACT and ACC21.

in the Introduction (page 1) is similar to this common
fund. The ACT Secretariat shall also consult the Trustee
and the Executive Advisory Committee whether the “ACTCountry Fund” can be pursued in cooperation with thelocal NGOs.

② Promoting social enterprises, supporting innovativeideas, and nurturing local champions
These recommendations are relatively new to ACT.
However, some of the suggestions, such as “allocating 20%of the overall funds of ACT for funding social ventures/social enterprises” or “allocating a portion of ACT funds for
projects based on “crazy” innovative ideas” can be considered unfeasible at the moment due to the nature of ACT
as a Charitable Trust that follows the will of the donors of
its Funds. Likewise, it would be difficult for ACT to prioritize identifying and supporting “local champions” on its
own initiative. The Secretariat shall consult and follow theadvice of the Trustee and Executive Advisory Committee
regarding these three recommendations.

⑥ Supporting disaster response projects
The local NGOs that put forward this recommendation are grantees of the ACT Special Fund “The Daiwa
Securities Group Tsunami Reconstruction Fund,” which
was created in 2005 and will finish at the end of March2015. Therefore, unless a new Special Fund aimed at supporting disaster response projects is created, supporting
such projects would be difficult. At the very least, to makea systematical and committed support in the medium- andlong-term is surely impossible. However, among the fourrecommendations (see page 44) the one “supporting thecreation of a disaster management platform” was suggested to ACC21, and shall therefore be studied separately by
ACC21. With regard to the remaining three recommendations, the ACT Secretariat shall persevere in looking forpotential donors who can create a new Special Fund forthe assistance of disaster response projects.

③ Supporting endogenous development and the establishment of a common fund managed by the local
NGOs
In order to realize endogenous development, ACT
was suggested to consider providing the seed money forthe establishment of a common fund managed by local
NGOs, but due to the nature of ACT, it may be difficult toperform this task. However, it is possible for ACT to fund,for example, a microcredit project by the local NGOs, andthe income generated from the credit can be used as seedmoney for the common fund. Similar to previous recommendations, the ACT Secretariat shall consult the Trustee
and the Executive Advisory Committee regarding this recommendation.
The concept of the “ACT Country Fund” mentioned④ Supporting the sharing of indigenous/appropriatetechnologies
This task is already being carried out through the ACTSpecial Fund “Asian People's Partnership Support Fund”.
However, this Fund was expected to finish in five years
after its establishment and the initial fund would be expended by the end of March 2015. To continue the program it is necessary for ACT to seek for additional donations to this Fund.
⑤ Supporting the partners of local NGOs such as POs/
CBOs
ACT has until now supported the local people throughthe projects of the NGOs. The Secretariat shall study possible ways of supporting the sustainable independence of
the People’s Organizations (POs) and Community Based
Organizations (CBOs).

3) Strengthening of the Financial
Resources of ACT
ACT, as suggested, intends to strengthen its financial
resources. The recommendations on the development offinancial products which shall generate profits to be used
as donations, and holding of seminars on donation withbequests, however, require the cooperation of the Trustees. The Secretariat shall then put these two recommendations forward to the Trustees.

474) Recommendations to be addressed by ACC21
ACC21 shall review the following tasks recommended
to ACT which were presented by the overseas participants
during the group discussions and the sum-up meeting,but are difficult for ACT to carry out within its framework.
① Promote BOP business by promoting collaborative
projects between local NGOs and Japanese businesscompanies.
② Help find markets for the products created by womenfrom business development/livelihood development
projects. This activity was presented as a recommendation during the Conference, but such activity would
require the necessary knowhow in marketing and exploration of business opportunities not outside but
within the country. Collaborating with an organization
engaged in fair trade is also an option.
③ Maximize network, experience, and information possessed, and advocate policy reforms to the Japanese
government and business companies on the appropriate course of aid towards the resolutions of problems
being faced by different Asian countries and the Asian
region as a whole.
④ Develop open-source software that can be utilized by
local Asian NGOs, including the ACT grantees. Create
a database (both in Japanese and English) which outlines the area of expertise, experience, track record,
approach, resources, and other important details
about the ACT grant organizations/projects. The local NGOs shall have access to this database and shallbe able to register and update information in it.

48

V. Appendix
1. List of participants (1) Participants of ACT Strategy Conference (August 5th, 2013)(Title and organization at the time of the Conference)

Asian NGO leaders
Mr. Jaime Aristotle B. ALIP
(Founder/Managing Director, CARD MRI, Philippines)
Ms. Prateep UNGSONGTHAM HATA
(Founder/Secretary General, Duang Prateep Foundation, Thailand)
Ms. H. H. A. D. Karunawathie MENIKE(Founder/Chairperson, Wilpotha Kantha Ithurum
Parishramaya (WSE), Sri Lanka)
Ms. Annie GEORGE(Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Building and Enabling Disaster Resilience of Coastal Communities (BEDROC), India)
Ms. Ma. Estrella PENUNIA(Secretary General, Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Philippines)

Japanese NGOs
Ms. Ayako FUJII(President, WE21 Japan)
Ms. Ayako KOIKE(Inter-people’s cooperation office, WE21 Japan)
Mr. Takatoshi HASEBE(Secretary General, Japan International Volunteer Center)
Ms. Yukiko OYANAGI(Curriculum Coordinator, Asian Rural Institute)
Ms. Yukiko OMAGARI(Deputy Secretary General, Solidarity Network with
Migrants Japan)
Mr. Seiichiro ASO(Vice-Chairperson, Board of Directors, AsiaCommons)
Mr. Toshio SHIRAHATA(Chief, Overseas Program Section, SHAPLA NEER =Citizen’s Committee in Japan for Overseas Support)
Ms. Jeeranuch SAKKHAMDUANG(Assistant Program Manager, Institute of Environment
Rehabilitation and Conservation)
Mr. Makoto TAJIMA(Chief Coordinator of Taskforce for Disaster Response,
Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation)
Mr. Tatsuya HATA
(Managing Director, Shanti Volunteer Association)
Mr. Hideyuki TAKAHASHI(Operation Director, JOICFP (Japanese Organization forInternational Cooperation in Family Planning))
Mr. Samuel ANESLEY(International Coordinator, Peaceboat)
Mr. Yoshio OSHIMA(Secretary General, Efa-Japan)

Mr. Mikio ENDO
(Advisor, Efa-Japan)

Grant Making Foundations
Mr. Ken AOO(Leader, Group for International Grants, The Toyota
Foundation)
Ms. Ryoko KIDA
(Program Officer, The Toyota Foundation)
Mr. Kiyoshi KEHARA(Managing Director, MRA Foundation)
Mr. Tadatsugu TAKATANI(Secretary General, Niwano Peace Foundation)

Executive Advisory Committee Members of ACT
Mr. Ryokichi HIRONO(Professor Emeritus, Seikei University)
Mr. Terumasa AKIO
(President, EDF-Japan )Ms. Mitsuko HORIUCHI(Professor, Graduate School of Bunkyo Gakuin University)

ACT Trustee
Mr. Hiroyuki OSAWA(Group Manager, Charitable Trust Group, Sumitomo
Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited)
Mr. Taku IGARASHI(Manager, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited)

ACT donors
Toru IWAI(Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd., which is the Donor of the
ACT Special Fund “The Daiwa Securities Group Tsunami
Reconstruction Fund”)

Academe and MediaMs. Yoko YOSHIKAWA(Former Professor, Nanzan University)
Mr. Kazuo TERANISHI(Reporter, Asahi Shimbun)

49

ACC21
Mr. Michio ITO(President & CEO, ACC21/Executive Secretary, ACT)
Ms. Mari SUZUKI(Executive Secretary, ACC21/Chief Program Office,ACT)
Ms. Kyoko SHIMIZU, Ms. Megumi NISHIJIMA, Ms.
Noriko TSUJIMOTO, Ms. Gladys ANGALA, Ms. Setsuko
KOIKE
Mr. Masanori YAGI(ACC21 Research Volunteer/Coordinator, Japan-based
Fundraising Study Group on Social Contribution, Japan
Society of Social Design Studies)
Ms. Risako OWAN, Ms. Kumiko IDE, Ms. Hidenori KUROYANAGI, Ms. Miwako ITO, Mr. Naoteru OYAMA, Mr.
Tun Jie TAN, Ms. Merriam VILLEGAS(Volunteers for the symposia and seminars)
Ms. Yasuka YAMAMOTO, Ryuichi OBA, Mr. Amila
ABEYNAYAKA, Mr. Yutaka KAKUMA(Volunteers for other programs during the week of the
ACT conference)

Interpreters
Ms. Sachiko AOKI (English - Japanese)
Ms. Naoko KATO (Sinhalese - Japanese)
Ms. Ryoko OKAMOTO (English - Japanese)*
Ms. Hiromi OGAWA (English - Japanese)**Ms. Chie IGUCHI (English - Japanese)*** The Forum“Linking peoples engaged in Reconstruction Efforts:
The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and the 2011 Great EasternJapan Earthquake and Tsunami” (August 6)** The Public Symposium “Magsaysay Awardees Share Their Experiences and Future Perspective of Asia: Role of NGOs/Social Enterprises in Promoting Endogenous Development and Symbiotic
Communities in Asia” (August 7)(2) Co-organizers/Cooperating organizations for
the Experience-sharing Programs① Women’s Eye (WE)
(Ms. Megumi ISHIMOTO, Director)- for the Visit to the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster-affected areas in the Tohoku region (August 2-3)
② The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, Tokyo(Ambassador Manuel M. Lopez), Japan-Philippines
NGO Network (JPN)- for the Meeting with Filipino communities in Japan(August 3)50③ ACT donors (Trustor of the initial fund of ACT and
Donors of ACT Special Funds), Trust Companies
Association of Japan (Mr. Hiroshi UENO, Executive
Director), Trustee Banks of ACT (Mitsui Trust Bank,
Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation,
Resona Bank, Ltd., and Mizuho Trust & Banking Co.,Ltd.)
- for the Meeting with ACT Trustees (trust banks), donors
and members of Executive Advisory Committee (August
6)④ The Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation (Mr. Masahide SHIBUSAWA, President, Jun’etsu KOMATSU,
Managing Director)- for the Visit to the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation (August 6)⑤ Japan Philanthropic Association (Ms. Yoko TAKAHASHI, President)- for the Open Seminar “Increasing Interest in BOP
Business in neighboring Asian countries by JapaneseCompanies: Expectations and Advice from NGO Leaders in Asia”
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. provided venue and donation for
the Open Seminar.
⑥ Daiwa Securities Group, Society for Women’s Education and Leadership (Jyoshi Kyoiku Shorei Kai: JKSK),
and Japan NPO Center (JNPOC)- for co-organizing the Forum “Linking peoples engaged
in Reconstruction Efforts: The 2004 Indian Ocean
Earthquake and the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami ” (August 6)⑦ The Japan Civil Network for Disaster Relief in the
East Japan (JCN)- for the Meeting with JCN staff (August 7)⑧ Rikkyo University Graduate School of Social Design
Studies, Social Design Lab- for co-organizing the Public Symposium “Magsaysay
Awardees Share Their Experiences and Future Perspective of Asia: Role of NGOs/Social Enterprises in
Promoting Endogenous Development and Symbiotic
Communities in Asia” (August 7)(3) Donor agencies
The Toyota Foundation
MRA Foundation
Niwano Peace Foundation

V. Appendices2. Profiles of overseas participants

Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. ALIP
Managing Director
CARD MRI (CARD Mutually Reinforcing
Institutions)
The Philippines

Ms. Prateep UNGSONGTHAM
HATA
Secretary General
Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF)
ThailandDr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip is the Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Agriculture and Rural
Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD
MRI), the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service. Started in 1986, CARD MRI is composed of eleven(11) mutually reinforcing institutions and one group (asof August 2013). As of June 2013, CARD MRI has a total
outreach of over 1.98 million economically poor families
and the repayment rate is 99.35 percent (%). In 2008,
CARD MRI received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. The award is known as the Nobel Peace Prizein Asia.
Dr. Alip has also served in various key positions in thePhilippine Government such as Undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform. Dr.
Alip is a member of the International Board of Directorsof Oikocredit based in Netherlands as well as the Chairman Emeritus of RIMANSI, a regional-based associationthat promotes microinsurance among MFI players in the
Asian region.
Dr. Alip obtained his Doctorate in Organizational Development from the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute (SAIDI), Manila, Philippines in 2002,
and his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Agricultural
Economics/Marketing from the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Laguna in 1978 and 1983, respectively.
He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School,
having completed the three-year Owner/President Management (OPM) Program in 2007.

Ms. Prateep Ungsongtham Hata is a Thai activist noted for her work with slum dwellers in the Khlong Toei
District of Bangkok, Thailand where she was raised, andspent much of her time helping children and their families in the urban communities.
In 1978, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award
for Public Service for the achievements of her work “One
Baht a Day School” (1968-75) which she and her sister
opened at their home for the children who could not go
to school regularly. With the award money, she establishedthe Duang Prateep Foundation and became its Secretary
General.
In 1980, she became the first Asian citizen to receive
the John D. Rockefeller III Youth Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Mankind". With the award money,
she established the Foundation for Slum Child Care. In
2000, she won a seat in Thailand’s first ever elected Senate
and served until 2006, working on policymaking for thevulnerable groups in the society. She is also currently thepresident of the Thai Women Empowerment Fund.
She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Education fromBan Simdej Chaopraya Teachers’ College in 1982 and her
Master’s Degree in Political Science from the Sukothai
Thammthirat Open University in 2005.

◆ CARD MRI Official Website:
http://cardbankph.com/

DPF received grants from ACT for the following projects:• “Mobile Learning Center Project” (Total grant from
ACT: 2,200,000 JPY, 1985-87)• “New life Project” (rehabilitation of youths addicted tothinner. 150,000 JPY, 1988)• “Building Klong Toey Community Center Project”(3,200,000 JPY, 1991)

Partnership with ACT
ACT supported CARD’s projects such as “The Landless People’s Bank” for 7 years (1988-1994) with a total
grant of 17,170,000 Japanese Yen. The ACT-funded project (The Landless People’s Bank) eventually paved theway to the establishment of CARD Bank in 1997.
From 2008 to 2010 CARD Liaison Office in Cambodia
received a grant from ACT for the project “Building Capacity for Local NGOs and Microfinance Institutions in
Cambodia” with a total grant of 5,080,000 Japanese Yen.

◆ Duang Prateep Foundation Official Website:
http://www.dpf.or.th/jp/

Partnership with ACT

51

Ms. H. H. A. D.
Karunawathie MENIKE
Chairperson
Wilpotha Kantha Ithurum Parishramaya(WSE)
Sri Lanka
Ms. H. H. A. D. Karunawathie Menike is the founder ofWilpotha Kantha Ithurum Parishramaya (English name:
Women’s Savings Effort, Wilpotha (WSE)), based in Chilaw town, North Western Province. With over forty years ofexperience as a development worker, she has been working on self-reliance and advancement of women by social
mobilization and empowerment of rural women throughsmall scale income generation, savings and credit, training on small business management and credit management, as well as awareness raising on women’s rights andhuman rights.
Ms. Menike is an Ashoka Fellow since 2003 and wasawarded Sri Lanka’s Presidential Award for reeds and fiber related handicrafts in 1992, 1996 and 1997.

Partnership with ACTACT Special Fund “The Daiwa Securities Group Tsunami Reconstruction Fund” supported the following project:“Income generation programs for Women victims of
Tsunami for self-reliance development and building independent Women’s Organizations for sustainable development in Sri Lanka” (Total grant from ACT: 23,060,000 JPY,
2005-13)

Ms. Annie GEORGE
Secretary/Chief Executive Officer
Building and Enabling Disaster Resilienceof Coastal Communities (BEDROC)
India
Ms. Annie George obtained her Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management from Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), Gujarat State (1982- 84) and her Bachelorof Science (Chemistry, Botany & Zoology) from Christ
College, Bangalore.
Immediately after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
and tsunami, she left her home in Kerala to join the volunteer work and went to Nagapattinam of Tamil Nadu
State, the worst affected district on mainland India. Ms.
George was deputed by UNDP as CEO of the NGO Coordination and Resource Centre (NCRC) from April 2005 to
December 2007. The Steering Committee of NCRC madea decision of disbanding NCRC and establishing BEDROC
in January 2008. Ms. George has been CEO of BEDROC
since its establishment until present. She also utilized herexpertise for many consultancy and advisory works insideand outside the country.
◆ BEDROC Official Website: http://www.bedroc.in/
52

Partnership with ACTACT Special Fund “The Daiwa Securities Group Tsunami Reconstruction Fund” supported the following project: “Knowledge Management, Networking and Coordination for enhanced Disaster Resilience” (Total grant from
ACT: 6,500,000 JPY, 2011-13)

Ms. Estrella PENUNIA
Secretary General
Asian Farmers' Association for
Sustainable Rural Development (AFA)The Philippines
Ms. Ma. Estrella A. Penunia earned her
Bachelor of Science in Social Work, cum laude,from the University of the Philippines Diliman
in 1978 . She has been serving as the Secretary
General of Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) since 2003.
She strengthened her broad experience and knowledge in the field of rural development and community
development through many responsible positions such as
Community Organizer, Senior Coordinator at the Centerfor Community Services (CCS), the Ateneo de Manila
University (1982-92)/Head of Training and Consultancy,
PhilDHRRA (92-93)/Coordinator, People's Campaign forAgrarian Reform Network (AR Now! 99-2003) and Program Officer, AsiaDHRRA (03-07).

About AFA
Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA, office is based in the Philippines) was established in 2002 after a series of farmers’ exchange visits(thirty farmers from ten countries) organized by its strategic NGO partner, AsiaDHRRA, as the great need among
the farming communities to come, share, learn and act
together was recognized.
As of September 2013, AFA has 13 member Farmers’
Organizations with a membership of 11 million smallscale women and men farmers in ten countries in Asia.
AFA implements various kinds of programs such as Advocacy, Knowledge Management and Sharing, Enterprise
Development and Governance. It also provides technicalmanagement support to national farmers’ organizations.
◆ AFA Official Website: http://asianfarmers.org/

V. Appendices

3. About ACC21 and ACT

About Asian Community Center 21 (ACC21)
ACC21 was established in March 2005 (incorporated
as Specified Non-profit Corporation in October 2009)by a group of civil activists who envision a fair societyin Asia where people are living together and supporting one another. ACC21 promotes the following mission
and projects, one of which is the ACT Secretariat:

1. FLOW of “Capital” Utilize “money” as “social investment capital” to free people from poverty through ouractivities as Secretariat of the Asian Community Trust (ACT) and other entrusted funds such as the Imai Charitable Trust for Overseas Cooperation.

2. FLOW of “People” “Facilitate a sense of community, supporting one another through human interaction
beyond sectors, generations, and national boundaries
Projects/programs: Promoting collaborative networks between Japanese and Philippine NGOs/CSOs, Tohoku
volunteer program and Promoting partnership with other Asian NGOs

3. Sharing Knowledge and Information For people who are unable to access knowledge or information
Projects/programs: Promoting Natural Farming in Asia, Issuing “ACC21 News” (Japanese monthly e-newsletter)and “Asia Now” via website, and organizing seminars.

4. FLOW of "Reform" of Policy and Institutions Establish a fair society through collaborative activities with Asian leaders of social development movements
Projects/programs: Raising awareness of International Solidarity Levy, etc.

5. Human Resources Development Develop human resources who will join us in promoting the four
FLOWs.
Projects/programs: Asian NGO Leadership Program, etc.

About Asian Community Trust (ACT)
Pursuing a vision of developing a sense of “community” in the Asian region where people help one another, Asian Community Trust (ACT), the first Japanesecharitable trust based on general fund raising, was established in 1979 to support various non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) involved in social development
and other related activities through funds donated by
Japanese individuals and organizations. Over a span of
33 years from 1980 up to March 2013, ACT has provided

grants totaling to around 625 million Japanese yen (approximately 6.44 million US dollars based on the exchange rate of May 1, 2013) for a total of 536 projects.
ACT funds projects covering many types of area such as
education, health and medical care, rural development,
environmental conservation and academic research toenable the local community to tackle various problems
and issues.

South Korea●

Countries of Head Officesof ACT grantees●NepalBangladesh●●India●Sri Lanka●China●Japan●Taiwan●Vietnam●Thailand●Cambodia●Philippines●Malaysia●Indonesia

53Overseas participants (front row) and the staff of ACC21/ACT (back row). Phototaken on the 7th of August 2013

Strategy Conference of ACT
Report and Plan of Action
Project title:
New Paradigm of Collaboration among Asian NGOs and the Role of Asian
Community Trust (ACT) –­Strategy Conference of ACT Secretariat andLeaders of its Local NGO Partners in Asia –• Donor agencies that provided support for this Project
The Toyota Foundation
MRA Foundation
Niwano Peace Foundation• Editing and publishing
Mr. Michio ITO, President & CEO
Asian Community Center 21 (ACC21)(English translation by Ms. Gladys ANGALA and Ms. Mari SUZUKI)ABK Bldg, 2-12-13, Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8642, JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-3945-2615 Fax: +81-3-3945-2692
E-mail : info@acc21.org URL: http://acc21.org/• Design and printing
FLINT HILL Inc. Tel: +81-3-3358-5460
Original Japanese text published in December 2013
English translation released in September 2014