First Group of CGG Grant Recipients Announced
Last spring, the Common Good Grant (CGG) program was launched as a collaborative effort between ICU’s Service-Learning Center (SLC) and JICUF. The CGG program allows 15 undergraduate ICU students to plan and implement a grantmaking initiative to distribute one million yen to local NPOs over the course of one year. The goal of the program is to provide ICU students with experience fostering reciprocal community relationships, and opportunities to learn practical skills such as grantmaking, communications, teamwork and leadership. Earlier this month, SLC and JICUF staff met with the CGG student committee to learn about the work the students have accomplished so far.
Committee member and third year student Nico Correa noted that there was a strong sense of foundation-setting throughout their work, since this is the first time the CGG program has been offered at ICU. Everything from the overall grant application framework to the day-to-day processes of the committee had to be discussed and built from the ground up. Fourth year student Yoshiaki Niiyama noted that some responsibilities, such as gathering the committee for discussions, were particularly demanding amidst lockdowns.
Despite the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, the student committee was able to successfully design their own unique grantmaking program. The students decided to distribute ¥1,000,000 equally among five organizations, partially because they believed it would allow for a wider network to be established in the first year of the CGG program. While soliciting grant applications, the students focused on cultivating relationships with the applying NPOs. They maintained contact through email, and made sure that enough information was gathered to paint a complete picture of the applications. Students met in person with NPOs when possible.
All outreach materials, including the CGG logo at the beginning of the article, were designed in-house by the student committee.
One of the major challenges mentioned by the student committee was designing a rubric for evaluating applications. Most members had little to no experience evaluating project proposals, and it was noted that comparing the differing missions and goals of NPOs was challenging. Through discussions spanning several weeks and a vote that ensued, the students agreed that they were mostly interested in supporting NPOs that emphasized local people and issues, sustainability, and the common good. Furthermore, the students agreed that the common good was the most important criteria.
Last month, the committee made their decisions on which organizations will be awarded grants. The organizations are as follows:
ぐーぐーらいぶ (Goo Goo Libe) – focuses on the “correction of information disparity”, and runs literacy-based programs centered around libraries
まちなか農家プロジェクト (Machinaka Nouka Project) – aims to support local Mitaka/Musashino farmers by “shortening the distance between the farmer and the consumer”
リードbyアナ (Read by Anna) – focuses on youth English-education through group reading sessions
アフタフ・バーバン (Afutafu Barban) – An organization that focuses on “playful/expressive activities for all ages”, and aims to create a rich environment for play and inclusive communities
Moving forward, the students would like to finalize their ideas on using social media to stay connected with NPOs and make the results of CGG-funding more visible to the general public. Additionally, the students are conscious that they will “graduate” from the program soon, and would like to compile advice for the next cohort of students. Fourth year student Stephanie Ramirez recommends that the next committee meet together as soon as possible, so that they can foster a good working relationship within the group. She noted that the work of the committee was made easier once all the members were comfortable with each other, and she would like to see the next committee hit the ground running.
We are very impressed with the work that the first cohort of students was able to accomplish, and are excited to see the impact that their hard work has on the local community!
