Five Ways to Participate in the Dormant Deposits Scheme: Comparing Requirements

The first thing that stalls a conversation about using dormant deposit funds is where to apply. The dormant deposits scheme has three tiers, and the body issuing the call differs at each one. Until an organization knows which tier it stands on, it cannot know which set of guidelines to read.

The mechanics of the scheme are covered in the dormant deposits guide（このサイトの記事）, and the application requirements in the FY2026 application guide（このサイトの記事）. This article compares roles and recruiting bodies before you choose a set of application guidelines.

JANPIA calls for the three second-tier positions. The two third-tier positions are reached through calls issued by whoever won those.

Implementing organisations apply to fund distribution organisations rather than JANPIA. Activity support organisations do not provide funds to supported organisations.

The grant figures come from Cabinet Office materials. The average planned grant per project is 154 million yen[1] for fund distribution organizations and 16.24 million yen for implementing organizations.

This is the position at the centre of the scheme. It receives a grant from JANPIA, sets its own theme, selects implementing organizations through an open call, distributes funds and supervises them.

The FY2026 general round is divided into four project types, each with its own indicative scale.

Of the grant, at least 85% must go to implementing organizations and no more than 15% may be kept as administrative cost. Staff costs must also be planned within the 15% administrative-cost allowance.

Grassroots activity support has both a national window and a regional window. The regional window covers ten regions, and projects aimed at one or several prefectures are eligible. A local organisation wishing to administer grants should review the regions and requirements of this window.

Alongside grants there is an equity window. A fund distribution organization funded by JANPIA invests in companies working on social issues.

According to Cabinet Office materials, five organizations[1] have been selected on the investment side, and they have made four investments. The scale per implementing organization is described as several tens of millions of yen.

Two structures run in parallel. The fund type creates an investment limited partnership and draws co-investment from financial institutions, with JANPIA's contribution to the fund envisaged at 500 million to 1 billion yen a year. The corporate type has several companies form a consortium and establish a company that specialises in investing and supporting management.

The recipient must be a company. Nonprofit corporations cannot use this window.

This is the position that delivers the work, and the tier that receives most of the money in the scheme.

There is one point to keep straight: you cannot apply directly to JANPIA. You apply to a call issued by a fund distribution organization that has already been selected. Preparation therefore means tracking which fund distribution organization will call, on what theme, and when. JANPIA announces the selected fund distribution organizations first, and each of them then issues its own call for implementing organizations.

The indicative scale depends on the project type. The observed average is 16.24 million yen per project, over a maximum of three years as a rule.

At least 20% of project costs must be secured from the organization's own funds or other private funds. In practice that 20% is where applications most often stall. The guidelines explain the principle as a mechanism to avoid creating organizations dependent on dormant deposit funding.

This is a second-tier position that distributes no money. It provides support in people and knowledge only. Results have been published since FY2023, and 15 organizations[1] have been selected as activity support organizations, reaching 50 supported organizations.

An application picks one of two target categories and as many of four support fields as the programme needs.

One target category is chosen as a rule. Support fields may be combined. Programmes limited to a geographic area are permitted. An organization may submit only one project to the activity support call.

The indicative ceiling for a single programme is around 50 million yen for a three-year programme[2]. Project periods run from one to three years depending on the content.

What an applicant needs here is the ability to design a programme that supports other organisations. Those selected so far are mostly regional foundations, nonprofit centres and sector networks, and they include an organisation that runs its own frontline work and stepped into a supporting role. An analysis of three years of results is in Three years of the activity support tier（このサイトの記事）.

This position receives non-financial support from an activity support organization. The guidelines define supported organizations as bodies that provide, or aim to provide, public-interest activity, and a parenthesis adds that individuals are included.

Supported applicants can include newly formed organisations, unincorporated groups and individuals planning an activity. Check each call’s target groups and support.

Applications go to the calls issued by the activity support organizations that were selected. Each designs its own programme and selects supported organizations through an open call. The recruiting organisation determines the fields and support available in each call.

Review the following four items to identify calls suited to your objectives and circumstances.

1. Are you distributing funds or receiving them? Distributing puts you in the second tier, receiving in the third
2. Can you cover at least 20% of project costs yourself? Implementing organizations face this as a rule. If self-funding is difficult, review eligibility for non-financial support separately
3. Are you a company or a nonprofit corporation? The investment window assumes a company
4. Do you run projects, or support other organisations? If supporting others is your core work, the activity support window fits directly

There is no minimum on years since establishment or years of financial statements. The FY2026 general-round guidelines note against the required documents that organisations less than three years old should submit only the periods available. Age is not a reason to give up.

Before applying, check the recruiting organisation, eligible applicants and support available.

Establish whether you aim to deliver work or support other organisations, and whether you need finance or non-financial support. Then compare recruiting bodies, eligible fields and costs, and self-funding conditions.

Age alone does not establish eligibility. Check the required documents and applicant conditions in the specific call.

References

FY2026 Fund Distribution Organization (Grant) General Round 1 Call Guidelines — Japan Network for Public Interest Activities (JANPIA) (2026)

FY2024 Activity Support Organization (Grant) Call Guidelines — Japan Network for Public Interest Activities (JANPIA) (2024)

On the Dormant Deposits Utilization Scheme — Cabinet Office (2026)

Q&A on the Use of Dormant Deposits (prepared July 2024, updated August 2026) — Cabinet Office (2026)