The Toyota Foundation is a grant-making foundation established in 1974 by Toyota Motor Corporation. Its statement of purpose says that, to contribute to society broadly and over the long term from a global perspective, it takes up issues that respond to the needs of the times in areas such as living and natural environment, social welfare, and education and culture, and provides grants for research and projects on them. It became a public interest incorporated foundation in April 2010.
It currently runs six open-call programs and a non-open-call Initiative Program. The open calls are the Domestic, Research and International grant programs, plus three Specific Issue programs: "A New Human Society Co-Created with Advanced Technology," "Foreign Talent and Japanese Society," and "Population Decline and Japanese Society." It emphasizes rethinking what human connections and exchange should look like and giving them concrete form through the appropriate social implementation of new industrial technologies such as IT.
Reports on funded activities and outputs (books, papers, videos and more) can be searched on its website by fiscal year, program or free keyword. It also continues to share results with society, for example by publishing the magazine JOINT (since 2009), posting event information, and holding an international symposium for its 50th anniversary in October 2024.
Key points
- Grants through six open-call programs and a non-open-call Initiative Program
- Work on three Specific Issues: advanced technology, foreign talent and population decline
- Funded activities and outputs are searchable on the website, which is also a useful reference for applicants
Why this organization deserves attention
Rather than carrying out activities itself, it plays the role of supporting, through grants, the people and researchers who face issues on the ground. It has a framework for supporting activities of differing themes and regions, from domestic and research to international.
It also does a good job of sharing the results of its grants, through introductions of funded activities, a searchable list of outputs, and published reports. For NGOs and NPOs it is a reference for applying, and for general readers it is a chance to learn about social issues.
Editor's comment
This is a foundation that reminds us that there are those who gently back up people working to make society better. Its introductions of funded activities include initiatives from many regions and fields.
If you search the grants by a keyword that interests you, you may find unexpected activities close to home. Why not take a look at the official website?