Federal grant programs / Department of the Interior

Preservation of Japanese American Confinement Sites (15.933)

Also known as JACS

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$17.9 million
• Grant awards74
• Typical award$167,851
• Awarded in FY 2025$5.2 million
• Size rank1,346 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $3.0 million in fiscal 2021 to $5.2 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 1346th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 86% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 17 states and territories.

What the program funds

The program provides for the preservation and interpretation of historic confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. The program was established to encourage projects that identify, research, evaluate, interpret, protect, restore, repair, and acquire historic confinement sites in order that present and future generations may learn and gain inspiration from these sites and that these sites will demonstrate the Nation's commitment to equal justice under the law.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

What the money can and cannot pay for

Japanese American Confinement Sites grant funds may be used for identifying, researching, evaluating, interpreting, protecting, restoring, repairing, and acquiring historic confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II as authorized by the Preservation of Japanese American Confinement Sites Act of 2006. These historic confinement sites are defined as the ten War Relocation Authority camps (Gila River, Granada (Amache), Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, Minidoka, Poston, Rohwer, Topaz, and Tule Lake), as well as other historically significant locations, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. These sites are specifically identified in Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites, published by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Western Archeological and Conservation Center, in 1999. For further information, Please contact the Regional Office.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. In accordance with Public Law 109-441 (120 Stat. 3288), as amended by Section 644 of Public Law 117-328, each grant “…shall require a 50 percent match with non-Federal assets from non-Federal sources, which may include cash or durable goods and materials fairly valued, as determined by the Secretary.” Eligible non-Federal sources of contribution must be in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.306 and may include: cash, in-kind contributions or services, or materials/supplies/equipment, or *land. The non-Federal match may be raised and spent during the grant period; it does not have to be “in the bank” at the time of the application. (*Note: Land applies only to Jerome, Rohwer, Topaz and Honouliuli in accordance with Public Laws 109-441 and 111-88.)MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Range: $5,000.00 - $500,000.00 Average: $150,000.00

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: 1) Restoring and Interpreting Historic Spaces: Designing and installing permanent exhibits inside restored historic structures, such as an underground food?storage cellar built by incarcerated people. These exhibits use photos, films, written records, and personal stories to help visitors understand daily life and labor. Transforming outdoor areas into reflective public spaces, including engraving thousands of names onto reclaimed building tiles and creating landscaped courtyards that honor both the people once held there and the deeper Indigenous history of the region. 2) Conducting Archaeology and Field Research: Completing multi?season archaeological excavations to identify artifacts, document structures, and uncover material evidence of confinement. Findings are then shared through museum exhibits, public talks, and traveling displays. Combining archival records with field studies to develop accurate, publicly accessible interpretations of little?known detention sites. 3) Digitizing and Preserving Community History: Creating nationwide “scanning days” where families can bring photos, letters, and documents to be digitized, indexed, and added to public archives. Digitizing tens of thousands of historical items — including documents, photos, and personal collections — and publishing them in online repositories.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Nonprofits received 68% of the money, colleges and universities 15% and state and local governments 2.9%.

By state

3 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards. They are California, Washington and Wyoming.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.