America's Public Television Stations

June 12, 2017

In May 2016, ValleyPBS (Fresno, CA) received a $373,716 grant from the National Park Service (NPS) to support "Silent Sacrifice: The Story of Japanese American Incarceration and Beyond in California’s San Joaquin Valley," a documentary film chronicling the period of Japanese-American incarceration during the 1940s. As part of the grant, the station was required to match one dollar for every two federal dollars awarded, which it did entirely through in-kind support. ValleyPBS has also raised more than $142,000 in cash to support the project. In total, the project has raised over $700,000 from the NPS grant, in-kind support and cash.

The film, currently in production, will tell the story of Japanese-Americans before, during and after incarceration. Videos and lesson plans are also being create for 7th to 12th grade students and will be available nationally through PBS LearningMedia. The film is expected to air on ValleyPBS in February 2018 at the conclusion of the 75th anniversary of Japanese-American incarceration.

For Elizabeth Laval, ValleyPBS’ Senior Vice President of Content and Development, this story is an important part of the region’s history. In 1942, the U.S. government passed an executive order that made all Japanese-Americans on the west coast of the United States report to concentration camps. They were told they had five days to collect their belongings, taking only what they could carry, and report to assembly centers. In all nearly 120,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated during this period. The majority were American citizens. Four assembly centers were located in what is now ValleyPBS’ broadcast footprint.

It’s also a time-critical story. Many who were incarcerated are now in their 80s or 90s. More are passing away. In recent years, Laval has been involved with panels to create memorials to Japanese-American incarceration in the San Joaquin Valley. To members of the Japanese-American community, memorials like these are a good start for telling the story of Japanese-American incarceration, according to Laval. However, most rarely shared stories about the experiences with their families. Laval summarizes the opportunity, as well as the urgency, “These stories in our valley have never been told. If we don’t do this now, they will never be told."

Image: Still from the Silent Sacrifice trailer.

Laval found out through KEET (Eureka, CA) that there were grants available through the National Park Service to commemorate these stories. The Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) grant program was established in 2006 for the purpose of preserving and interpreting sites where Japanese-Americans were held during World War II. Many grants focus on physical structures or digital archiving, but from KEET’s success ValleyPBS also saw a place in the program for the creation of a documentary film and learning materials.

[Click here to read the Grant Center success story about KEET’s NPS grant.]

Laval shares that a lot of work went into the grant application, including justifications, letters of support and details about staff billing. The JACS program also requires a two-to-one federal to non-federal match and the grant application was written with all in-kind support for the non-federal match.

Ultimately, ValleyPBS received $373,716 of the $390,000 requested. (Laval says the unfunded portion represents equipment costs that were not approved.) “We were thrilled,” Laval said.

Making the case to funders and the community

Laval credits receiving the grant to the unique story ValleyPBS has to tell, its multiplatform approach including a social media campaign, and the fact that grants to public broadcasting have the potential for national distribution – many federal grantee organizations simply do not have this, and it can be an added incentive for federal agencies to fund public broadcasting.

Laval also noted how important it is to “sweeten the pot” with other things your station can do at low-cost but also give the funder more value. In this case, the education materials through PBS LearningMedia proved to be a valuable component of the grant application. “That part of our ask,” Laval says, “is really what’s touching people and getting them to open their pocket books.”

This success with funders has extended into the community as well. ValleyPBS was not only able to reach its non-federal match goal entirely with in-kind support through promotions and airings closer to the film’s release, but they were also able to raise over $140,000 in cash support. By the time the project reaches completion, Laval suspects that two-to-one match required by the grant will be closer to one-to-one. “These are the types of projects that the local community really signs onto,” says Laval, who also notes the strong support the project has received from the local Japanese-American community.

Understand the challenges, take the plunge

As any station that has dealt with federal agencies knows, federal grant management is not without its challenges. Regulations and compliance can be particularly difficult to navigate. Laval says that while they thought they had a clear understanding for all the ways they had to prepare for reimbursement, they nevertheless encountered some bumps in the road. Since most of the project’s in-kind support will not come until near the end of the project, this affected the size of the reimbursements from the grant at the beginning of the project. Fortunately, the station was able to adjust. Two lessons: try your best to understand the regulations at the outset, and make sure everyone at your station is on the same page so that you can effectively respond to challenges.

Still, Laval sees the bright side: “With a grant like this, you have to expect some bumps in the road when you are first trying to get reimbursement, but people shouldn’t be afraid of them. There are tons of grants out there that can change your station. For us, as a small station, it can change your ability to do something significant. We could not have done anything like this without taking the plunge.”

But Laval’s biggest advice: “Write from your heart. Don’t write a clinical analysis of what you will do. The people on committees for these kinds of projects have emotional stake in the game. They want to see the project get care and attention.”

Other stations in regions with connections to Japanese-American incarceration during World War II may be a good fit for this program. The JACS program is currently closed. More details about the grant program and previous competitions can be found on the National Park Service website. Check back soon on the Grant Center’s website for more details about the upcoming competition.

"Silent Sacrifice: The Story of Japanese American Incarceration and Beyond in California’s San Joaquin Valley" will air in February 2018 at the close of the 75th anniversary of Japanese-American incarceration.

Watch the trailer below: