Domestic Operations
■ Expanding partnerships with companies to source operation funds
In order to strengthen operation funds and enhance support, in 2006, PWJ focused on expanding partnerships with companies. Taking advantage of expanding corporate social responsibility programs and increased inquiries and proposals to PWJ, PWJ made a stronger effort to realize cooperative plans with numerous companies, utilizing their services and expertise.
Catalogs of Gift Catalog Federation member
companies with articles on PWJ.
(C)Peace Winds Japan
The Gift Catalog Federation, comprised of major companies in the Japanese gift industry, made donations to PWJ as part of their corporate social responsibility program, and the member companies have introduced this effort in their catalogs. Furthermore, some member companies included “donation to PWJ” as one of their products in their gift catalogs—a person who receives one of these catalogs can select a favorite product from the product list. After this project started, PWJ received many donations from those who received these gift catalogs in commemoration of events such as marriages. Also, Prairie Dog, a cooperating manufacturer of the Gift Catalog Federation, commercialized a lineup of gift towels inclusive of donations to PWJ. Among companies not related to the Gift Catalog Federation, EXPAND Co. Itd, an importer of perfumes, launched perfume brands promoting donations to PWJ.
A part of amounts paid using
Peace Winds JCB Cards will be donated.
(C)Peace Winds Japan
The system in which credit card usage points can be donated to PWJ started in 2005 with Saison Cards, and in 2006, the same system was started with JCB Cards, the largest credit card company in Japan. PWJ is also developing a social contribution card program with JCB, which is a pioneering attempt between a private company and an NGO. As a result, it has been determined that “Peace Winds JCB Cards” will be issued from early 2007. These cooperative cards, in which a part of amounts paid will be donated to PWJ, attracted much interest as a new form of cooperation between a private company and an NGO, and they gained great coverage on the Nikkei newspaper.
There are also some enterprises that work on international support via PWJ on a company-wide basis. At KAZENOOTO, a Japanese company that conducts businesses including sales of natural cosmetic products, almost 200 employees at their offices became PWJ’s regular members to support its operations, and the company makes large donations to PWJ by “matching” (adding up) with PWJ’s activities.
Click donation is a system in which the sponsor company makes donations according to the number of clicks made by Internet users on a designated banner advertisement. This approach is drawing attention as a new type of support, utilizing the Internet. Following the Ajinomoto Group and EC Navi in 2005, click donation by JWord, a keyword search service, has started on PWJ’s website.
■ Response to initiatives using credit cards, the Internet, and Book Kifu
As part of a long-term campaign, PWJ has called for contributions from individuals for operations in Afghanistan where PWJ started support operations five years ago. Afghanistan attracted worldwide attention due to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Currently, media coverage of Afghanistan has decreased while surging prices and a reduction of support funds in Afghanistan are making the situation more difficult. PWJ consistent distribution of information regarding the current situation in Afghanistan and the necessity of support via newsletters, website, and report meetings produced substantial contributions. CyberAgent, a major Internet business company, opened a blog for Reiko Hirai (PWJ Afghanistan field representative) on “@woman”, a portal website operated by CyberAgent. The network of support has also expanded through this blog. In order to further promote “offering of information that communicates the personality of each staff”, PWJ has opened blogs for resident staff in East Timor and Sudan, receiving cooperation from the IT company, GaiaX.
Right : "Reiko Hirai's Afghanistan Report" on @woman
Left : An event held in cooperation with employee volunteers
of NTT Communications.
(C)Peace Winds Japan
PWJ has made efforts in the development of a system in which people can make donations easily, and from December 2006, it became possible to use credit cards for the payments of monthly membership fees and fixed-amount donations.
In 2006, “Book Kifu” (“kifu” means “contribution” or “donation” in Japanese) reported a great response to their service where used books, CDs, and DVDs are bought by Bookoff Corporation, and the purchased amount is donated to PWJ. Since this program was introduced in books, magazines, and newspapers, it quickly won general approval. Some companies participated in this program on a company-wide basis, and other companies installed a collection box for local citizens, and the total amount of donations by Book Kifu was more than a double from the previous year.
At the same time, PWJ was committed to significant reduction of expenses that are not directly related with support operations. PWJ streamlined its organization and moved its office in August. Furthermore, PWJ used to issue its newsletters ten times a year comprised of two A4 size pages. The new frequency of issue is four times a year using four A4 size pages. PWJ reduced printing and mailing costs while maintaining the amount of information as much as possible, and determined to focus more on offering information via the Internet.
■ Fair Trade/For-profit program
The influence of the disturbance that occurred in East Timor, where Peace Coffee is produced, on coffee production was a concern. However harvesting work continued supervised mainly by PWJ’s local staff, and the processed coffee beans were delivered to Japan as in the past. PWJ’s fair trade operation was introduced in many magazines and other media, and a number of dealers, such as Tokyu Department Store, who include PWJ’s products into their gift catalogs, has increased.
A large tent for emergency relief called the “Balloon Shelters”, developed by PWJ in cooperation with Teijin, has been well received for its usability as evacuation center in times of natural disaster. In 2006, PWJ sold a total of eight sets of Balloon Shelters to customers including Aeon-affiliated shopping centers, Nippon Oil Corporation, and Katsushika Ward of Tokyo.
■ Research program
As an attempt to take advantage of PWJ’s expertise gained through its pioneering operations for the future development of Japan’s international cooperation activities, a project was initiated to publish an information database on accumulated know-how concerning support operations. PWJ had discussions its basic design as a five-year joint research operation with various parties including Osaka University, upon the request of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.