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Crowdfunding Campaign to Expand Animator Dorms Reaches Goal

The IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign that NPO Animator Supporters founder Jun Sugawara launched in May to expand dormitory housing for low-income animators reached its goal on Wednesday.

The campaign sought to raise US$15,000 in funding, and as of press time, the campaign has raised US$15,555 from 81 backers with three hours left.

The campaign's goal is to grow the size of the dormitory housing program, which was established last year through a successfully funded campaign. The new campaign will fund a new facility located in the Asagaya, Suginami district that would house two to three aspiring animators.

The current facility, which opened in March 2014, supports two residents. The facility offers housing for 30,000 yen (about US$247) per month (including utilities) for animators who are new to the industry. The low-cost housing hopes to provide animators with a stress-free environment to focus on their art as well as an opportunity for social interactions with other animators and access to free animator workshops.

A recent study from the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) found that Japanese in-between animators, many of whom are in their 20's, earn an average yearly income of 1.1 million yen (around US$9,200), and that young animators work on average 11 hours a day. In addition, many animation studios are located in expensive areas of Tokyo, which can create a burden for new animators.

Supporter rewards from the campaign included specially designed thank-you cards, an art book, sketch portraits, an animator diary, and actual art pieces from the art book.