One Million Years Foundation Inc.

One Million Years Foundation Inc. is among the most narrowly focused private foundations in American philanthropy — its entire grantmaking mission is to perpetuate the life, legacy, and work of Japanese conceptual artist On Kawara (1932–2014). The foundation was established by Kawara during his lifetime and is governed by his family: Akito Kawahara serves as President and Secretary, Hiroko Kawahara as Treasurer, both without compensation. Day-to-day operations are led by Managing Director Yoshito Yoshioka (compensated $172,521 salary plus $54,896 in other compensation in FY2024, up from $128,594 total in FY2020) and Anne Wheeler, newly appointed Director of Programs ($126,581 plus $54,896 in FY2024).

The board of directors reads like a who's who of global contemporary art: Kasper Koenig, the legendary German curator who organized Skulptur Projekte Münster; Hanru Hou, the influential Chinese-French curator; Akiko Bernhoeft; and Zdenka Badovinac, former director of Moderna galerija Ljubljana. This international curatorial lineup is not incidental — it is the primary mechanism through which new grantee relationships form.

The foundation's IRS filings categorically state it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations." There is no open application cycle, no published RFP, and no submission portal. Every grant relationship begins with an invitation or an existing institutional bond, not a cold application. The foundation's primary grantee is Dia Art Foundation (Dia Center for the Arts), which has received $910,000 across three documented grants for permanent artwork display and for publishing "Artists on On Kawara." This reflects Dia's decades-long institutional commitment to Kawara's work, including its permanent installation of "One Million Years" public readings.

A secondary grant of $17,350 went to Tama Art University in Japan for educational catalogues and CDs, signaling that the foundation occasionally supports Japanese educational institutions with modest amounts when they serve the artist's legacy in academically substantive ways.

Organizations wishing to enter the foundation's orbit must first build a track record as credible stewards of Kawara's work. Organizing a major Kawara exhibition, contributing to catalogue raisonné scholarship, or developing archival materials around his practice are the activities most likely to draw the foundation's attention. A first relationship is more likely to begin as a collaboration — loaned artwork, curatorial consultation, archival access — than as a direct cash grant.

One Million Years Foundation's grantmaking is remarkably consistent and concentrated. Direct grants paid have held in a narrow band of $450,000–$477,350 per year from FY2019 through FY2023, with FY2024 data indicating approximately $455,000. This predictability signals a methodical, pre-planned allocation strategy rather than reactive or competitive grantmaking.

Total annual disbursements — which include program-related expenses beyond direct grants — are substantially larger: $874,355 (FY2020), $1,121,853 (FY2021), $1,185,425 (FY2022), $1,232,263 (FY2023), and $1,385,137 (FY2024). The gap between grants paid and total giving — roughly $700,000–$930,000 annually — represents the foundation's own program operations: exhibition production, publication costs, and catalogue raisonné infrastructure.

From the documented grantee record, the average grant is $231,838, with a range from $17,350 (Tama Art University, a single educational grant) to $910,000 cumulative (Dia Art Foundation, three grants). Individual Dia grants are estimated at $300,000–$460,000 based on IRS program narratives describing artwork loans and publishing subsidies.

The foundation's asset base has grown dramatically: from $2.7M in FY2011 to $26.8M by FY2024. The sharpest inflections came in FY2020, when contributions received jumped to $6.13M, and again in FY2024 with $4.57M in contributions — likely estate gifts or major donations from collectors, not endowment income. Net investment income ranged from near-zero (FY2011–2015) to $496,014 (FY2021), indicating an actively managed portfolio that has grown in scale.

Geographic distribution is almost entirely concentrated in New York (Dia Art Foundation), with a single documented grant to Japan. The foundation's program narratives, however, describe exhibition support for institutions in Dresden, Moscow, Bonn, Aichi, and New York — meaning that while grant recipients are local, the operational impact is genuinely global. 100% of documented grantmaking falls within the arts sector, all tied exclusively to On Kawara's legacy. There is no evidence the foundation has ever made a grant outside this singular subject matter.

The five database-identified peer foundations all share asset levels near $26.8M and the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE category, but One Million Years Foundation is a clear outlier in mission specificity and grantmaking concentration. Most comparable-asset foundations distribute across multiple program areas; this one funds exactly one artist's legacy.

None of the four peer foundations disclose websites, annual reports, or application processes publicly, making side-by-side programmatic comparison impossible with available data. For institutions seeking comparative funding in the artist legacy space, more useful reference points are thematically adjacent foundations: the Judd Foundation (Donald Judd estate), the Estate of Sol LeWitt, and the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation — all of which similarly combine collection stewardship with selective, invitation-driven grantmaking to arts institutions. One Million Years Foundation's payout ratio of approximately 5.2% of net assets meets the IRS private foundation minimum distribution requirement, with direct grants representing roughly 2% of net assets and program expenses accounting for the balance.

No major press releases or news announcements from One Million Years Foundation were identified in 2025–2026 public searches. The foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with the understated aesthetic of On Kawara's practice itself.

The most substantive recent development is institutional: the FY2024 990 filed with ProPublica documents the addition of Anne Wheeler as Director of Programs (compensated $126,581 salary plus $54,896), marking the first documented senior hire beyond Managing Director Yoshito Yoshioka. This is a meaningful signal — for over a decade the foundation operated with Yoshioka as its primary operational presence. A dedicated program director suggests growing curatorial ambition and a more active approach to identifying and cultivating institutional partnerships.

FY2024 also saw total assets grow from $23,463,810 (FY2023) to $26,824,578, driven by $4.57M in contributions received — the second major capital infusion in five years (the first was $6.13M in FY2020). This strengthened balance sheet will likely support expanded exhibition and publication programming through 2025–2026.

The foundation's careers page listed a summer 2025 paid internship focused on archival processing and digital cataloguing of Kawara's artwork, confirming the catalogue raisonné digitization project remains an active priority. Most recently documented exhibition support (FY2022–2023 IRS filings) includes On Kawara One Million Years at Dresden Zwinger, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow), Bundeskunsthalle (Bonn), and the Aichi Triennale 2022 — a portfolio of four simultaneous international presentations demonstrating the foundation's active exhibition facilitation role.

The single most critical thing to understand: One Million Years Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications. IRS filings explicitly confirm the foundation "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations." There is no online portal, no LOI stage, and no open competition of any kind. Every partnership originates with the foundation.

That said, the pathway to becoming a preselected partner follows a discernible logic:

• Demonstrate institutional seriousness about On Kawara. The foundation's documented grantees are institutions with deep, sustained commitments: Dia Art Foundation has maintained a permanent On Kawara installation for decades. Tama Art University has published scholarly Kawara materials. Generic arts organizations have no realistic path to a grant; only those with on-record, substantive Kawara engagement are credible candidates.

• Engage the international board as your first point of contact. Directors Kasper Koenig, Hanru Hou, Akiko Bernhoeft, and Zdenka Badovinac are active curators with extensive institutional networks. If your organization has worked with any of them — or can secure an introduction through a shared curatorial colleague — this is the most direct route to a foundation conversation.

• Frame outreach around a specific project, not a funding need. Contact Managing Director Yoshito Yoshioka or Director of Programs Anne Wheeler via the website (onemillionyearsfoundation.org/contact) with a concise proposal for a specific On Kawara exhibition, publication, or archival project — never a generic capacity request. The foundation's grant language revolves around "making Kawara's art widely and internationally accessible" and fulfilling his wish for works to be "scattered across the globe, readily available to all walks of life" — align your proposal to these phrases explicitly.

• Offer collaboration before asking for money. The foundation lends artworks, contributes editorial support, and provides archival access. Proposing an artwork loan for an exhibition is a natural first engagement that puts your organization in the foundation's operational orbit before any grant discussion begins.

• Plan 18–24 months ahead. IRS narratives show grants tied to specific exhibition seasons. Institutions should initiate conversations no later than 12 months before an opening. The employment email (employment@onemillionyearsfoundation.org) is for hiring only — do not use it for grant-related contact.