AEYAC (pronounced "ay-yack"), a non-profit organization (NPO) dedicated to supporting young anime creators, launched a crowdfunding campaign on December 1. The campaign is collecting donations on the JapanGiving fundraising website until December 31. The organization began streaming a video about the crowd-funding campaign on November 29.

The campaign is seeking to collect at least 3,000 yen (about US$26) from at least 100 people to help cover its necessary expenses for the 2016 fiscal year. As of press time, the campaign has received four donations for a total of 15,000 yen (US$132) of its 300,000-yen (US$2,636) goal. While the campaign aims to collect at least 3,000 yen from each person, donators can contribute as little as 500 yen (US$4). People who donate 3,000 yen will receive the 2016 report of AEYAC's activities. Donators can choose to receive the report as a paper booklet or PDF file.

AEYAC was established as an NPO in May as an organization aiming to support career development for young producers of anime. The NPO held a celebratory seminar at the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair 2016 event in September.

When it still operated as a private organization, AEYAC unveiled its "Cirque le coeur" independent anime short in January 2015. Clips from that anime appear in the promotional video above. The organization began producing several more anime projects, including "Kimi Toki Setsuna," in 2015.

AEYAC plans to hold seminars and workshops for young animators and again appear at Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair in 2017.

Source: Anime! Anime! (Katsunori Takahashi)