Projects designed to strengthen Hawaiian cultural identity, support instruction in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, encourage ʻāina stewardship, prepare students for career readiness and help reintegrate those emerging from the justice system will be receiving a boost from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).
At their June meeting, OHA trustees approved more than $2.7 million in grant awards to 16 community nonprofits that serve Native Hawaiians. The nonprofits are located across the pae ʻāina with beneficiaries being served on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.
These are the first awards that OHA has announced since revamping its grants program with a goal of lowering funding application barriers to allow for increased community participation. The grants process has been streamlined to ease the burden on nonprofit partners, including reducing the number of eligibility requirements, simplifying the application process and focusing mandatory reporting to the most essential data elements.
“On behalf of all of our trustees, Iʻd like to mahalo our Grants staff for their tireless efforts in bringing continuous improvement to our process. We all realize just how hard these staff members work each day on behalf of our lāhui and we want them all to know how much they are appreciated,” said OHA Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey.
“It is not only our honor but our kuleana to work with these outstanding community nonprofits who are making a difference in the lives of our people. It is only by working together in a spirit of lōkahi and aloha that we can create maximum impact as we strive to better the lives of Native Hawaiians and raise a beloved lāhui.”
Nine nonprofits received more than $1.36 million in Kumuwaiwai Naʻauao-Educational Resource grants including:
- Kanu o ka ʻĀina Learning ʻOhana received $137,328 for “Hoʻopili Mai,” a culturally grounded initiative for Hawaiian preschoolers and their families in Waimea (Hawaiʻi Island) to increase kindergarten readiness.
- Nā Mamo Aloha ʻĀina O Honokōhau received $100,000 for “Kapaukua,” a project that aims to increase ʻāina-based ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi experiences for Hawaiian haumāna in grades PreK-12 in West Maui.
- Hui Mākua O Ke Kula Kaiapuni O Kualapuʻu received $40,000 for its Molokaʻi based project titled “Ke Ao ʻŌlino – Era of Enlightenment,” to educate family members of Hawaiian immersion students through a Hawaiian language and culture curriculum.
- EA Ecoversity received $182,310 to serve Hawaiians on Hawaiʻi, Maui, and Oʻahu through its “Basic Hawaiian” project, a Hawaiian language program to increase language and cultural proficiencies.
- Boys & Girls Club of Hawaiʻi received $205,000 for its Oʻahu based project “Ka Ulu Aʻe o ka Naʻauao,” to provide culturally relevant educational support and career readiness training to Hawaiian youth from Nānākuli and Waiʻanae.
- Maui Hui Mālama received $136,666 for its “Breaking Barriers and Creating Connections to Education, Careers, and Culture” project to provide holistic educational services to support Hawaiian youth on Maui overcome educational barriers.
- Hoʻākeolapono Trades Academy and Institute received $258,700 for its Kauaʻi based “High School Trades Innovation Program” to introduce Hawaiian students in grades 9-12 to the building trades industry to increase graduation rates.
- Hoʻokākoʻo Corporation received $100,000 for its Molokaʻi based project “Hoʻokahua,” to develop, expand and sustain Hawaiian language medium early education for Hawaiian children in grades K-2.
- Keiki O Ka ʻĀina received $205,000 for its Oʻahu and Molokaʻi based project “Board and Stone, Strengthening Families and Equipping for the Future,” to educate Native Hawaiians in cultural foundations through Board and Stone classes.
Five nonprofits received more than $939,000 in Ola Ka ʻĀina-Health of Land and Water grants including:
- Hale Mua Cultural Group received $145,000 for its Hawaiʻi Island based project “ʻAi Me Ka Iʻa Waipiʻo,” to increase knowledge in traditional food systems stewardship by engaging Hawaiians in the practices of loʻi kalo and loko wai in Waipiʻo Valley.
- Papahana Kuaola received $200,000 for its Oʻahu based project “Kupu A Lau,” to educate and engage Hawaiians in ʻāina restoration practices and principles at Waipao to increase community connection to ʻāina.
- Maui Nui Makai Network received $200,000 for its project “Maui Hikina Huliāmahi,” an initiative to advance community-led marine management across four districts of East Maui spanning more than 60 miles of coastline.
- Pōhāhā I Ka Lani received $200,000 for its Hawaiʻi Island project “Kāhuli,” to enhance the stewardship of watersheds in and above Waipiʻo Valley, including removing invasive trees, planting native plants, and stabilizing 400 linear feet of slopes and riverbanks.
- Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests received $194,717 for its Hawaiʻi Island based project “Kaiāulu Puʻuwaʻawaʻa,” to support the Kaiāulu Puʻuwaʻawaʻa Community-Based Subsistence Forest Area in stewarding and restoring 84 acres by planting native species, connecting lineal descendants to the land, and increasing Hawaiian involvement in mālama ʻāina.
Two nonprofits received more than $401,000 in Hoʻomohala Waiwai ʻOhana Economic Stability grants including:
- Laʻiʻōpua 2020 received $200,000 for its Hawaiʻi Island project “Aʻo,” which will provide a trades skills training and certification program to Hawaiian adults to increase the number of certified workers and job placements.
- The Men of PAʻA received $201,226 for their Hawaiʻi Island “Mālama Puna Workforce Development Project” to empower Hawaiians from Puna, particularly those emerging from the justice system by providing job training and financial literacy programs.
OHA’s Grants Program supports Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organizations that have projects, programs and initiatives that serve the lāhui in alignment with OHA’s Mana i Mauli Ola Strategic Plan. For more on OHA’s Grants Program please visit www.oha.org/grants.
