The OHA Board of Trustees approved $6 million in grants to 24 programs that will provide critical services to Native Hawaiians in the key areas of housing, income, health, education and culture.
OHA’s Community Grants Program is the agency’s major grants program. Community Grants Program awards are approved every two years, and the program offers larger, multi-year grant awards that require a minimum of 20 percent matching funds.
The Fiscal Biennium 2020-2021 OHA Community Grants awardees are:
| Ahupua’a O Moloka’i | The purpose of this project is to provide direct support and education to Native Hawaiians of Molokaʻi to grow significant native crops (of both land and sea) to further economic sustainability—while requiring ahupuaʻa stewardship through restoration efforts and service learning. | Moloka’i | $ 81,000 |
| Alu Like, Inc. | The purpose of this project is to reduce the rate of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use among Native Hawaiians through prevention services that include education, outreach and advocacy to youth ages 9-20 and their families on the island of Moloka`i to proactively prevent substance use. | Moloka’i | $102,554 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Maui, Inc. | The purpose of this project, Power Hour –Papa Hana Ha’awina, is to provide homework assistance to all members of Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui, including Native Hawaiian members who attend Hawaiian Immersion Schools, to improve their grades in school and in standardized testing. | Maui | $ 203,740 |
| Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement | The Native Hawaiian Trades Academy is a middle-skill career institute for Native Hawaiians with low-to-moderate income. This program would provide successful participants with starting wages more than the single-adult Household Survival Budget and, within 5 years, can exceed the statewide median family income of $79,187. | Statewide | $ 300,145 |
| Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation | To mālama the waters of Keaukaha surrounding the only remaining loko iʻa kuapā on the east side of Hawaiʻi island through community engagement, education, research, social media and community events. This is a collaboration between Haleolono fishpond and Kaiaulu Hanakahi to mālama its coastal areas and to revive and sustain the local ecosystem. | Hawaii | $180,200 |
| Educational Services Hawaii Foundation | The Project utilizes culture-based pedagogy to provide comprehensive differentiated instruction along with a variety of educationally enriching activities, designed to increase the number of Native Hawaiian students in foster, kith and kinship care, to meet and exceed Reading and Math Standards, to achieve yearly grade promotion, and to graduate. | Hawaii | $160,868 |
| Hawaiian Community Assets | The purpose of this project is to establish the Hawaii Affordable Housing Fund that will serve Native Hawaiians with financial counseling, individual development accounts, & loans to rent or own homes & provide Native Hawaiian communities/nonprofits with technical assistance & loans to build or preserve 1500 units of affordable housing by 2026. | Statewide | $ 515,886 |
| Homestead Community Development Corp | The purpose of the Native Hawaiian Housing Stability Project is to support the delivery of the HCDC Financial Literacy Program (FLP) and Micro Enterprise Assistance Program (MEAP) on the island of Kauai to assist Native Hawaiians to achieve homeownership or rental housing on Kauai, through knowledge and training necessary for housing stability. | Kauai | $ 484,114 |
| Hui Malama I ke Ala ‘Ulili | The Hoʻonohopapa Koholālele Project engages ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) stewards of the ahupuaʻa of Koholālele in ʻāina restoration, ʻōiwi research, and cultural regeneration to cultivate abundance, renew ancestral responsibilities, and empower ‘ohana with the capacity to live and thrive in Hāmākua for generations. | Hawaii | $120,480 |
| Hui Malama O Ke Kai Foundation | The Papahana Kālai Papa Me Pōhaku Kuʻi ʻAi project is a workshop series that teaches participants to carve their own board and stone for pounding poi. Through the series at least 50 Native Hawaiians will create their own board and stone, connect with their culture, learn traditional skills, and strengthen the bonds between ʻohana and community. | Oahu | $ 78,340 |
| Hui Malama Ola Na Oiwi | The purpose of Hui Malama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi is to uplift the health of the Hawaiian nation. Hui Malama’s indigenous knowledge programming, in service of creating a deeper understanding & practice of cultural methods by Native Hawaiians for their health & wellness via Ho‘oponopono, Lā‘au Lapa‘au, Lomilomi, & Healthy Hāpai, will increase. | Hawaii | $ 307,822 |
| I Ola Lahui Inc. | I Ola Lāhui in collaboration with Lunalilo Home will provide behavioral health and cultural nutrition supports to Native Hawaiian kūpuna and caregivers in Honolulu and Waimānalo to improve their health conditions and well-being, enhance day to day living, and increase opportunities for cultural and physical activities and social interaction. | Oahu | $298,000 |
| Institute for Native Pacific Education & Culture | The purpose of this project is to provide vocational development training and support to Native Hawaiian families in West O’ahu through a small incubator and post-secondary supports for teacher preparation to strengthen the economic self-sufficiency of families and the economic base of the community. | Oahu | $ 699,855 |
| Kaala Farms Inc. | The purpose of this project is to provide culturally relevant learning experiences for Nanakuli Intermediate and High School students (NHIS) in order to increase academic and social growth. Students will engage in authentic projects that are connected to their community, to their own lives, and support their kuleana of community stewardship. | Oahu | $ 526,568 |
| Kako’o Oiwi | The purpose of this project is to restore and effectively manage ecologically and geographically linked kipuka within Heʻeia uli, increasing the capacity and resilience of ecological and food-producing systems in our ahupuaʻa for the benefit of Hawaiians and other community members on Oʻahu. | Oahu | $ 358,320 |
| Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike | The purpose of this project is to provide youth-led services including home modifications, produce and poi deliveries, and meaningful engagement in community-based activities to Hāna’s kūpuna and their caregivers to meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs while ultimately elevating their health, well-being, and longevity. | Maui | $ 202,000 |
| Malama Na Makua A Keiki, Inc. | The purpose of this project is to support Maui’s Native Hawaiian community by providing a combination of comprehensive women-specific substance abuse treatment services with activities that strengthen mother-child bonding and increase attentive parenting practices in order to improve and strengthen the entire family’s well-being. | Maui | $ 119,234 |
| Molokai Community Service Council | Ho’omana Hou School’s purpose is to graduate students who can think critically, who actively support their community, and who are academically, environmentally, ethically and culturally competent. The school’s philosophy is that students learn best from hands-on instruction that is place-based and grounded in historic culture. | Molokai | $ 108,824 |
| Pu‘uhonua Society | Keanahala: A Place for Hala will perpetuate the Native Hawaiian practice ulana lau hala and help bring Hawaiian lau hala mats back to the home. Keanahala honors process from ‘āina to moena (including harvesting, proper preparation of the leaves, weaving, and repairing moena) and brings community together to weave, share stories, and heal. | Oahu/Kauai | $80,000 |
| Salvation Army – Family Treatment Services | The project aims to improve the health of Hawaiian women recovering from substance use disorders by integrating cultural practices into the treatment curriculum and by providing substance abuse treatment, education, relapse prevention, and skills to live a healthy lifestyle in response to cessation of tobacco, methamphetamine and other drugs. |
Oahu | $ 278,212 |
| The Kohala Center | This project will reestablish native forest and stabilize two riparian restoration corridors in the ahupua‘a of Kawaihae. Our watershed restoration efforts with DHHL’s Kailapa community will increase access to fresh water, provide habitat for native flora and fauna species and build Hawaiian stewardship capacity as aloha ‘āina practitioners. | Hawaii | $ 260,000 |
| Ulu A‘e Learning Center | The Ulu Ae Project is an afterschool/intersession program which will provide cultural, place based learning to at least 361 Native Hawaiian keiki in schools within Ewa. In these sessions, learners receive lessons in cultural practices like hana hei , oli, hula, ulana lauhala, kuku kapa, kalai ohe, kanu, ku’i kalo, kui lei, moolelo, kakaolelo, haku mele (poetry), paani makahiki and more. | Oahu | $ 291,982 |
| Waimanalo Health Center | The Waimanalo Health Center is proposing to expand its cultural healing program to increase the number of patients and community members who practice lomilomi and la`au lapa`au by providing individualized instruction through its primary care setting and cultural healing classes to the community. | Oahu | $ 141,936 |
| Kanu o ka ‘Aina Learning ‘Ohana | To ensure successful outcomes and timely reporting in administering OHA funds to 17 HFPCS | Statewide | $ 2,750,589 |
| KANU | Implement culture-based public charter school education in furtherance of OHA’s Ho‘ona‘auao (Education) Strategic Result. | Hawaii | $ 249,411 |
| Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement | To provide a statewide (Honolulu (Oʻahu), Hawaiʻi, Maui, and Kauaʻi) program for Native Hawaiian individuals and families for emergency financial assistance following an emergent crisis, financial literacy education, and multiservice referrals for employment, education, healthcare, housing and social services. | Statewide | $ 3,830,000 |
| Hana Arts | To inspire youth of East Maui through arts & culture by hosting classroom teachings, workshops & events that stimulate & broaden youths potential. | Maui | $ 25,000 |
| Honolulu Habitat for Humanity | To provide education about home ownership and home restoration programs to low-income Native Hawaiian families to improve housing stability and conditions, and increase home ownership among this population. | Oahu | $ 40,717 |
| Kipuka o ke Ola | To provide a full range of bio-psycho-social services to residents of North Hawaiʻi, with special emphasis on addressing the physical and mental health disparities of the Kanaka Maoli population. KOKO provides culturally-informed direct services, collaborates with other like-spirited organizations, and is led by the community it serves. Our vision is that Native Hawaiians in North Hawaiʻi will achieve parity with non-Native Hawaiians across all of the major indicators of wellness. | Hawaii | $ 51,000 |
| Malama Loko Ea Foundation | Loko ea is currently a living classroom, perpetuating Native Hawaiian culture through education, land stewardship, and community building. While continuing to teach and practice indigenous knowledge, MLEF strives to mālama honua by joining a network of productive loko iʻa across the pae ʻāina. This revived system will provide nutritious and environmentally sustainable food through the combination of traditional Hawaiian aquaculture methods and science-based fishery management. | Oahu | $ 75,000 |
| Moloka‘i General Hospital | Molokai General Hospital is a part of the Queen’s Health Systems. The Mission of the Queen’s organization is To fulfill the intent of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV to provide in perpetuity quality health care services to improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians and all of the people of Hawaii. | Molokai | $ 41,150 |
| Pa‘a Pono Miloli‘i | To provide a DHS certified kitchen at the Miloli’i Community Center so that Miloli’i can have its own Charter School and to allow the community to prepare for the community and cater food. | Hawaii | $ 74,000 |
| Partners in Development Foundation | To provide family education programming and outreach to homeless/at-risk NH families w/ young children. | Hawaii | $ 100,000 |
| Project Vision Hawaii | The mission of Project Vision Hawaiʻi is to work in partnership with the people of Hawaiʻi to increase access to healthcare. | Statewide | $ 26,515 |
