Quality Housing

Leveraging partnerships to ensure Native Hawaiians can obtain affordable rentals as well as homeownership while also engaging in opportunities to affect legislation that support Hawaiian Home Lands, overall housing costs, and housing supply will greatly enhance the ability for Native Hawaiians who so desire to remain in Hawaiʻi.

For any questions about our OHA Strategy & Implementation Housing programs, please contact us via email at [email protected].

FY27 Mālama Honua Home Improvement/Renovation Program Grant for Nonprofits 27-01

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) announces the FY27 Mālama Honua Home Improvement/Renovation Program Grant for Nonprofits (Mālama Honua Grant for Nonprofits). This pilot grant supports nonprofit partners to administer a health and safety–focused home improvement program for income-qualified Native Hawaiian homeowners who are ineligible for traditional financing.

The selected nonprofits will provide targeted grants to address urgent, documented health and safety repairs that threaten habitability, helping Native Hawaiian homeowners remain safely in their homes. There is $500,000 total funding available for FY27, with maximum grant awards in the amount of $250,000.

Funded projects must align with OHA’s Mana i Mauli Ola Strategic Plan and support long-term housing stability, economic security, and health outcomes for OHA beneficiaries.

The FY27 Mālama Honua Grant for Nonprofits solicitation opens to qualified Hawai’i-based nonprofits on July 6, 2026, at www.oha.org/grants.

OHA is not accepting Mālama Honua Grant for Nonprofits grant applications from individual beneficiaries as the selected nonprofit partners will facilitate OHA beneficiary grant applications at a later date.

The purpose of the OHA Community Grants Program is to support projects, programs and initiatives that address OHA’s six strategic priorities. For questions, please email [email protected].

FY27 Mālama Honua Home Improvement-Renovation Program – Grant Solicitation – Final on 7.2.2026

FY27 Mālama Honua Home Improvement-Renovation Program Grant for Nonprofits FAQs

Strategy 5: Advance policies, programs and practices that strengthen Hawaiian resource management knowledge and skills to meet the housing needs of their ʻohana.

• 5.1. Increased numbers/ percent of Native Hawaiians who rent housing that meets their ʻohana’s financial and well-being needs
• 5.2. Increased numbers/ percent of Native Hawaiians who own housing that meets their ʻohana’s financial and well-being needs
• 5.3. Increased safety, stability, social support networks, and cultural connection in Native Hawaiian communities

Strategy 6:  Support implementation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and other efforts to meet the housing needs of ʻohana.

• 6.1. Increased affordable non-traditional housing options (ADUs/ tiny houses, large multi-generational lots or homes) in communities of ʻohanaʻs choice;
• 6.2. Increased housing unit supply on Hawaiian Home Lands; and
• 6.3. Decreased rate of Native Hawaiian ʻohana out of state migration.

To help boost Hawai‘i’s homeownership rate, OHA has focused on helping more Native Hawaiians achieve housing stability.

Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care. An estimated 51 percent of Native Hawaiians who rent their homes fall into this category.

In response, OHA has set its sights on laying important groundwork for increasing homeownership and housing stability among renters within the Native Hawaiian community.

The goal is to help more Native Hawaiians become creditworthy and better at managing finances. For OHA, this is part of a broader focus on encouraging self-sufficiency by helping more Native Hawaiian families become financially viable and put down roots that strengthens communities across the state.