OHA Announces 10 Kūlia Grant Award Recipients

The Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs approved the awarding of $500,000 to 10 non-profit organizations under its Kūlia Grants Program. Four Maui County nonprofits were among the recipients identified for grant awards.

Hawaiian Kamaliʻi, Inc., Hāna Arts, Molokaʻi General Hospital and Project Vision Hawaiʻi were all nonprofits operating in Maui County that received one of the 10 awards this year.

Through this pilot program, OHA is providing smaller, one-year grant awards for projects that benefit the Native Hawaiian community and align with the agency’s broad strategic priorities of health, education, income and housing, land and water, and culture.

“After a thorough review of all grant applications, we are very pleased to announce that we will be providing funding to 10 non-profit organizations in support of programs that will directly impact the lives of Native Hawaiians.” said OHA Chair Colette Machado.

“The services provided by these organizations range from culture and education, to healthcare and housing and will help Native Hawaiians across the state and in the communities in which they live. It is important to OHA that we support projects that kōkua where they are most needed,” said Kamanaʻopono Crabbe, OHA Chief Executive Officer/Ka Pouhana.

OHA received a total of 81 applications with 51 eligible for review. The applications were reviewed by a team of external Native Hawaiian grant reviewers and scored on organizational capacity, scope of services, experience, project plan, service delivery and budget. The OHA Board of Trustees approved the following 10 non-profit organizations for funding through the Kūlia Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2018:

Culture

Hawaiian Kamaliʻi, Inc. (Maui)

Project: Hawaiian Kamaliʻi Summer Program

The program provides a seven week cultural education exploration program centered on huakaʻi (field trips), including a voyage to Kahoʻolawe. Goal is for 60 Native Hawaiian children to develop a strong identity through Hawaiian culture. ($25,110)

Paʻa Pono Miloli’i (Hawai‘i)

Project: Certified Kitchen for the Miloliʻi Community Enrichment and Historical Center (Community Center)

The project will provide a DHS-certified kitchen at the Miloliʻi Community Center so that Miloliʻi can have its own charter school and to allow the community to prepare food for the community and to cater food. ($74,000)

Education

Partners in Development Foundation (Hawai‘i)

Project: Ka Paʻalana Family Education and Homeless Outreach

The program will provide family education programming and outreach to homeless/at-risk Native Hawaiian families with young children (age 0-5) to improve health and school readiness. The program will also equip caregivers to be their child’s first and most important teacher, empower adults toward better health and self-sufficiency. ($100,000)

Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric, and Warren Puha, a Maui Electric troubleman based in Hāna, presented Hāna Arts, Inc. with a $2,500 donation for their Building East Maui’s Community through Creativity program. File photo courtesy Maui electric.

Hāna Arts (Maui)

Project: Inspiring East Maui Youth through Arts & Culture Education

The project seeks to inspire youth of East Maui through arts and culture by hosting classroom teachings, workshops and events that stimulate and broaden each youth’s potential. ($25,000)

Health

Molokaʻi General Hospital (Moloka‘i)

Project: Expansion of services at Molokaʻi General Hospital’s Wound Care Clinic

The project will support the expansion and improvement of services that are offered at Molokaʻi General Hospital’s Wound Care Clinic by providing non-invasive upper and lower extremity vascular assessments. This will allow people on island to receive a service that is currently not available and important in assessing and determining the best treatment plan for a wound. ($41,150)

Project Vision Hawaiʻi (Hawai‘i, Moloka‘i, O‘ahu)

Project: Better Vision for Keiki – Vision Care for Children in Native Hawaiian Charter Schools

The project will provide vision screenings, exams, and glasses to Native Hawaiian children throughout the state and will provide school-wide vision care services to children in Native Hawaiian charter schools. ($26,515)

Five Mountains Hawaiʻi, Dba Kīpuka o ke Ola (Hawai‘i)

Project: Hoʻulu ke Ola

The project will enhance Kīpuka o ke Ola’s ability to serve the lāhui of North Hawaiʻi by helping sustain clinical facility, add essential clinical staff and increase Native Hawaiians on the patient panel. It will also provide substantially more high-quality primary care and behavioral health services to the lāhui. ($51,000)

Housing

Honolulu Habitat for Humanity (O‘ahu)

Project: Home Ownership Outreach to Native Hawaiians

The project will 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. ($40,717)

Income

Marimed Foundation (O‘ahu)

Project: Maritime Careers Exploration and Placement Program

The project will provide maritime training, education and job placement services for unemployed and underemployed Native Hawaiian men and women. ($41,508)

Land/Water

Mālama Loko Ea Foundation (O‘ahu)

Project: ʻAmapō Ea

The project will return the Loko ea to original intention as a sustainable food source for the Waialua Moku. ($75,000)

Unlike OHA’s Community Grants Program that typically provides larger, multi-year grant awards that require a minimum of 20 percent matching funds, Kūlia Grant Program awards are smaller, ranging between $25,000 and $100,000; carry one-year terms; and require just a 10-percent funding match. The Kūlia Grants may also be used for capacity building and capital improvement projects, which are prohibited under the Community Grants Program.