East Maui programs benefit from latest OHA grants

A $1.5 million grant to Hawaiian Community Assets, intended to increase the occupancy readiness of Native Hawaiians by improving their financial capacity to rent or own homes, led the grant awards recently approved by Office of Hawaiian Affairsʻ trustees. 

The housing grant would create a Native Hawaiian Occupancy Ready database consisting of Native Hawaiians residing in Hawaiʻi who have enrolled in HUD housing counseling so they can access match savings, grants, loans, and referrals to housing opportunities as they become available. The database would connect Native Hawaiians with up-to-date information about HUD counseling services and grant and loan programs that would assist potential renters and homebuyers.  

In addition to the housing grant, a $300,000 economic stability grant was awarded to Ma Ka Hana ‘Ike Building Program in Hāna, Maui, to provide job readiness training for students in vocational trades, and a $200,000 education grant was awarded to the Purple Maiʻa Foundation to equip Native Hawaiian students and kumu with artificial intelligence knowledge and skills increasing college, career and community readiness.  

A $10,000 ʻAhahui event grant was awarded to Hāna Arts to help support the Hāna Farmers Market.  

“It is our honor to partner with such solid community nonprofits that have long demonstrated the capacity to successfully serve the Hawaiian community. Whether itʻs increasing the financial capacity of our people, providing job readiness training for our ʻopio, or building college and career readiness, we can most effectively strengthen our lāhui by working together in lōkahi. Our grants program is a key strategy in achieving that goal,” said Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey, board chair of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in a news release.  

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Grants Program supports Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organizations that have projects, programs and initiatives that serve the lāhui in alignment with OHAʻs strategic plan. For more on OHA’s Grants Program visit www.oha.org/grants.