OHA: Nearly $15M in Grants Available to Support Native Hawaiians

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs recently announced it is making $14.9 million available for grants targeted at strengthening family, culture and land connections and increasing support in education, health housing and economic stability for Native Hawaiians.

“OHA’s Grants Program aims to meet the needs of the Native Hawaiian community by providing support to Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organizations that have projects, programs and initiatives that align with achieving the outcomes of OHA’s 15-year Mana i Mauli Ola Strategic Plan,” said a press release from OHA.

OHA receives $15.1 million a year in Public Land Trust revenues, directed toward beneficiary and community investments, including grants and legal services. According to the press release, the agency awarded a record more than $16 million in grants to community organizations last year.

“We have reorganized and streamlined our operations so that all funds received from the Public Land Trust can go directly to our beneficiaries and support them in the areas of education, health, housing and economic stability,” said OHA Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey in the release. “We’ve also set our overall two-year fiscal biennium budget for grants, including sponsorships, at $30.2 million, a record for OHA and up from the $24.5 million mark that we set for the last fiscal biennium.”

The funds are available for community grants to strengthen ʻohana, moʻomeheu and ‘āina connections and increase support to Native Hawaiians. Additionally, grant applications will now be reviewed quarterly, instead of every six months, to accommodate community needs.

Click here for grant budgets and descriptions.

Several grant orientation sessions also will be offered, the first of which, “Overview of Grants Budget, Solicitations and Process Changes,” is scheduled for noon-1 p.m. Monday, April 18. To find the links for each orientation session and learn more about OHA’s new grant opportunities, click here.