Enterprise Awards More Than $6K to Big Island Nonprofits

Enterprise Holdings Inc., which owns and operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, has granted $33,000 to 13 nonprofits throughout Hawai‘i, including two Big Island organizations.

The Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island was awarded $2,500 and Ho‘ōla Nā Pua received $4,000. Both are second-year recipients of grant funds from Enterprise’s ROAD Forward initiative.

“These organizations embody the spirit of Enterprise Holdings’ ROAD Forward initiative in working to drive change in three key areas: early childhood development, youth health and wellness and career and college preparation,” said an email from Enterprise Holdings announcing the awards. “This is the second year the company has provided grants to several nonprofits in the region as part of its five-year, $55 million commitment, announced last year, to drive change in communities.”

Grant recipients were selected from hundreds of nominations by Enterprise employees on behalf of nonprofit organizations throughout the state.

The grants were made through the Enterprise Holdings Foundation and were among nearly 700 nonprofits to be awarded this year. Totaling more than $7 million, the grants will be distributed across the organization’s operating groups in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Launched in 2020, Enterprise’s ROAD Forward program empowers Enterprise’s more than 75,000 employees to work on identifying social and racial equity issues in their communities and the local organizations best equipped to address them. The initiative focuses on respect, opportunity, achievement and diversity for youth and families.

“At Enterprise, we feel immense responsibility to contribute to the health of the communities where we live and work … ,” Enterprise Holdings Foundation President Carolyn Kindle Betz said in a press release.

This year’s grants bring Enterprise’s total allocation in 2021 and 2022 to about $34 million.

“At Enterprise, the lifeblood of our work is people — the people who serve our customers, the people who do business with us and the people who make up our communities,” Enterprise Holdings Chief Diversity Officer Errin Braddock said in the press release. “And we have a role to play in helping break down barriers to opportunity in neighborhoods around the world. ROAD Forward demonstrates one step we are taking to drive continued progress in this area by empowering our people to lift up their own communities and support the organizations that are making a true difference.”

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