Recent grants to Hawaii nonprofit organizations

> Arts alliance receives $110,000 grant – The Hawaii Arts Alliance has received a matching $110,000 grant from an anonymous donor to enhance arts education opportunities for students. Most of the money will go to statewide Performing Arts Learning Centers, which teach performance skills to at least 1,000 students per year. They include centers at Baldwin, Castle, Hilo, Nanakuli and Kaimuki high schools; the Central Theatre Arts Academy (Mililani); the Alliance for Drama Education's T-Shirt Theatre at Farrington; and on Kauai. Each center must raise matching donations to the initial $5,000 to receive a second grant installment, or become a $2,000 Arts Angel supporter with Hawaii Arts Alliance.

> KCAA Preschools of Hawaii has been awarded a grant for $100,000 from the McInerny Foundation to assist low-income families whose state tuition subsidies were reduced as of Feb. 1. The 125 impacted families are now being asked to pay as much as $200-$600 more per month to keep their child enrolled in preschool. The state Department of Human Services provides tuition subsidies to qualifying low-income parents, many whom are single parents or English Language Learners, to enable them to send their child to a quality preschool. Only a limited number of licensed preschools in Hawaii accept subsidized children, KCAA among them. Established in 1895 as Free Kindergarten and Children’s Aid Association, today KCAA Preschools of Hawai'i serves almost 1,000 children annually at its seven nationally accredited schools on Oahu.

> The Hawaii Tourism Authority has awarded more than $1.4 million to help fund 120 events and projects statewide, including the Big Island Farm Bureau's Western Week Festival and the Kauai Concert Association's Red Clay Jazz Festival.

> Grace Pacific Corp. has pledged $100,000 to Malama Learning Center. The funds will be used for planning, design and construction of a facility.

> The state Department of Land and Natural Resources says two community environmental groups will get $130,000 for projects to protect Hawaii's coral reefs. The department said Tuesday that the Makai Watch Program will get $70,000 to support the development of observation and compliance protocols for volunteers and DLNR-assisted training and the Malama Kai Foundation will receive $60,000 in settlement funds for the installation of 52 day-use moorings around the state. The money is part of a settlement Makena Boat Partners agreed to pay regarding a claim that it killed, damaged or dislodged 538 individual coral colonies when its Kai Kanani catamaran dropped anchor off Maui in 2007.

> Grant aims to promote exercise – A nearly $150,000 grant will fund a new school-community-government partnership to fight obesity on Hawaii island. The funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is creating a program called HO'ALA. Its goal is to improve access to active modes of transportation to and from school. HO'ALA will focus on tracking changes to existing transportation policies, as well as bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts. One of the HO'ALA coordinators, Laura Dierenfield of Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii, said Wednesday that the program wants to make it easy, fun and safe to get daily exercise by walking or bicycling to school. A dozen schools will be selected to take part in HO'ALA.

> Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund has awarded a $25,000 one year grant to Kapiolani Women's Center to increase awareness of the lifesaving benefits of early detection of breast and cervical cancer.

> The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has awarded Family Programs Hawaii a $23,000 grant to fund volunteer coordinator positions for Ho‘omalu o na Kamali‘i, which opened its doors in April to children removed from their homes for alleged abuse and neglect and has served 100 children, with preference given to children from the Waianae Coast.

> The Hawaii Medical Assurance Association has donated $10,000 in matching grants to the Women's Fund of Hawaii. The grants will be used to help the organization focus on the needs of women who have been hit hardest by the economic downturn.