Recent grants to Hawaii nonprofits

Omidyar’s innovation fund makes first five awards

Five Hawaii nonprofits were awarded a combined $461,199 from the Hawaii Community Foundation's new Island Innovation Fund. The Island Innovation Fund was established in 2010 as part of a $50 million commitment from Pam and Pierre Omidyar. The fund is slated to distribute $2.5 million through three annual competitive awards.

The five nonprofits receiving the first award were picked from 11 finalists selected from some 180 proposals. Kina Mahi, senior program officer at the foundation in charge of the fund, said it was a daunting task to select grantees. "It has been exciting to see the creativity and resourcefulness from within our island community," she said.

The five nonprofits, their awards and initiatives are:

1. Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, was awarded $100,000 to develop an accessible electronic registry of medical records for diabetes patients to help medical providers deliver better and more proactive care for people with the disease. The center is collaborating with Bay Clinic in Hilo and Waimanalo Health Center on the project that is in part aimed to improve diabetes treatment in rural communities.
2. Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, was awarded $78,784 to create a centralized database of information about conservation efforts and tools for protecting Hawaii's endangered native forests.
3. North Kohala Community Resource Center, was awarded $82,415 to organize community efforts to provide food for the needy by collecting, processing and preserving food that would otherwise go to waste, including food on farms needing harvesting.
4. Kanu Hawaii, was awarded $100,000 to develop a program for consumers to engage in group-buying from socially responsible businesses.
5. Hawaii Agricultural Foundation, was awarded $100,000 to launch a mobile application telling consumers where to find locally sourced food items.

The foundation will begin accepting proposals for the second round of grants July 1. Details are available at http://islandinnovation.org and http://hawaiicommunityfoundation.org.

> Legal Aid Society of Hawaii has been awarded a $275,000 federal grant to help combat housing and lending abuse, including mortgage rescue scams. The grant was part of $40.8 million awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to 108 fair-housing organizations and nonprofit agencies in 36 states and the District of Columbia. HUD said its grants may be used to investigate alleged housing discrimination, to protect residents in minority neighborhoods from mortgage rescue scams, to promote equal housing opportunities and to educate the public and the housing industry about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act.

> Enterprise Honolulu, a nonprofit formerly known as the Oahu Economic Development Board, has been awarded a $250,000 grant by the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration to provide business development assistance that will help small- to medium-size businesses in the state capitalize on international trade opportunities within the Asia-Pacific region.

> First Hawaiian Bank announced a $30,000 grant to the Hawaii Family Finance Project to promote financial education for homebuyers and  assist them with their down payment.  Administered to serve low to moderate income families in every county, the HFFP is a three-year pilot program dedicated to improving credit scores, financial training and assisting families to purchase affordable homes.

> Office of Hawaiian Affairs is donating $30,000 to help Nanakuli High and Intermediate Performing Arts Center attend the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland this summer. The Oahu school is one of 62 U.S. high schools selected to participate in the event. OHA Chief Executive Officer Clyde Namuo said the agency is proud to support a program that inspires youth to achieve at a high level in the classroom and exceed the state's education standards. OHA has also awarded Zion Ipuka, a Corvette Center Ministries program, a $25,000 grant. The funds will be used toward its transitional programs for the homeless on the Leeward side, focusing on native Hawaiians.

> Family Promise of Hawaii has received a grant of $25,000 from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Community-Based Economic Development program to support Native Hawaiians moving from homelessness to self-sufficiency. The partnership allows Family Promise of Hawaii to conduct housing and employment placement services for 60 Native Hawaiians to move to long-term, stable housing and viable employment by the end of 2011.

> American Savings Bank presented $10,000 checks to Maui Adventist School, Anuenue Immersion School, Kapaa High School and Waiakea High School as part of its Bank for Education program, which was created to help Hawaii’s communities raise funds for their schools.

> Patagonia Honolulu will donate $5,000 to three local environmental groups through the Patagonia Voice Your Choice campaign from March 10-31, and is asking the community to vote for the environmental organization that has made the most impact. The groups nominated are Kakoo Oiwi, a community-based nonprofit organization that is restoring fallow land in Heeia into working agriculture; Paepae O Heeia, which manages and maintains the ancient Heeia Fishpond; and Kai Makana, which educates the public to preserve marine life and the ocean environment. Winners receive $2,500 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place.