Recent grants to Hawaii nonprofits

> Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and Hilo Bay Clinic, both nonprofit community health centers, will receive $10.3 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Waianae center, which oversees five facilities on Oahu, will receive a grant of approximately $7.9 million, and the Hilo Bay Clinic Inc., which oversees six clinics on the Big Island, will receive approximately $2.4 million.

> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded a grant to the East-West Center for a program that will help Pacific communities cope with climate change. The $3.86 million NOAA funding will be shared over a five-year period by the following partners in the Pacific RISA program: East-West Center, University of Hawaii International Pacific Research Institute, UH Social Science Research Institute, UH Water Resources Research Center, UH Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy, National Weather Service Pacific ENSO Applications Center, NOAA Integrated Data and Environmental Applications Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative and various community groups and government agencies throughout the region.

> The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement will receive $3.5 million to help Native Hawaiians learn how to buy homes, establish savings accounts and improve their credit scores. Hawaii Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka say the funds are from a U.S. Treasury Department grant. Inouye said in a statement Monday the program will help native Hawaiians navigate the financial landscape at a time when credit is tight and banks are heavily scrutinizing prospective home buyers. Akaka stressed the importance of financial education.

> Foodland Super Market presented a nearly $1.9 million check to nonprofit organizations yesterday on behalf of customers, the company and Western Union. The donation, which will benefit 665 Hawaii nonprofits, is part of the local supermarket chain's annual Give Aloha campaign. Customers donated $1.54 million at Foodland and Sack N Save stores during September. Foodland and the Western Union Foundation contributed an additional $329,000. The total contribution was more than has been raised in any year since the program began in 1999, Foodland said. The program has raised about $15 million for Hawaii charities since 1999.

> The University of Hawaii Foundation has received a $1 million anonymous gift to benefit the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Center for Cardiovascular Research, enabling CCR to be better equipped to fulfill its research mission to better understand, prevent and treat heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions. This gift establishes an endowed fund that will give the CCR director resources to enhance cardiovascular research at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at UH Mānoa and its hospital partners throughout Hawaii. By translating research into practice, patient care will be improved and research findings will ultimately help save lives.

> Hau'oli Mau Loa Foundation has awarded a grant of $425,000 to Hale Kipa. The grant will be used to support continuing operations and capacity building at Hale Kipa.

> Hawaii Community Foundation has received a Knight Community Information Challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The $240,500 grant to be distributed over three years will go toward the Hiki No program at PBS Hawaii, the first statewide digital student news network in the nation.

> The Hawaii Medical Service Association Foundation has approved grants for the following local health programs and community organizations: Family Promise of Hawaii; Second Annual Big Island Diabetes Summit-Joslin Diabetes Center; Kapiolani Health Foundation; Konawaena Elementary School; Papa Ola Lokahi; St. Andrew's Priory; West Hawaii Community Health Center; and Women In Need.

> YMCA of Honolulu recently announced the following corporate and foundation contributions toward the renovation project of the Windward YMCA in Kailua: Ameron Hawaii ($25,000), Castle Medical Center ($25,000), First Hawaiian Bank Foundation ($25,000), Alexander & Baldwin Foundation ($10,000), and HEI Charitable Foundation ($10,000). The YMCA is targeted to complete a $1,200,000 capital campaign for facility renovations of the Windward YMCA, through the attainment of a $600,000 match granted by the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. The renovation project includes the building of a permanent “canopy” for the open-air courtyard of the facility, ADA enhancements and additional equipment and furnishings.  The construction of the “canopy” will allow the YMCA to provide an additional 1,400 square feet of dry, ventilated program space for the youth and families utilizing the Windward Y.  Construction is scheduled to begin this winter and be completed by summer, 2011.

> Farmers Insurance Hawaii donated $24,600 and 9,000 pounds of food to three food assistance organizations as a part of the company's "Drive Out Hunger in Hawaii" campaign. This year's campaign coincided with Hunger Action Month, a national initiative to help raise awareness about the problem of hunger. Farmers Insurance presented the money and food to the Hawaii Foodbank, Lanakila Meals on Wheels and River of Life Mission.

> Ward Centers' Friends+ Family+Community ReWARDS shopping event April 9-11 raised more than $23,000 for 51 local nonprofit organizations and schools. Participating organizations sold $5 tickets to the event and kept 100 percent of their sale proceeds.

> Junior Achievement of Hawaii received $10,000 from The Atherton Family Foundation and $5,000 apiece from the Joan & William K.H. Mau Foundation, Servco Foundation and Ameriprise Financial Inc. JA provides education programs on business, economics and the free enterprise system to some 6,000 students yearly.

> Family Support Hawaii has received a $2,500 grant from Reading Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, to host a family reading celebration for the local community. The Family Reading Celebration initiative is designed to empower families and communities to help children discover the joy of reading. Through a multi-year partnership with Macy’s, RIF is distributing $87,500 in grant funds to 28 programs during the first phase of the new Family Reading Celebration initiative.

> Alexander & Baldwin Foundation has awarded a $2,000 grant to Feed My Sheep, the largest nonprofit distributor of food to those living in poverty on Maui. The grant will be used to buy items ranging from canned goods to fresh produce. Feed My Sheep serves about 140,000 meals each month.