OHA grants drawing strong demand across the state

News Release from OHA

HONOLULU (Feb. 7, 2013) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is reporting a strong demand for its grant money as non-profit organizations are increasingly tailoring marketable services to OHA priorities as a way to help them stay afloat and meet needs across the state.

OHA this year received 148 proposals from nonprofits that requested a combined total of $36 million in grant money meant to help keep their missions going as well as to ultimately improve conditions for Native Hawaiians.

By comparison, OHA last year received 72 proposals from nonprofits that requested a combined total of $8.8 million in grant money.

The total amount of grant money requested from OHA this year is nearly four times more than the $8.5 million that OHA has currently made available to fund a two-year period between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2015.

Jan. 16, 2013 was the deadline to apply to OHA for between $100,000 and $500,000 in grants to address such OHA priorities as improving Native Hawaiian health, perpetuating Hawaiian culture and preserving natural resources. A final decision on the grant proposals is expected by the OHA Board of Trustees in April or May 2013.

The $8.5 million in grant money that OHA has budgeted for the next two years also represents a dramatic increase from a year ago, when only $2.4 million was available to charitable organizations that could help OHA meet needs in the Hawaiian community.

"The demand we are seeing for our grants is a major contributing factor to our decision to become more collaborative in efforts to preserve, perpetuate and protect Hawaiian culture," said OHA Chief Executive Officer Kamana'o Crabbe. "As we continue to work every day for the betterment of the Hawaiian community, collaboration with community partners will be an important part of the equation."

OHA employee Shannon Toriki conducts a workshop in December 2012 for non-profit organizations that are interested in applying for grant money from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.