Four state lawmakers picked 95 Hawaii nonprofits to receive $49.5 million in emergency grants to offset impacts of federal cuts by the Trump administration last Thursday.
The special legislative panel made selections from among 213 organizations that applied for $143 million.
“It was not an easy task,” Rep. Daniel Holt, one of the evaluation committee members, said during the announcement of awards in the auditorium of the state Capitol. “It’s obvious there is a lot of need out there in our community.”
Another panel member, Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, said award priorities went to nonprofits in fields of health care, food distribution, human services, education and the arts.
To be eligible, applicants had to show that they lost federal funding, or that the work they do primarily serves a population negatively affected by federal funding cuts.
“I know many of you have been on pins and needles having to deal with the current situation, and needing this funding as soon as possible so you can still get operations going to help people who really depend on your services,” said Dela Cruz (D, Mililani-Wahiawa-Whitmore Village).
The biggest award is going to Hawai‘i Foodbank, which applied for $5.6 million and was granted $5.5 million.
Elia Herman, the organization’s director of advocacy, told the panel during an Oct. 30 opportunity for applicants to make 60-second appeals for funding, that it had millions of pounds of food allocations cut under U.S. Department of Agriculture programs.
“Kupuna alone lost nearly 104,000 meals due to cuts to our Senior Food Box Program,” Herman said. “Our priority is ensuring uninterrupted access to safe, nutritious food for those who rely on us, but we cannot do it alone.”
The smallest award was $8,000 to Hilo United Methodist Church, also known as the Peanut Butter Ministry. The organization, which typically serves 90 free dinners Tuesdays and Thursdays in downtown Hilo, said it needed the funding for food costs because approved federal funding under a Federal Emergency Management Agency food and shelter program had not been released.
Dela Cruz and Holt (D, Sand Island-Iwilei-Chinatown) took turns reading off all 95 awards.
Cara Short, executive director of AccessSurf Hawai‘i, attended Thursday’s announcement event and expressed joy and relief that the organization was picked for a grant.
AccessSurf, which runs free ocean recreation programs for people with disabilities and applied for $299,900, was awarded $250,000 to help sustain program operations for a population widely affected by other federal aid cuts.
Short said the Legislature’s decision to establish the emergency nonprofit grant program earlier this year, on top of its traditional annual distribution of grants, was amazing.
“It makes me very proud to live in Hawaii, and that we have a state that is willing to come to the need of the people,” she said.
The Legislature typically solicits nonprofits to apply for grants in January. But soon afterward this year, it appeared that the normal opportunity wouldn’t align well with needs after the session ended on May 2, given evolving efforts by the Trump administration to slash federal funding in many areas, including support for social service providers.
Under the Legislature’s regular grants-in-aid program, $30 million was awarded to 121 nonprofits on April 30.
The special program grew out of a blank bill in February and became Act 310 with Gov. Josh Green’s approval in July. It appropriated $50 million, of which $500,000 was for Aloha United Way to handle grant processing and distribution supported by the Office of Community Services within the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
A few lawmakers criticized the special program over having four legislators being in control of the awards, but the urgency and need appeared great.
According to an Oct. 2 analysis by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization and the Hawaii Community Foundation, $126 million in unpaid balances on 74 federal grants to 59 Hawaii nonprofits were considered “politically vulnerable” to loss.
Nonprofits had until Oct. 24 to apply. Holt and Dela Cruz were joined by Rep. Jenna Takenouchi (D, Pacific Heights-Nuuanu-Liliha) and Sen. Dru Kanuha (D, Kona-Kau-Volcano) as the decision-makers appointed by House Speaker Nadine Nakamura (D, Hanalei-Princeville-Kapaa) and Senate President Ron Kouchi (D, Kauai-Niihau).
The panel worked quickly to consider all written applications, and in some instances met personally with interested applicants after the public presentation opportunity.
Holt said grant proceeds should be distributed by year’s end. He also encouraged nonprofits to apply for regular grants-in-aid in early January to be considered during the 2026 legislative session that begins Jan. 21.
Source: The Garden Island