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Hawai‘i Community Lending and Hawaiian Community Assets team up for homeownership

    Hawai‘i Community Lending and Hawaiian Community Assets team up for homeownership
    See HCL Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Gilbreath and HCA Chief Executive Officer, Chelsea Evans talk with HI Now Daily.

    Keeping Native Hawaiian families rooted in Hawaiʻi takes more than hope, it takes resources, guidance, and access to funding. That’s where Hawaiʻi Community Lending and Hawaiian Community Assets come in. Founded by Native Hawaiians and built to serve Hawaiʻi residents with a focus on kānaka maoli, these sister organizations are teaming up to break down the barriers that keep homeownership feeling out of reach.

    Hawaiian Community Assets, established in 2000, began with HUD certified housing counseling and culturally grounded financial education, including its Kahua Waiwai curriculum. That one-on-one support helps families map out next steps, from budgeting and savings strategies to credit and debt management. Over time, those counseling sessions revealed a repeated roadblock: too many local families were being turned away by traditional lenders.

    This was the motivation behind Hawaiʻi Community Lending when created in 2002. Growing into Hawaiʻi’s premier nonprofit mortgage lender and a U.S. Treasury certified native CDFI. HCL offers specialized loan programs designed for Hawaiian Home Lands, including options that may allow zero down mortgages with interest rates below 5% for qualified borrowers in low to moderate income areas. Since the work is mission driven, HCL also has flexibility to collaborate with partners and investors to fund innovative programs that support buyers, builders, and homeowners.

    You can learn more and apply for loan programs at HawaiiCommunityLending.com, and sign up for financial workshops at hawaiiancommunity.net/. Follow along on Instagram and Facebook @hawaiicommunitylending.

    About Aikū’ē Kalima

    Aikū’ē Kalima, former Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Manager for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, joins Hawaiʻi Community Lending as its lending director.
    Kalima comes to HCL with more than 25 years of experience in community development and mortgage lending. In his new position, Kalima will direct HCL’s consumer, construction, mortgage and small business lending.
    “As a native Hawaiian and Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiary, I understand the financial needs for economic development and quality housing for kānaka is great,” said Kalima, who led OHA’s deployment of $9.8 million in loans to 286 native Hawaiians statewide over the last five years. “For over 25 years, I have worked tirelessly at the grassroots level, educating kānaka on the skills necessary to achieve the dream of homeownership and providing resources to achieve financial sustainability. I plan to continue serving the lāhui empowering ‘ohana and communities as the lending director for Hawai‘i Community Lending.”
    Kalima takes the reins of HCL’s $16-million revolving loan fund and will oversee a team of seven staff members statewide. “HCL is honored to have Aikū’ē join us in our mission to help tackle our housing crisis by funding native Hawaiian and local families to build, buy and save homes from foreclosure,” said HCL Executive Director Jeff Gilbreath. “He has proven leadership in both the public and private sectors and has the passion to get families on the land through homeownership.”

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    About Nikki

    Nikki Hollern is a mother of five, born and raised in Upcountry Maui, but she spent the last 15 years in the beautiful town of Lahaina. Lahaina stole her heart, with the people and the town being unlike any other. After the fire, her family had to relocate to Kahului.

    Her heart remains in Lahaina, and her goal is to help this amazing community get back to where they belong. She feels blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the HCL ‘ohana, helping navigate this incredibly hard time and hopefully serving as a guiding light to assist the community in returning home and coming back even stronger.

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