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Office of Hawaiian Affairs awards $1.36 million in grants to four nonprofits

Hawai‘i Community Lending Grants and Loans

The Economic Stability Community Grant will help 58 native Hawaiians in Nāʻiwa, Molokaʻi, by establishing a culturally relevant program that will increase access to capital, credit and technical assistance for native Hawaiians to build and own homes on Hawaiian Home Lands.

A $498,660 grant also was awarded to the Purple Maiʻa Foundation for its Mālama Design Studio, which plans to educate 20 native Hawaiian business owners through a collaborative design research process that will result in the implementation of a technology solution to improve their businesses and ultimately cultivate economic development for Hawaiian communities.

Each participant will be provided a $2,500 stipend to implement a technology solution that improves their business.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairsʻ includes increasing the number of successful native Hawaiian-owned businesses and increasing access to capital and credit to strengthen native Hawaiian businesses and individuals.

Two Health Community Grants were also announced, including a $220,000 award to Ma Ka Hana Ka ʻIke Building Program for its Mana ʻĀina, Mauli Ola project and a $250,000 award to Alu Like, Inc., for its Koho Pono project. OHA’s Health Community Grants supports initiatives, leverages partnerships and engages in strategies to promote healthy and strong families.

In June, OHA announced more than $600,000 in community grant education awards along with ʻAhahui event grants, which were the first grant awards to be publicized this year.

OHA’s Grants Program supports Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organizations that have projects, programs and initiatives that serve the lāhui in alignment with OHA’s Mana i Mauli Ola Strategic Plan.

For more visit www.oha.org/strategicplan.

See article at MauiNow.

About Aikū’ē Kalima

Aikūʻē Kalima, former Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Manager for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, joined Hawaiʻi Community Lending (HCL) in 2024 and serves as its Enterprise Loan Manager.

With more than 25 years of experience in community development, mortgage lending, and mission-driven finance, Kalima brings extensive expertise in expanding access to capital for underserved communities. In his current role, he manages HCL’s Social Enterprise Loan Program, providing financing to businesses supporting affordable housing development and services for low- and moderate-income families across Hawaiʻi. He also leads the development of HCL’s Kūkulu Partner Program, which builds a trusted network of contractors and builders to help connect families with qualified housing professionals while expanding access to capital for local businesses.


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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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