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$10M investment enables zero-down mortgages for native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands 

Northern Trust and Hawaiʻi Community Lending today announced a historic $10 million investment in HCL’s new Kūpaʻa Hale Loan program, helping to make zero-down mortgages available to native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands. Kūpaʻa means to be steadfast, firm and loyal, and this statewide loan is intended to help ʻohana set roots and be financially stable and grounded to their homeland.

“We mahalo Northern Trust for their commitment in getting native Hawaiians into homes and on the land,” said Jeff Gilbreath, executive director of HCL. “This partnership demonstrates what is possible when we come together around community development solutions to the longstanding issues that have impacted our families, like housing affordability. This privately funded program will move forward to fill at least one void from federal funding cuts and result in both financial and social returns for us and our investors.”

HCL is a nonprofit US Treasury-certified native Community Development Financial Institution  (CDFI). CDFIs operate with a primary mission of serving low-income communities, and HCL’s role is to support Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing ecosystem, from home buyers to home builders to homeowners. 

$10M investment Hawaiʻi Community Lending enables zero-down mortgages for Native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands

Northern Trust and Hawaiʻi Community Lending today announced a historic $10 million investment in HCL’s new Kūpaʻa Hale Loan program, helping to make zero-down mortgages available to native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands. Kūpaʻa means to be steadfast, firm and loyal, and this statewide loan is intended to help ʻohana set roots and be financially stable and grounded to their homeland.

“We mahalo Northern Trust for their commitment in getting native Hawaiians into homes and on the land,” said Jeff Gilbreath, executive director of HCL. “This partnership demonstrates what is possible when we come together around community development solutions to the longstanding issues that have impacted our families, like housing affordability. This privately funded program will move forward to fill at least one void from federal funding cuts and result in both financial and social returns for us and our investors.”

HCL is a nonprofit US Treasury-certified native Community Development Financial Institution  (CDFI). CDFIs operate with a primary mission of serving low-income communities, and HCL’s role is to support Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing ecosystem, from home buyers to home builders to homeowners. 

In February 2025, HCL opened a $35-million private investor offering with the goal of helping 100 native Hawaiians realize homeownership and return to the land. The offering was created as a response to federal funding reductions for the USDA 502 Direct program that have taken place over the last several presidential administrations. The cuts to the USDA program have led to delays for low-income Hawaiʻi homebuyers and only a limited number of USDA 502 Direct mortgages being funded each year. 

Now HCL is positioned to make zero-down, low-fee mortgages with competitive interest rates, giving native Hawaiians another affordable option to finance homeownership on Hawaiian Home Lands throughout the state. Borrowers either need to be low-income below 80% area median income or purchase in a low- to moderate-income census tract.

With today’s announcement, Northern Trust becomes the first investor into the Kūpaʻa Hale Loan program and brings homeownership that much closer to reality for native Hawaiian families in need of financing. Northern Trust is a preeminent global financial institution that invests with local organizations like HCL to help meet the credit needs of communities. 

Northern Trust is the banking partner for Parker Ranch, who helped to foster this partnership between the two entities. The funds Northern Trust has invested will make these zero-down mortgages available to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) residents in Waimea and Laʻiʻōpua, neighborhoods in the North and West Hawaiʻi communities where Parker Ranch also holds land and works to support communities

With the $10-million investment from Northern Trust, HCL continues to seek the remaining $25 million from private investors so loans can start to be made to native Hawaiian families.

“We are grateful for the introduction to HCL by Parker Ranch, and we are pleased to play a role in support of affordable housing in a beautiful and inherently expensive market,” said Kimberly Evans, Northern Trust Head of Corporate Sustainability, Inclusion and Social Impact.  “We have confidence in the framework that HCL has built, and believe their innovative approach answers the call for meeting the needs of the community and allowing for safe and sound investments at a critical time.”

HCL’s goal is always to find solutions for Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis by helping families build, buy and save homes from foreclosure. In the past year alone, HCL made 394 grants and loans totaling $15.3 million, helping 241 families secure or sustain homeownership.

Hawaiian Home Lands lessees who are interested in the Kūpaʻa Hale Loan program may add their names to an interest list by calling HCL at 808-587-7656 or contacting HCL online at: https://hawaiicommunitylending.com/contact/

See article at Maui Now here.

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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