HCF ACTIVATES THE HAWAIʻI RESILIENCE FUND TO RESPOND TO FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS TO HAWAIʻI NONPROFITS

Two grants totaling $146,000 have been made already, to HANO and UHERO.

News Release from HCF, Sept 30, 2025

HONOLULU, HI —The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) announced today that it has activated its Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund in response to ongoing federal funding cuts to nonprofit organizations across the state. It has already made grants totaling $146,000 to help measure the scope of impact in Hawaiʻi and to support nonprofits whose funding has been cut, frozen, or reduced. HCF, together with the Harold K. Castle Foundation, seeded initial contributions to the Hawai‘i Resilience Fund to address the current and upcoming negative impacts to services, programs and resources available to Hawai‘i’s people—from keiki to kūpuna. The two organizations are currently actively seeking philanthropic, corporate, and individual donor partners to help fund the Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund for additional grantmaking.

The Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund was originally created by the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) in 2020 to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to meet the immediate and evolving needs of Hawaiʻi’s people. In total, $12.2 million was distributed via this collaborative, pooled fund.

Now, in 2025, there is a new crisis facing Hawaiʻi. Federal disinvestment is weakening the fabric of Hawai‘i’s nonprofit safety net—the community organizations and essential services our residents rely on every day. 

• More than $97 million in federal funds to Hawai‘i nonprofits have already been significantly delayed or cut, and an additional $300 million is at risk. 

• More than 500,000 Hawaiʻi residents are at risk of losing access to essential services. 

• 12 percent of Hawai‘i’s workforce is employed in the nonprofit sector—now facing significant layoffs and service reductions anticipated to continue through at least 2027, as the effects of federal disinvestment ripple through the sector. 

The nonprofit sector supports critical services such as food security, housing, domestic violence support, child welfare, and legal services. It employs more than 80,000 people—roughly one in eight workers in Hawai‘i—and generates more than $7 billion annually in economic activity, according to the Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (HANO), making it a vital part of the state’s stability and recovery capacity. These organizations—deeply rooted in community and culture—are now struggling to sustain operations amid funding gaps. While the State Legislature has set aside $50 million to respond to this crisis, HANO estimates total losses from the sector could reach $400 million.

Terry George, CEO and president of HCF, says, “The Hawai‘i Resilience Fund is designed to complement—not duplicate—state resources by offering more nimble, transparent, and transformative support. It is focused on building nonprofit capacity, adaptability, and sustainability beyond short-term relief. Our goal is to collectively build a nonprofit sector that is prepared, not just reactive; collaborative, not siloed; sustainable, not fragile.”

Eric Co, CEO of the Harold K. Castle Foundation, says, “We saw an opportunity for synergy and bigger shared impact by joining together with HCF in contributing to the Hawai‘i Resilience Fund. Right now, the federal disruptions require adaptation and locally led efforts that will create sustainability to weather shifts in government funding. Partnering with nonprofit, government, and philanthropic organizations is how we will lean forward and emerge more resilient.” In 2025, the Hawai‘i Resilience Fund will support: 

• Direct nonprofit support through grantmaking (both by invitation and via open calls) to transform services and operations. Funds may be used to support mergers, restructuring, and funding innovation to promote lasting impact and efficiency. An initial grant program is expected to open for applications in September 2025.

• Capacity-building and technical assistance, including the launch of a nonprofit resource hub (in partnership with HANO) to get tailored information to nonprofit leaders including possible coaching, legal support, strategic planning, fundraising expertise, and wellness resources. 

• Collective communications and advocacy with nonprofits facing disruption, and across the sector.

• Address arising critical needs – HCF will remain flexible and adapt to changing needs in the response effort.

So far, HCF has made two grants through the Robert Emens Black Fund at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and future efforts will be funded through the Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund:

• A $46,747 grant to the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaiʻi (UHERO), to fund an analysis of the Hawai‘i nonprofit sector’s vulnerability to federal spending cuts. Analysis will include mapping and comparing federal spending in Hawai‘i, highlighting frozen, cancelled, and discontinued grants, assessing financial risk to Hawai‘i based on federal funding and loss of assistance to people and services delivered by nonprofits; and providing descriptive statistics on Hawai‘i’s nonprofit landscape. This study is scheduled to be released in late September 2025. 

• A $100,000 grant to the Hawaiʻi Association of Nonprofit Organizations (HANO) to strengthen HANO’s ability to support Hawaiʻi nonprofits as a sector-wide infrastructure provider. This will include adding key staff, upgrading HANO’s technology platforms, and managing a flexible pool of funds to deliver hands-on technical assistance to organizations in need.

HCF is currently actively seeking philanthropic, corporate, and individual donor partners to help fund the Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund.  To learn more about the Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund, and to donate, visit www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/hawaiiresiliencefund.

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MN: Federal funding cuts trigger Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund activation : Maui Now