Community Funding Hubs for Resilience and ʻĀina Stewardship
Statement of Interest due Friday, November 21, 2025, at 5 p.m. (HST). Submit via this Google Form. Submission of a Statement of Interest is strongly encouraged but not required; all applicants are eligible to submit a Proposal.
Full Proposal due December 15, 2025, at 5 p.m. (HST). You can find a short video tutorial on using eSeaGrant here. Submit via eSeaGrant. See Request for Proposal documents and templates for full submission requirements.
Request for Proposal (RFP) Documents and Templates
Overview
The University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant), in alignment with the cooperative vision of the Pili Nā Moku project, invites proposals to establish one Community Funding Hub in each of five moku or hui moku in 1) West Kauaʻi; 2) Waiʻanae, Oʻahu; 3) Molokaʻi; 4) Central Maui; and 5) Kohala, Hawaiʻi. Hawaiʻi Sea Grant will support up to five Community Funding Hubs. Maximum funding requests not to exceed $300,000 per Community Funding Hub for up to three years will be considered.
This call is for the establishment of Community Funding Hubs and the proposed work to focus on building the necessary administrative and fiscal management infrastructure so that Community Funding Hubs can serve as centers for expanding access to and facilitating the distribution of funding in support of community-led resilience, restoration, and co-management initiatives.
Support for proposal submission
To support applicants through the proposal submission process, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant will provide a number of services, including:
- Proposal development sessions will be held in a group setting via Zoom. Topics may include designing a budget spreadsheet and justification development. Attendance at webinars and other support sessions is not required for the application process. Registration linked below and in the RFP:
- Office Hours: During office hours, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant faculty will work with applicants to answer questions and provide additional support, in-person or virtually. To schedule office hours, email pnmoku@hawaii.edu with “Community Funding Hub Office Hour Request” in the subject line.
- FAQs: Visit the Frequently Asked Questions, which includes answers to common questions, clarifies key aspects of the RFP, and offers guidance to help organizations navigate the application process. We’ll continue updating this resource as new questions arise.
- Informational Webinars on the RFP were held on Nov. 12 and 14, 2025. Access the recording below.
About Pili Nā Moku
Pili Nā Moku is a five-year project dedicated to developing and implementing holistic resilience initiatives from mauka to makai, with the goal of strengthening adaptive capacity and building a resilient future for the Hawaiian Islands. This shared vision of resilience is based on the moku system, a framework for traditional Hawaiian land tenure, biocultural stewardship, and community connection. Pili Nā Moku seeks to reinvigorate the moku system by investing in large-scale ʻāina restoration efforts and governance practices that balance local place-based knowledge and stewardship with centralized decision-making. Pili Nā Moku is funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, and the Community Funding Hub initiative is part of a larger investment in community-based resilience for Hawaiʻi.
