(Honolulu, HI)— Following a competitive proposal process initiated in October 2025, the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant) is proud to announce the results of the peer review and panel selection of five organizations to establish the first of its kind Community Funding Hubs for Resilience and ʻĀina Stewardship.

Aligned with the cooperative vision of the Pili Nā Moku project, these hubs will serve as central resources for managing and distributing funding on behalf of community-based organizations, effectively lowering the barriers to local stewardship.

Empowering Community-Led Stewardship

In alignment with the cooperative vision of the Pili Nā Moku project, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant is supporting five regional hubs across the moku/hui moku (districts) of West Kauaʻi, Waiʻanae (Oʻahu), Molokaʻi, Central Maui, and Kohala (Hawaiʻi Island). Each hub will receive up to $300,000 over three years to strengthen its administrative, financial, and relationship-building capacities needed to support future community-led projects. The hubs act as trusted intermediaries, forging direct partnerships between funders and local communities. By providing guidance with proposal development and budget management, these hubs help local organizations overcome technical barriers that often prevent small, grassroots groups from accessing vital funding for ʻāina (land) stewardship.

Supporting Localized ʻĀina-Based Restoration is Critical

The Community Funding Hubs for Resilience and ʻĀina Stewardship are designed to support organizations working within the moku system. “In Hawaiʻi, we know the health of our families and our communities is inextricably tied to the health of our lands and our waters, and we benefit from ʻIke Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Knowledge) that teaches us how humans and nature can thrive together in our island systems,” said Kawika Winter, Director of the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve. “The Moku System provides us a framework to not only address the problems we face today, but to do so while honoring our ancestors and ensuring that our descendants will be better off than we are today.”

The initiative is supported by a coalition of partners who recognize that funding models often overlook grassroots efforts. Eric Co, chief executive officer of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation emphasizes that these hubs address gaps in how resources are distributed across the state. “These hubs are critical for a number of reasons,” said Co. “During COVID, we learned how difficult it was to get support to where trust was greatest and activities were most meaningful—at the grassroots level. These hubs build the equitable capacity needed to do so efficiently across the islands.” Co continued, “Our ‘āina partners need the space to reduce inefficiencies and maximize regional synergies; these hubs provide that platform. Most importantly, no one understands how to solve community problems better than the
communities themselves. This program empowers them to be investors in their own future, not just someone else’s beneficiaries.”

The Five Selected Organizations

The organizations were chosen for their deep roots in their respective moku and their commitment to regional resilience: