OHA trustees defend process but leave $15,000 sponsorship intact after public concerns

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees on April 17 reconsidered a $15,000 sponsorship previously approved on March 6 for Kuanaʻa ʻIke’s Hoa Kaua Lahui Spirit Fest 2025, but trustees ultimately left the earlier approval intact after several hours of testimony and board discussion.

Two representatives of Kuanaʻa ʻIke — Ryan Souza and interim executive director Keola Maʻotenga — told the board the sponsorship request sought funds to record and edit roughly 120 hours of event content so material could be widely distributed for free to Hawaiʻi communities. The application itemized $5,000 for audio-visual rental and $10,000 for editing of recordings and listed an in‑kind $10,000 donation to cover production staff; the applicants said the $500 registration fee covered hotel rental costs.

Germaine Myers, an OHA beneficiary and Nanakuli Hawaiian homestead lessee, told trustees she obtained additional documentation by public-records request and criticized the packet that accompanied the original vote. Myers said the application estimated about 150 participants with 40% Native Hawaiian attendance (roughly 60 people) and that the $500-per-person fee meant gross receipts of about $75,000. She urged trustees to rescind the sponsorship or require that OHA receive a copy of the edited video and that materials be available to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.

Administration staff described the office’s sponsorship review process in detail. Chief Operating Officer Ke Hau Puʻu and strategy and implementation staff explained intake, eligibility checks (IRS exemption, vendor compliance, W-9), assignment to a strategic outcome area (the office uses its Manaʻi Maoliola strategic framework), and a scoring rubric used by evaluators. Staff described a 1–5 rubric for most criteria and a 1–10 scale for budget justification; they said scores are mapped to funding tiers — for example, applications scoring 40–44 points receive a recommended 75% of eligible budget, 35–39 receive 50%, and scores under 34 are not funded. The Kuanaʻa ʻIke application was scored 45 out of 50 by a strategy consultant and then reaffirmed by a director, which placed it in the highest funding tier.

Trustees pressed administration on who conducts scoring and vetting; staff said administrative intake is handled by COO office assistants, alignment and initial assignment are made by strategy staff, and directors normally sign off on evaluations. Administration acknowledged resource limitations and said some temporary staff have been used in intake.

Several trustees and speakers raised concerns that the event was held in Waikīkī and carried a $500 ticket; that Native Hawaiian attendance was lower than the application estimated (speakers reported about 21% Native Hawaiian actual attendance and about 22 paid attendees from Maui); and that the budget line for $10,000 in editing work lacked detail. Trustees also debated whether the sponsorship exceeded an advertised sponsorship package and whether applicants had provided sufficient documentation on dissemination plans for the recorded material.

Multiple motions were made during the discussion: members proposed rescinding the prior approval, amending the award to a lower amount (trustees discussed $11,250 as a compromise), or affirming the original decision. After discussion and several attempted amendments — including a proposed amendment to reduce the award that was later withdrawn — the board took no motion to amend or rescind. Board counsel advised that because the board previously approved the sponsorship in committee and at the full board, the current reexamination required a formal motion to amend or rescind; none carried. Chair Tim Kahele said trustees had the responsibility to improve OHA’s process going forward. The original March 6 $15,000 approval therefore stands for the record.

Provenance: The public testimony, applicant presentation, administration explanation of the sponsorship scoring matrix, and trustee debate appear in the meeting transcript beginning with item 3(b) at about 1710.215 and continuing through the board’s final procedural resolution to leave the prior approval in place near 7511–7530.

Trustees and administration said they will refine the application and scoring materials and consider additional staffing for grants and sponsorship review to avoid similar disputes going forward.