OHA committee reviews redesigned event grants and moves to align funding with strategic outcomes

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Budget and Finance Committee on Tuesday heard a briefing on a redesigned event grants and sponsorship program meant to consolidate separate funding streams and tie awards more directly to the agency’s strategic outcomes.

Ke Hau Pu'u, Chief Operating Officer, and Kapuhana Stacy Ferreira outlined the consolidated application and review process — which the administration is calling Ho'akuakua'lahui — that combines legacy sponsorships, Board of Trustees sponsorships, rural community sponsorships and Ahaukui grants into a single, more rigorous pathway for event funding.

The redesign aims to make sponsorships and event grants "fair and equitable," according to Ke Hau Pu'u, who described combining two existing application streams into one and adding consistent eligibility checks, budget review and reporting requirements. He said the revised process was informed by work completed in March 2024 and by former staff who revised the prior programs.

The proposal keeps nonprofit status as an eligibility requirement and adds standard documentation (IRS determination letter, W-9), a review rubric and quarterly recommendations to the board. Ke Hau Pu'u said the administration will batch applications by event timing so submissions received at different lead times are evaluated together, and that recommendations would go to…