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DHHL community grants face shortfall as applications double available funding
Summary
DHHL officials said the Community Grants Program has grown to $10 million but attracted about $20 million in applications this cycle; the Native Hawaiian Rehabilitation Fund has declined to roughly $3 million and is not authorized for spending this year.
Gigi Kyrell, manager in the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ Planning Office, laid out sharp demand for community grants during the NHDP consultation: "Today in 2026, it is up to $10 million in grants... We received $20 million worth of applications," she said, noting the department can fund about half the requests.
Kyrell said the Native Hawaiian Rehabilitation Fund (NHRF), a traditional DHHL trust source, has declined because it depends on receipts tied to former sugar lands and state water licenses. "It's down to about $3 million, and this is the first year we are not authorized to spend any Nerf funds," she said, creating a tighter funding year and a reason to seek additional legislative support.
Staff described the grants increase as a success—community grants rose from roughly $1 million historically to $5 million in 2022 and $10 million by 2026—but said the current demand gives them specific proposals and budgets they can present to the legislature to seek more funding. "Now we have specific data and specific information that's way more meaningful and we can have a conversation with the ledge," Kyrell said.
The meeting also revisited capacity-building awards: Kyrell said DHHL has run a small-capacity grant historically (noted as $5,000 in past years) and increased a targeted capacity-building category to $20,000 per application in recent cycles to respond to beneficiary requests, though those grants have sometimes been undersubscribed.
Why it matters: limited DHHL program dollars mean competitive awards and denied proposals even when applications are locally driven. Staff urged beneficiaries and homestead associations to help advocate for additional appropriations and to provide cost estimates and project details to strengthen DHHL’s legislative request.
DHHL offered to continue technical workshops (grant-writing, proposal orientation) this year where budget allows, asking beneficiaries for outreach ideas to boost participation and improve application quality.
