Millions In Grants To Nonprofits Put On Hold After OHA Board Raises Concerns About Fairness
The board has until June 30 to decide how to better distribute the money.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has a record number of grant funds available this year, about $17.5 million, but it鈥檚 still not enough for the dozens of organizations serving Native Hawaiians that are clamoring for money.
On Wednesday, the OHA Board of Trustees put off approving more than $11 million in grant disbursements after raising issues over how the funding was allocated. Most of the recipients would get all the money they’d asked for, leaving few funds available for other organizations that may be equally deserving.
Staff said OHA stepped up its outreach efforts in the last year, driving more applications than normal.
鈥淒id we back ourselves into a corner by encouraging people to apply but not having enough to give?鈥 Trustee Brickwood Galuteria said.
The trustees asked OHA staff to come back with a proposal that spread more money to a greater number of organizations.
Disbursements from 12 of OHA鈥檚 grant programs that were up for approval on Wednesday would have provided funds for organizations seeking to improve health outcomes, preserve natural and cultural resources, provide housing and economic assistance and aid charter school programs.
T. Ke驶ala Neumann told the trustees that a team of three independent evaluators took up each eligible application, scored them on a scale of 100, and ranked them in order of their score. OHA then awarded funding according to those ranks until budget limits for each program were reached.
Of the organizations set to receive funding, only one did not get its requested amount. Some were even set to get more money than requested. Yet dozens of organizations would have received nothing.
鈥淢y concern is that we are not sharing enough,鈥 Trustee Carmen Hulu Lindsey said. 鈥淭here is big money going out, and maybe we should share it.鈥
Lindsey suggested awarding partial amounts to eligible applicants to spread the money further.
Niniau Kawaihe, OHA鈥檚 community engagement director, said staff could look into allocating awards to organizations who receive a minimum score, 90 out of 100 for example, as a way to spread the money around.
There were also concerns over geographic coverage. No organization serving Kauai was selected although others do serve a statewide population, or the islands of Oahu and Hawaii.
Trustee Dan Ahuna, who represents Kauai and Niihau, said trustees should find a way for OHA鈥檚 grants budget to have funding for all islands.
鈥淚鈥檓 just thinking about all islands and making sure these resources and the support they receive can be felt on all islands,鈥 Ahuna said.
Trustee Keoni Souza said he heard from new nonprofits that did not make it because of a lack of resources or knowledge of navigating the process. He also worried that the money was going to organizations that win grants year after year.
The trustees were particularly concerned with one organization set to get more than $3 million from two different grants.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 unfair,鈥 Lindsey said. 鈥淚f they get one, somebody else should get the other.鈥
The nonprofit was not named during the meeting, but records indicate the group was , which provides counseling and financial support for potential homebuyers.
OHA planned to award HCA $1.5 million from the Lako Ko Kauhale-Ohana Resource Management and Housing grant and $1.6 million from the Pohala Mai-Ohana Experiencing Financial Hardship grant.
Kawaihae said that HCA was the only applicant for one grant. For the other, it scored the highest out of two applicants.
HCA last received a $1.5 million grant from OHA in September, .
The grant funds can鈥檛 be disbursed without approval of the Board of Trustees, and it has until June 30 to do so.
