To strengthen the state’s nonprofit sector, HCF provides training and support in the areas of governance and leadership for high-performing organizations.

The work of nonprofits impacts the quality of life for everyone in Hawaii. Starting in 2000, the Hawaii Community Foundation made focused investments totaling more than $14 million in grants, technical assistance and leadership development programs to strengthen the nonprofit sector in the state.

Early in this effort, HCF’s Organizational Capacity Building Program was designed to strengthen some aspect of a nonprofit’s management or governance. Some of the grants provided support to help nonprofits successfully navigate organizational change, including the transition from one executive director to the next. Others helped to support strategic restructuring and partnerships between nonprofits.

In 2014, HCF redesigned the way it would continue to strengthen nonprofits in Hawaii, targeting high-performing nonprofit organizations and those that are striving to be high performing. The following attributes characterize nonprofits that are having the greatest impact in their communities:

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS – Continually learning about the needs of those they serve and the issue they are working on

HEALTHY FINANCES – Having a realistic business model that provides ongoing financial support for their organization

ACCOUNTABLE RESULTS – Collecting data that helps them understand the results and impact of their work to make improvements over time

NETWORKED RELATIONSHIPS – Working with networks of organizations that share similar goals

GREAT GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP – Being led by committed and skilled boards of directors and executives

EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS – Capable of demonstrating the importance of their programs and having a clear connection between these programs and the results they seek to achieve

Multiple elements of HCF’s Nonprofit Excellence Initiative include: FLEX grants that award high-performing nonprofit organizations with unrestricted funding; the resources of HCF’s Knowledge Center which provides valuable information on the leadership and best practices of nonprofits; grants to aid nonprofits in executive transition; and the hosting in 2015 of the first Advancing Nonprofit Excellence Conference for nonprofit executive and board leadership.

HCF was the first Hawaii funder to offer grants to two or more nonprofits planning to merge or restructure in a strategic way.

This fund was created to serve as a catalyst for innovation within Hawaii’s nonprofit sector.

The Island Innovation Fund was created in 2010 as part of the historic $50 million commitment to Hawaii from Pierre and Pam Omidyar. With the economy forcing nonprofits to do more with less while facing complex issues, it had become increasingly important to create a culture for innovation that allowed organizations to think out of the box and find creative solutions to challenges in the community. The Island Innovation Fund was designed to foster new ways to solve the various problems by working together and building on the ideas of others.

An online application process was specifically created to allow all applicants to see each other’s ideas, encouraging them to look for opportunities to scale their innovations by collaborating with other local nonprofits.

In its first round of grants, $461,119 was awarded to five recipients for innovative projects that addressed issues ranging from conservation of native forests to technology solutions that connected consumers to Hawaii farm products.

In the second round, $480,591 was awarded to five recipients for projects intended to increase energy awareness through real-time monitoring web and mobile application tools; allow residents statewide to actively follow and monitor the Hawaii legislative process; distribute a replicable exercise and fall prevention program to Hawaii’s seniors; deploy a new access control mechanism to maintain public access to trails and pathways on Hawaii Island; and encourage schools to eliminate its waste to create green schools.

HCF’s efforts to strengthen nonprofit organizations led to the launch in 2004 of the PONO (Promoting Outstanding Nonprofit Organizations) Leadership Program.

The nonprofit sector needs to be nimble and vigilant to respond to whatever community issues arise. The impetus for the PONO (Promoting Outstanding Nonprofit Organizations) program was a gained appreciation of the importance of leadership and the ability to lead change as a factor in an organization’s capacity to innovate and deliver results.

The Hawaii Community Foundation’s efforts to strengthen nonprofit organizations led to the launch in 2004 of the PONO Leadership Program, which brought together mid-career nonprofit executives for a yearlong program of collective learning. Originally co-sponsored by the Case Foundation, the program also emphasized contextualized learning by requiring participants to design and implement a capacity-building project that focused on a critical issue or entrepreneurial opportunity facing their organizations.