Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY26-27 Impact Grant Award SummaryAward Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 1 Impact Grant Award Summary Impact Grants for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Project summaries are compiled from Grant Proposal Abstracts AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS PROGRAM Big Island Resource Conservation and Development Council $18,465 Aloha ʻĀina Aʻo Water Security and Propagation Infrastructure Project The Big Island Resource Conservation and Development Council (BIRCDC), serving as fiscal sponsor for the Aloha ʻĀina Aʻo Project, will install water storage, pumping, and distribution infrastructure at Nā Pali Farm in Kaʻū. The primary goal is to secure a reliable on-site water supply for an existing three-acre agricultural operation carrying hundreds of established native and culturally significant plants held as propagation stock, including koa, māmaki, māile, koʻokoʻolau, and ʻōhelo. Target beneficiaries are the farm operation and the lei makers, cultural practitioners, landscapers, restoration projects, educational programs, and residents of Hawaiʻi Island who depend on locally grown native plant material. Economically, the project reduces the farm’s recurring purchased-water expense and its exposure to interruptions in the county standpipe supply, converting an operating cost into durable infrastructure. Socially and culturally, it increases local accessibility to endemic plant material with documented traditional use, including māmaki and koʻokoʻolau, moving the operation from informal community sharing toward reliable supply for practitioners of lāʻau lapaʻau, lei makers, and restoration work across Hawaiʻi Island. Environmentally, it supports managed cultivation of native species and reduces collection pressure on wild populations. These impacts support the Department’s goal of balancing Hawaiʻi Island’s economic, social, and environmental well-being through reduced expenses and greater efficiency. This project advances Program Objective B by improving agricultural production, quality, resilience, and producer viability, and Program Objective C through resource development and programmatic sustainability that improve producer viability and resilience. Big Island Resource Conservation and Development Council $20,000 Kaʻū Coffee Festival 2027 The Kaʻū Coffee Festival is a community-driven agricultural and cultural event that strengthens economic opportunity for Kaʻū’s coffee producers and rural families. The 2027 festival will expand farmer-focused programming, increase market visibility for Kaʻū-grown coffee, and provide equitable access to educational workshops, tastings, and small-business vendor opportunities. Funding from the County Impact Grant will support coordination, outreach, marketing, and community engagement activities that directly benefit Kaʻū’s Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 2 agricultural sector. The project aligns with County goals by advancing rural economic development, supporting small agricultural businesses, and preserving Kaʻū’s cultural identity. Kaʻū is one of Hawaiʻi Island’s most geographically isolated and economically underserved districts. Coffee farming is a primary economic driver, yet Kaʻū producers face persistent challenges including limited market access, high production costs, and reduced visibility compared to larger coffee-growing regions. The district lacks regular public events, agricultural outreach infrastructure, and opportunities for farmers to directly engage consumers and buyers. The Kaʻū Coffee Festival fills this gap by providing a centralized platform for education, marketing, and community engagement. Without dedicated funding, the festival cannot sustain the coordination, outreach, and promotional activities required to support farmer participation and community benefit. County support is essential to address documented rural economic disparities and ensure equitable access to agricultural development resources for Kaʻū residents. Hawaiʻi Agricultural Foundation $25,000 Growing Hawaiʻi Island’s Agricultural Workforce Pipeline The Hawaiʻi Agricultural Foundation (HAF) will continue and expand a connected K–12 agricultural workforce pathway on Hawaiʻi Island. Building on County-funded implementation in the prior two grant years, HAF will continue its ag education continuum (Where Would We Be Without Seeds, Veggie U, Tower Power, the Young Entrepreneurs Program, and In the Fields for students), while adding In the Fields for Educators following a successful Hawaiʻi Island pilot this past school year. The project’s primary goal is to strengthen agricultural literacy, technical skills, entrepreneurship, career awareness, and educator capacity so that more Hawaiʻi Island students can envision and prepare for careers in agriculture, agribusiness, food systems, natural-resource management, and agricultural technology. Target beneficiaries include K– 12 students and educators at public and public charter schools across Hawaiʻi Island, with additional benefits for local farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, and agricultural organizations that host field experiences, supply local ingredients, share technical expertise, or connect with future ag workers. During the 12-month contract period, HAF will train new elementary educators, support existing classrooms, assist student teams in developing and marketing locally sourced value-added products, coordinate farm and agribusiness learning experiences for students, and conduct an educator-focused field immersion at multiple agricultural sites across Hawaiʻi Island. The project will generate measurable economic, social, and environmental benefits. Economically, YEP will help students build business, budgeting, production, marketing, and Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 3 sales skills while creating demand for Hawaiʻi-grown ingredients and demonstrating how agricultural products can be transformed into value-added goods. Tower Power and field experiences will expose students to technical and career pathways that can help address agriculture’s workforce shortage and build the ag workforce pipeline. These outcomes directly advance the Department’s goal of balancing Hawaiʻi Island’s economic, social, and environmental well-being and support program objectives A (Increase consumption of local agricultural and value-added products), B (Support education that improves agricultural production, quality, resilience, and producer viability), and C (Support collaboration, innovation, resource development, programmatic sustainability, producer resilience, and workforce pathways). Paniolo Preservation Society $15,000.00 Community Marketplace The Paniolo Preservation Society (PPS) will expand the Community Marketplace and agricultural education activities at the historic Pukalani Stables in Waimea. The project will strengthen Hawaiʻi Island's agricultural economy by increasing market access, sales opportunities, marketing, and educational programming for farmers, ranchers, food producers, value-added agricultural businesses, and food entrepreneurs. Currently serving more than 75 vendors across two weekly market days, the Marketplace provides a vital connection between local producers and consumers while promoting Hawaiʻi grown products and supporting food security goals. The project will increase opportunities for local agricultural businesses, expand consumer access to locally produced foods, and strengthen partnerships throughout Hawaiʻi Island's food system. Expected impacts include increased business income, expanded market opportunities, improved producer viability, enhanced community access to local foods, and stronger agricultural collaboration. Matching cash funds in the amount of $43,000 provided by the Paniolo Preservation Society through organizational and program revenues will support staffing, facilities, marketing, educational activities, and overall project implementation. Together, these investments will strengthen Hawaiʻi Island's agricultural economy, increase consumption of local agricultural products, and support a more resilient and sustainable food system. University of Hawaiʻi Foundation $25,000 Big Island AgResilience Initiative: Producer-driven research and extension for climate-ready agriculture Led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) — in partnership with the Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange (PDKE) — the Big Island AgResilience Initiative delivers immediate adaptation support for the emerging 2026–2027 ‘super’ El Niño while building long-term climate resilience across Hawaiʻi Island's agrifood system. Through two webinars and six district-based workshops, Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 4 the project enables immediate adaptation to a real-time climate event and engages producers to identify climate-related resource needs and climate-driven impacts on crop production and quality that will inform current ag-climate tool development and justify future investment and funding. Activities culminate in the CTAHR-funded Big Island AgResilience Forum, to share project results and build collaborative pathways forward. Target project beneficiaries are farmers, ranchers, forestry producers, and industry associations island-wide; secondary beneficiaries include backyard growers, agriforesters, and homesteaders. This project supports the Department's goal by generating environmental, economic, and social benefits. It lays the groundwork for long-term climate resilience across the County’s agricultural landscapes, reduces producers' climate related expenses through timely information delivery, and positions the sector for future funding. Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center (ADSC) vouchers put grant resources directly into producers' hands, while partnerships with local community organizations ensure equitable delivery across all districts to producers of all scales that strengthen regional social networks between producers and service providers. These outcomes support Program Objective B production, quality, resilience, and producer viability amid climate-driven challenges) and Objective C (collaboration, resource development, and programmatic sustainability across the agrifood system). Business and Industry Development East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center $23,000 EHCC YAS Creative Entrepreneurship Program FY26–27 The East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center (EHCC) Youth Arts Series (YAS) Creative Entrepreneurship Program aims to inspire, educate, and support youth in exploring creative entrepreneurship. The program begins with listening and learning from local artists, entrepreneurs, and creative business owners through a free Creative Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, inspiring participants to draw from the experiences of others in the community and consider how their creativity, ideas, and future businesses can contribute to Hawaiʻi Island. A cohort of up to 10 keiki ages 10–14 will then participate in workshops, camps, and guided open studio sessions where they will develop product concepts, learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship—including business planning, branding, marketing, budgeting, pricing, and sales—and create products for market. Throughout the program, they will receive professional mentorship, materials, tools, and hands-on guidance. The program culminates in a public keiki mākeke at Ka Waihona, a community gathering space within Island Nation in Downtown Hilo, where the cohort will launch and sell their products while celebrating their accomplishments with family, mentors, and the community. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 5 The project will empower this cohort of entrepreneurs to successfully launch their own creative arts-based businesses during the twelve-month project period. Along the way, they will build practical entrepreneurial, financial, and workforce skills while developing the confidence, independence, and adaptability needed to pursue future opportunities. By connecting keiki with established local artists, entrepreneurs, and business professionals, the program creates pathways to entrepreneurship, supports small business development, and expands equitable access to entrepreneurial opportunities. The project directly supports the Department's goal of enhancing Hawaiʻi Island's economic, social, and environmental well-being by investing in the next generation of creative entrepreneurs. FoundHer $25,000 Hawai'i FoundHer Kapalili Cohort This project aims to strengthen essential business operations for women-led food and agriculture businesses on Hawaiʻi Island by delivering six months of structured curriculum, one-on-one mentorship, and non-dilutive grant funding. The target beneficiaries are Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American women entrepreneurs in agriculture and food systems who face significant barriers to capital, training, and professional networks. Hawaiʻi FoundHer — a 501(c)(3) incorporated in 2026 and operating since 2021 — has supported 36 companies across six cohorts. The inaugural Kapalili cohort (February–July 2026) graduated five companies, generating $43,446 in new sales revenue, creating 7 new jobs, and achieving 100% business survival within six months. The second Kapalili cohort will serve five new women entrepreneurs in the same sector, building on this proven model. The project will create a minimum of 5 new jobs and generate $50,000 or more in aggregate new business revenue, directly supporting the Department's goal of a high quality of life for Hawaiʻi Island residents and Objective C: Deliver Foundational Business Training Programs. Each participant will complete training in financial management, marketing, business planning, AI tools, licensing, and permitting and exit with a completed business plan, pitch deck, and marketing asset package. By centering Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American women, the program addresses systemic inequities in access to business training. Ohana care stipends enable mothers and caregivers to participate fully. The program's agriculture and food systems focus strengthens Hawaiʻi Island's local food economy and reduces dependence on imported goods. Matching funds in the amount of $6,250 provided by private philanthropy will be used to cover participant transportation to in-person programming sessions. Additional non-County matching sources fund $20,000 non-dilutive business grants and $4,000 ohana care stipends for each of the 5 participant companies — totaling $120,000 in direct participant support provided entirely outside of County R&D funds. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 6 North Kohala Community Resource Center $10,550 NKCRC WORKSHOPS This project will deliver an eight-session CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and accounting software training series to build the financial and marketing software capacity of community projects fiscally sponsored by the North Kohala Community Resource Center (NKCRC). Target beneficiaries are the volunteer coordinators of NKCRC's roughly 70 sponsored projects, most of whom have not yet adopted core CRM and accounting software tools for bookkeeping, budgeting, and marketing. Key activities are eight one-hour, hands-on virtual training sessions covering disbursement requests and donor management, chart of accounts setup, bank connections and expense tracking, budgeting, invoicing and bill pay, and marketing tools (email outreach and online donation pages), with measurable outcomes tracked through the CRM & accounting software's own usage data before and after the series. This project will increase the number of NKCRC sponsored projects independently managing their own bookkeeping, budgets, and marketing within the CRM & accounting software platform. The software is provided by NKCRC to each project at no cost and aims to reduce reliance on NKCRC's current two-person fiscal team for manual transaction entry and disbursement troubleshooting and expand sponsored projects' capacity to raise unrestricted funds through email campaigns and online donation pages. These outcomes support the Department's goal of generating economic and equitable benefits to Hawaiʻi Island residents through greater efficiency and reduced expenses, and directly advance Program Objective C, Deliver Foundational Business Training Programs, by strengthening essential financial management operations among grassroots Hawaiʻi Island organizations. FILM AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES Hui Kākoʻo O Laupāhoehoe $25,000 Laupāhoehoe Community Public Charter School CTE Media Lab & Nā Leo TV Hub The primary goal of this initiative is to establish a modern Career and Technical Education (CTE) Creative Media Lab at Laupāhoehoe Community Public Charter School (LCPCS) that simultaneously functions as a multipurpose Hāmākua Satellite Center for Nā Leo TV. This project addresses the geographic isolation of rural East Hawaiʻi by creating a dedicated, collaborative facility where charter school students and local community creators come together to learn, produce, and share media. The primary beneficiaries are LCPCS high school students enrolled in the CTE Creative Media pathway, alongside local small businesses, non-profit organizations, and Hāmākua storytellers who currently lack access to professional-grade digital media infrastructure. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 7 Key activities center on hands-on, project-based technical instruction in camera operation, field audio recording, digital editing, and strategic social media management. Through a real-world practicum model, LCPCS student media crews will plan, film, and edit promotional campaigns for school-wide events, charter school initiatives, and regional community activities. By functioning as a physical Nā Leo TV satellite hub, the space will host joint workshops, collaborative filming sessions, and public access projects that encourage creative resource-sharing across the Hāmākua coast. This project directly advances the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Research and Development’s core objective to encourage collaboration and shared resources through multipurpose facilities, gatherings, and efforts that help creative people connect, work, and build together. Matching resources, valued at $30,000, includes services paid for by school general funds for the Creative and Marketing Director Osava Collective who will advise media class instructors and students. LCPCS will also provide match through the purchase of equipment for the program. Resources not valued as a match but provided to support the program include a dedicated facility space provided by LCPCS to house the Hāmākua Satellite Center, CTE instructor salary allocation, charter school IT support, and in-kind mentorship hours provided by Nā Leo TV media professionals. This collaborative financial model maximizes County investment to deliver long-term, sustainable impact for LCPCS youth and the surrounding Hāmākua creative community. Mālama O Puna $15,000.00 Puna Youth Media Program The Puna Youth Media Program will train Puna youth ages 14–19 in professional film and media production — camera, sound, lighting, editing, and storytelling — through two hands- on workshop cohorts culminating in youth-produced films about their own community. The target beneficiaries are Puna teens in a district where nearly half of families rely on SNAP benefits and where access to creative-industry training has been effectively nonexistent. Twenty youth will complete the program, produce at least eight finished short films for local nonprofits and businesses, build professional portfolio reels, and present their work at a free public community screening. Instruction is delivered by Mana Music & Media, a Puna-based professional production company; youth recruitment and coordination are provided by the Puna Rising Youth Hub; and fiscal and administrative oversight is provided by Mālama O Puna. This project will create a documented pipeline from Puna classrooms into Hawai'i Island's creative workforce — measured by 20 youth trained, eight films produced, 15 portfolio reels completed, and at least six participants placed in paid creative work, internships, or Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 8 continued media education within six months of completion. It directly supports the Department's Goal of balancing Hawai'i Island's economic and social well-being through job growth and increased accessibility, and it advances Program Objective A by developing the island's film and creative workforce through workshops and training that reflect current industry needs. It advances Objective B by supporting local productions that raise the visibility of Hawai'i Island as a place to live, work, and create, and Objective C by establishing a shared production kit and a recurring public gathering point for Puna's creative community. The equitable benefit is direct: production skills are portable, immediately monetizable, and can be practiced from Puna — allowing young people to earn without leaving the island, in a district that has lost an estimated $94 million in economic benefit since the 2018 eruption. Matching funds in the amount of $16,000, provided as an in-kind contribution of professional services by Mana Music & Media, will be used to deliver instruction, production supervision, and studio and post-production facility access Naʻalehu Theatre $22,000 Mālama Kō Aloha Creative Workforce Initiative The Mālama Kō Aloha Creative Workforce Initiative is a community-based workforce development project that strengthens Hawaiʻi Island's creative economy by preparing residents for careers in film, television, music production, digital media, photography, post- production, livestream production, and creative entrepreneurship through an innovative model of intergenerational mentorship rooted in Native Hawaiian traditions of passing knowledge, experience, and opportunity from one generation to the next. Rather than relying solely on classroom instruction, participants develop experience-based knowledge by working alongside accomplished filmmakers, musicians, editors, photographers, producers, cultural practitioners, and creative entrepreneurs on authentic community-based productions, cultural events, music performances, podcasts, digital storytelling projects, and other creative initiatives. The initiative also advances an innovative workforce model demonstrating how traditional Native Hawaiian ways of passing knowledge, experience, and opportunity can prepare the creative workforce of the future while strengthening local communities, authentic storytelling, and Hawaiʻi Island's creative economy. The project will engage approximately 300 unduplicated participants, including 100 participants receiving intensive mentorship and workforce development experience. Primary beneficiaries include Native Hawaiian youth, emerging creative professionals, and residents of Hawaiʻi Island's rural and underserved communities. The initiative directly supports the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Research and Development's goal of strengthening economic, social, and community well-being by Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 9 expanding workforce capacity, supporting locally owned creative businesses, increasing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, and preparing a highly skilled local workforce capable of supporting Hawaiʻi Island's growing creative industries. The project advances all three Film and Creative Industries Program Objectives by: (A) developing Hawaiʻi Island's creative workforce through ongoing instruction, mentorship, industry workshops, boot camps, internships, and authentic production experiences; (B) supporting locally produced creative media, music, cultural events, and community storytelling initiatives that increase Hawaiʻi Island's visibility as a place to live, work, create, and invest; and (C) strengthening collaboration through partnerships among schools, cultural organizations, businesses, accomplished practitioners, and creative professionals who share facilities, expertise, equipment, and mentorship opportunities that build long-term workforce capacity. Matching resources totaling $75,000, including $50,000 in cash from grants, fundraising, and organizational support and $25,000 in donated in-kind contributions from sponsors, community partners, volunteer professional services, facilities, equipment, and production resources, will leverage the County's investment while ensuring successful implementation and long-term sustainability. The Mālama Kō Aloha Creative Workforce Initiative demonstrates that innovation is not always the creation of something new. Sometimes innovation comes from recognizing that traditional ways of passing knowledge, experience, and opportunity remain the most effective way to prepare the workforce of the future. By investing in local people and strengthening intergenerational mentorship, the initiative expands Hawaiʻi Island's creative workforce, supports locally owned creative businesses, preserves authentic Hawaiian stories, and builds a resilient creative economy for future generations. Nā Leo 'O Hawaiʻi $24,500 NLTV Community News Fellowship Nā Leo TV will implement the NLTV Community News Fellowship, a paid, applied workforce- training program that prepares Hawaiʻi Island residents to report, produce, and distribute local news and place-based stories as the island's traditional newsroom capacity continues to shrink. Over a 12-month project period, Nā Leo TV will host two cohorts of six fellows, each completing a five-month fellowship combining structured journalism training and storytelling techniques with mentored field reporting. Fellows will train in storytelling, news judgment, verification, public-records and open-meetings basics, interviewing, writing, camera and audio production, photography, editing, and multi-platform distribution, then apply those skills to cover the people, institutions, and decisions shaping their own communities as well as those doing something impactful. The news doesn't just have to be Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 10 doom and gloom. Rather we see opportunities to seed news gardens islandwide, building local capacity to tell stories that elevate the good and shed light on often overlooked issues that are of critical importance and need to be addressed. By the end of the project, 12 fellows will have completed an applied training experience, built a professional news and storytelling portfolio, and gained the skills and industry relationships needed to pursue employment or continued work in local journalism and media. Collectively, the cohorts are expected to produce at least 36 original local news stories and community reports for distribution through Nā Leo TV's broadcast and digital platforms. The NLTV Community News Fellowship will expand Hawaiʻi Island's local news-reporting and storytelling workforce while increasing residents' access to trustworthy, locally produced journalism and content, at a time when newsroom closures and declining trust in distant or corporate media have left many communities with less reliable information about the decisions and successes shaping their daily lives. Residents often lack access to information about both community needs and community successes, limiting awareness and civic engagement. These outcomes directly support the Department's goal of generating measurable, equitable benefits for residents, and advance all three Film and Creative Industries Program objectives by building Hawaiʻi Island's media workforce, producing visible local content, and expanding shared access to Nā Leo TV's facilities and expertise. Nā Leo TV will provide $43,000 in in-kind matching support, including use of its Hilo and Kona production facilities, professional cameras and production equipment, editing systems and software, staff instruction and mentorship, and administrative support. All broadcast television and social media distribution resources are provided at no cost. Together, the County investment and Nā Leo TV’s in-kind contribution will provide approximately $67,500 in resources to build community-driven storytelling and news-reporting capacity while directly investing in Hawaiʻi Island residents, the creative media economy, and original content for the broader island community. North Kohala Community Resource Center $15,000 Kohala Oral History Project The Kohala Oral History Project (KOHP), a fiscally sponsored project of the North Kohala Community Resource Center, is a yearlong youth oral history and filmmaking workforce development program. The program is operated by KOHP in partnership with Kohala High School through the school’s Friday Club Program. The program will train up to 10 student “Story Keepers” in oral history documentation, interviewing, cinematography, sound recording, and video editing through hands-on instruction across the school year. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 11 Through classroom instruction, homework, collaborative production, and optional weekend film days, students will conduct oral history interviews and create multiple 3–5-minute short documentary films. Eligible fall films completed by December 2026 will be submitted to HIFF ʻŌpio Fest, subject to current festival rules and deadlines. KOHP will complete editing of the filmed interviews for public sharing, educational use, and archival preservation. The project will culminate in a May 2027 screening and panel presentation featuring student films and community participants. Goals of this project are: 1) Build a local filmmaking pathway for Kohala students while producing a body of community-based oral history media for public presentation, and 2) serve as an ongoing training and production platform led by two Hawai‘i Island filmmaker instructors. Project beneficiaries include: • Kohala High School students who gain access to a year-long creative media and filmmaking pathway; • Kohala kūpuna, families, and community members: whose stories are recorded, preserved, and shared; and • The broader Kohala diaspora and audiences across and beyond Hawaiʻi: for those interested in Kohala’s history, culture, and community, as demonstrated by the viewership of KOHP’s 2024 film This is Kohala (approximately 20K views). Matching funds of $20,000 (pending grant funding) and in-kind support ($24,000) will fund professional service fees for the project team, editors, and social media and website developers, supplies for film days, instructor travel, facilities and equipment rental, and fiscal sponsorship fees. Matching funds are in the form of pending grants and additional community or private cash contributions. FOOD SECURITY Fern Forest Community Association $21,000 Fern Forest Community Food Security and Resilience Initiative: Community Garden The primary goal of The Fern Forest Food Security and Resilience Initiative Community Garden is to establish a community garden and food hub that increases access to locally grown food, supports health and wellness, builds a community-based subsistence economy, and creates lasting economic, social, and environmental benefits for Fern Forest residents by implementing regenerative small crop farming, food production, community crop swaps, free produce distribution, volunteer workdays, practical workshops, and a localized food- access and resilience assessment to guide data-driven deployment. The target beneficiaries include households with limited incomes or transportation, working families, Kūpuna, and people with disabilities, who will be supported by the development of at least six household Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 12 garden plots, one shared food-growing area, at least one hydroponic table, and a Hawaiian biocultural demonstration garden on one acre of unused Fern Forest Community Association (FFCA) property. The project will help participating households supplement their food supplies, expand access to fresh locally grown produce, build practical food-growing skills, encourage volunteerism, put underused agricultural land into productive community use, and demonstrate responsible rainwater use. These benefits directly support the Department’s goal and all four Food Security Program Area objectives by increasing access to locally produced food and strengthening rural resilience (Objective A); providing hands-on education in agriculture, nutrition, food safety, and environmental stewardship (Objective B); conducting outreach and distributing free produce to residents experiencing food-access barriers (Objective C); and establishing a lasting, community-managed resource that supports household and subsistence food production (Objective D). Humanity Hale $21,000 Growing Futures Humanity Hale is a Hawaiʻi Island nonprofit founded in 2019 to ensure that no child feels alone or heals alone. Its mission is to provide trauma-informed, culturally grounded housing and programming for foster youth and at-promise ʻōpio, rooted in Hawaiian values and guided by kūpuna. Over the past five years, Humanity Hale has served more than 107 youth annually in ʻāina-based food sustainability programs including 84 Native Hawaiian youth, supported by cultural practitioners, program staff, and community mentors. Hawaiʻi Island faces disproportionately high food insecurity, with 43% of residents (nearly 90,000 individuals) struggling to access adequate food, compared to ~12% nationally (Hawaiʻi Foodbank). Native Hawaiian and rural families are most impacted, with 36% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander households reporting food insecurity. Youth are especially vulnerable: 53% of young adults (ages 18–29) experience food insecurity, and 34% of households with children statewide struggle to provide consistent meals. DOE data show that 20.7% of children in Hawaiʻi are food insecure (Hawaiʻi Health Matters, 2023), 6.1% of middle school students report going hungry “most of the time or always,” and 77,949 children statewide lose access to school meals during summer months. These impacts fall disproportionately on Native Hawaiian and rural families and are compounded for youth transitioning out of foster care or unstable housing, who often lack consistent access to nutritious food, food preparation skills, and connection to ʻāina-based traditions. DOE’s limited access to local produce with only 1.83% sourced locally in Hawaiʻi County; this clearly highlights a systemic barrier to student nutrition and reinforces the need for community-based food production programs. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 13 Humanity Hale’s existing ʻāina-based gardening initiative has demonstrated effectiveness in addressing these needs. An organization milestone for 2026 confirmed Humanity Hale earmarking $500,000 in secured land acquisition funding, Humanity Hale is uniquely positioned to expand into a structured food security initiative that builds long-term pathways in nutrition, food sustainability, and environmental stewardship. The Growing Futures program directly responds by embedding food sustainability into Humanity Hale’s larger vision, a transitional housing project and expanded DOE partnership programming, expanding access to locally grown food, strengthening ʻāina-based learning, and building food preparation and agricultural skills for vulnerable youth. This need is urgent for the R&D Impact Grant because Hawaiʻi County has the highest rate of school meal eligibility in the state, signaling elevated food insecurity among DOE-aged youth. Growing Futures directly addresses this systemic gap by building sustainable, culturally grounded food pathways for vulnerable youth where they can become integrated, solution-focused participants. The Growing Futures program will generate measurable economic, social, and environmental benefits for Hawaiʻi Island residents by equipping foster youth and at-promise ʻōpio with hands-on skills in food production, preparation, and nutrition. By embedding food security programming into transitional housing and DOE partnership programs, Growing Futures advances the Department’s goal of balancing Hawaiʻi Island’s well-being through increased accessibility, reduced expenses, and strengthened community resilience. Humanity Hale has secured $500,000 in land acquisition funding and strong community partnership commitments to construct a transitional housing hub with gardens and a community kitchen as core infrastructure. ensuring a permanent, funded home for Growing Futures, reducing risk and extending impact beyond the twelve-month award period. Growing Futures will become a core youth program integrated with the projected Transitional Housing project, ensuring long-term alignment with the food sustainability model for youth participants. North Kohala Community Resource Center $15,000 KOHALA RESILIENCE HUB - Food Preservation Workshops This initiative will fund the Kohala Resilience Hub's (KRH), a fiscally sponsored project of the North Kohala Community Resource Center, food preservation workshop series: five hands- on community classes covering water-bath canning (jams and jellies; acidified foods), high- pressure canning, pickling and fermentation, and freeze-drying. Workshops will be taught by a Master Food Preserver instructor, three instructor assistants, and two trained Extension Master Food Volunteers (EMFVs) from CTAHR (College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 14 Resources), at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church's facility in Kapaʻau, with one freeze-drying session held in partnership with the Kohala Food Hub. Produce will be gleaned directly from North Kohala home gardens whenever possible through a new partnership with Kōkua Harvest, a program of The Food Basket that rescues excess crops; recipes will be tailored to whatever is actually harvested. When gleaning is not sufficient, the program will purchase produce from the Kohala Food Hub, local farmers, and local businesses, further supporting the local food system. Primary target beneficiaries are North Kohala residents who want to safely preserve locally grown produce and reduce household food waste; residents and visitors from other areas are welcome to attend. By teaching residents to preserve their own and their neighbors' surplus produce, this project reduces food waste. Hawaiʻi's climate and many households' limited refrigeration mean fresh, home-grown fruits and vegetables spoil quickly, and home gardeners often produce more than they can consume before it goes bad. Sourcing workshop produce through Kōkua Harvest's volunteer gleaning network turns that exact surplus into workshop material instead of letting it go to waste, while also expanding Kōkua Harvest's reach into North Kohala. Preserving that surplus extends how long locally grown food stays usable and accessible and builds household-level emergency food reserves. A portion of the preserved goods from each workshop will also be donated to St. Augustine's Food Pantry, a food distribution program serving food-insecure North Kohala residents — extending the project's reach beyond workshop participants and supporting Food Security Program Objective 2.2(C). This directly advances Food Security Program Objective 2.2(A): supporting collaboration, resource development, and programmatic sustainability throughout the food system to increase access to locally produced food, reduce food waste, and improve community disaster resilience. Rotary Club of Kona Community Foundation $12,085 Nāʻālehu Resilience Hub Expanding Local Food Access Under the fiscal sponsorship of the Rotary Club of Kona Community Foundation, the Nāʻālehu Resilience Hub will increase access to locally produced food among low-income residents in Kaʻū through outreach to local producers, fisherman, and hunters advising them of the Nāʻālehu Hub's new capacity to provide cold storage for fruits, vegetables, fish, and game. The target beneficiaries are the southern Hawaiʻi food insecure community. We now serve hot meals three times per week with approximately 140 meals each day. Last year alone, organizers served over 17,000 hot meals and provided over 20,000 pounds of groceries to families in need. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 15 With the additional cold storage and outreach program, this program will be able to provide 20 percent more meals to food insecure families and increase the nutritional value through farm to table meals. St. James Episcopal Church 15,000 Waimea Community Meal The Waimea Community Meal aims to reduce food insecurity among residents of Waimea and the surrounding area by providing approximately 650 free, hot, nutritious meals cooked by program volunteers every Thursday in an environment that is fun and welcoming. The Meal also reduces food insecurity by providing a weekly “farmers’ market” where participants can select free, locally grown produce and other groceries to take home with them to use during the week. The Waimea Community Meal is served in the tent at St. James’ every Thursday evening. Meals are also delivered to participants who live in low- income housing The Meal increases access to locally produced food among low-income residents by purchasing food from local farmers and either incorporating that locally grown food into the Thursday Meal or distributing it to low-income residents through the free farmers’ market. The Meal also reduces food waste by using locally grown produce that would otherwise go to waste, as well as food donations from Costco that would otherwise go to waste. Matching funds in the amount of $ 703,009.19, including funding from other grants, donations, sponsorships of the Meal each week, and in-kind donations of food, volunteer time, and use of facilities will be used to fund all aspects of the Meal, including purchasing food from wholesalers and local farmers, paying two part-time employees who are responsible for the Meal, purchasing supplies, and paying local musicians who provide entertainment at the Meal. YWCA Hawaiʻi Island Developmental Preschool $23,000 Preschool Meal Program This project aims to strengthen food security and child wellness for preschool-age keiki by providing daily, no-cost, nutritionally balanced breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack to all children enrolled at YWCA Hawaiʻi Island Developmental Preschool. The primary goal is to ensure that approximately 87-95 keiki in Hilo have reliable access to healthy meals while they learn, so that working families experience reduced food stress and children are ready to participate fully in the classroom. Key activities include planning and preparing three meals per instructional day that meet nutrition guidelines, maintaining a consistent and child-friendly menu, and engaging families with basic information and resources on healthy eating on a budget. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 16 The project will reduce household food expenses, improve consistent access to healthy food, and support school readiness, directly supporting the Department’s goal of improving quality of life for Hawaiʻi Island residents. It aligns with the Food Security Program objectives by increasing access to nutritious food for low-income families and children (Objectives A and C) and by providing farm-to-school and garden-based nutrition education that promotes environmental stewardship and better health outcomes for keiki (Objective B). Over the twelve-month project period, the preschool will maintain daily no-cost meal service from Month 1 through Month 12, deliver monthly nutrition and garden-based learning activities. Over the twelve-month project period, the preschool will maintain daily no-cost meal service from Month 1 through Month 12, ensuring that every enrolled child has access to breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack on each instructional day. As time and staffing allow, teachers will incorporate simple nutrition conversations and occasional garden-related activities into existing classroom routines, using the preschool’s small garden area where tomatoes, beans, lilikoi and other plants are already growing. At least one brief parent communication each quarter (such as a flyer, newsletter blurb, or email) will highlight the meal program and share a basic healthy-eating tip or recipe on a budget. By Month 12, the preschool will summarize total meals served and collect basic parent feedback on how the meal program supports their child and family. R&D funds in the amount of $25,000 will be used to support a portion of food purchases, meal service supplies, and staff time directly related to planning menus, preparing meals, delivering nutrition activities, and tracking project data for reporting. Matching funds and in-kind contributions in the amount of $80,000 from YWCA Hawaiʻi Island general operating funds, parent tuition and subsidies, and donated food and volunteer time will cover the remaining food costs, additional staff time, and ongoing maintenance of kitchen and garden spaces. Together, this $105,000 project budget will sustain a comprehensive Preschool Meal Program that addresses food insecurity for young children and their families on Hawaiʻi Island. REGENERATIVE TOURISM Destination Hilo Foundation $14,400 The Hilo Visitor Newsletter "The Hilo Visitor" is a project dedicated to developing, producing, and distributing a printed newsletter designed to promote Hilo's cultural activities, the Island of Hawaiʻi Pono Pledge, and local small businesses, farms, and museums. The goal is to highlight and support the viability of those businesses and to provide visitors, free of charge, with up-to-date, relevant information to have an authentic visitor experience in alignment with regenerative tourism Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 17 goals. The project benefits Hawaii County residents by generating visibility and income for small, local businesses and by promoting safe and responsible visitor behavior. The project’s key activities and measurable outcomes include: • Print and distribute 20,000 copies of the newsletter over a one-year period. • Deliver newsletter directly to cruise ship passengers at the Port of Hilo and to hotels and local establishments. • At least 15 local businesses, farms, and museums will gain visibility through this new platform. Additional organizations will be mentioned in articles. • Featured businesses will utilize QR codes to track business generated by visibility through the newsletter. The project will support the Department’s goal to support a high quality of life for Hawai‘i Island residents by increasing visibility and revenue for local businesses. It does this by creating an affordable means for local businesses and nonprofit organizations to reach visitors directly at the Port of Hilo, hotels, and local establishments. Further, this project will directly enhance visitor services at the Hilo and Kona piers by providing up-to-date, useful and educational information to visitors. Every issue of this project includes mention of the Pono Pledge, increasing visitor awareness of the pledge and driving traffic to the Pono Pledge website. The project started in 2025 and has already successfully published and distributed 20,000 copies to visitors at the Port of Hilo, hotels and local establishments. Hilo Hawaiʻi Visitor Industry Association, Inc. $15,000 Hilo Hula in Downtown Hilo Hilo Hula in Downtown Hilo began in 2014 as part of Destination Hilo’s Hilo Gateway project and provides Hula every Tuesday when the cruise ship Pride of America docks in Hilo. The program runs from 12 noon to 1 p.m. In 2025, increasing the number of lei workshops to every Tuesday event, adding to the one provided by the Kūpuna of Alu Like that they had included whenever they performed. Current funding will add a hula performance once a month on the third Saturday beginning in October 2026. The goal is to promote sustainable and responsible tourism and to perpetuate authentic Hawaiian culture. Well-known local musicians and dancers from local hula hālau provide their Hawaiian music, song and dance. In fact, we are also showcasing newer musicians along with those who are well-known in order to support the young artists who play slack key guitar, ‘ukulele, and write songs. Both the artists and visitors benefit from this cultural program. Many residents also enjoy the program and join us frequently. Volunteers help with the very popular lei making workshop and a table is set up to dispense information: maps, The Hilo Visitor Newsletter, and brochures. Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 18 The program now draws over 100 people per Tuesday to the Hilo Hula event and aims for 150-200 during this fiscal year funding. The event is held at the Hilo Farmers Market Stage every Tuesday except the second Tuesday of the month when it is held at the Palace Theater. Visitors and residents come to Downtown Hilo for the performance, purchase lunch nearby, wander around Downtown and spend money. This helps improve Hawaiʻi Island’s economy and provides cultural education and social well-being for spectators, both visitors and residents. We are providing a small stipend to the entertainers and giving them the opportunity to feature their art. Providing a daytime cultural event is beneficial for those who cannot attend an evening event, especially those visitors off the cruise ship. It is held during the lunch hour so residents may enjoy the event as well. Hilo Hawaiʻi Visitor Industry Association, Inc $25,000 Hilo Pier Greetings 2027 Destination Hilo’s Hawaiian Greetings Program at Hilo Pier has provided a welcome to arriving cruise passengers since the 1990’s by offering Hawaiian music and hula as the arriving passengers walk through the Pier terminal building and by providing an Information Center in the Pier terminal building for passengers and crew. The goal is to promote sustainable and responsible tourism and to perpetuate authentic Hawaiian culture. Well- known local musicians and dancers from local hula hālau provide their Hawaiian music, song and dance. Aloha Ambassadors (volunteers and a paid manager) provide a warm welcome, information, maps and brochures at the Information Center. They assist the shuttle drivers who provide free transport to Downtown Hilo by coordinating reservations for visitors who wish to ride the free shuttles and go to the shops, museums, and Farmers Market. When asked, Aloha Ambassadors direct passengers to independent tour drivers, taxis, car rentals, and the Hele-On Bus. They also assist with directions to drug stores, urgent care centers, county offices, churches and to the many beautiful sites within walking or driving distance from the port of Hilo. To enhance our visitors’ experience, the project markets the Pono Pledge, with the hope that visitors will appreciate and respect the areas they will visit. The Historic Hilo Map and the Downtown Hilo Walking Tour Map are available to all families who stop by the information center. The Pier Greetings Program is run every day a ship is in the port of Hilo, all year. For fiscal year 2026-27, we anticipate 114 cruise ships on 116 days with a total of 393,000 passengers and crew arriving between July 7, 2026, and June 29, 2027. Two ships will stay overnight. The proposed amount requested covers expenses from January through June 2027. Guiding visitors to the tour drivers, mom and pop stores, museums, art galleries, coffee shops, restaurants, and the Farmers Market provides an economic benefit to the local economy and results in visitors having wonderful memories of a day in Hilo that will be Award Summary – FY26-27 R&D Impact Grant Program 19 shared with family and friends back home. Services at the Hilo Pier, including cultural offerings and access to information, have the potential to increase the economic impact of cruise ship visitors who contribute to the local economy while ensuring a memorable, culturally rich experience for our visitors. VASH Hawaiʻi Island $25,000 VASH Hawaiʻi Island Services Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaiʻi (VASH Hawaiʻi Island) provides direct assistance to visitors experiencing medical emergencies, crime, death, and other visitor emergencies while visiting Hawaiʻi Island. The primary goal of this project is to ensure visitors facing emergencies receive timely, compassionate, and professional assistance that reduces hardship while preserving Hawaiʻi Island's reputation as a safe and welcoming destination. During the twelve-month grant period, VASH anticipates assisting approximately 430 visitors, including 300 experiencing medical emergencies, 100 affected by crime, and 30 requiring assistance for other visitor- related emergencies. In addition to direct services, VASH will conduct 12 law enforcement briefings and 6 hospital briefings to strengthen referral partnerships and improve coordination among agencies serving visitors. This project directly supports the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Research and Development's goal of enhancing Hawaiʻi Island's economic, social, and community well- being by ensuring visitors receive assistance during times of crisis. The project aligns specifically with the Regenerative Tourism Program objective of providing support and assistance to visitors experiencing medical emergencies, crime, death, and other adversity through dedicated personnel available to coordinate services and demonstrate the aloha spirit. By assisting visitors during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, VASH strengthens the visitor experience, supports the tourism industry, and reinforces Hawaiʻi Island's reputation as a caring and responsible destination. Matching resources of $33,688 will support this program.