Holomua Marine Initiative Pāpio Grants

The Holomua Marine Initiative is a collaborative effort led by the Division of Aquatic Resources within the State of Hawai‘i and supported through philanthropic management by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. The initiative emerged as part of the broader Sustainable Hawai‘i Initiative launched in 2016, which seeks to improve the sustainability of natural resources and strengthen the state’s self-sufficiency. The Holomua Marine Initiative specifically focuses on restoring abundance to Hawai‘i’s nearshore marine ecosystems through community-based management, scientific guidance, and culturally grounded stewardship practices. The program reflects a long-term vision of ensuring that coastal waters continue to sustain local livelihoods, cultural practices, and food systems for future generations. The Hawai‘i Community Foundation plays a central administrative and funding role by managing pooled philanthropic contributions that support the initiative. Rather than operating as a traditional single-cycle grant program, the initiative functions as a funding mechanism that distributes grants and contracts to a wide network of partners. These include community organizations, cultural practitioners, scientific experts, and other stakeholders engaged in marine resource management. The funding is intended to augment state capacity, support the development of marine managed areas, and enable coordinated implementation across multiple islands. The initiative is structured around four primary pillars that guide its implementation. These include place-based planning, which emphasizes locally driven strategies developed in partnership with communities; pono practices, which promote responsible and culturally aligned behaviors through education, outreach, and enforcement; monitoring, which involves data collection and adaptive management based on ecological conditions; and restoration, which focuses on repairing damaged ecosystems and preventing further degradation. These pillars collectively define the scope of allowable activities and ensure that funded efforts align with both scientific best practices and traditional Hawaiian knowledge systems. Funding priorities under the initiative are broad but strategically defined. They include empowering community-led stewardship efforts, leveraging private investment to unlock additional public funding, building a statewide movement around marine conservation through strategic communications, ensuring a strong scientific foundation for marine management, and establishing effective governance structures. These priorities indicate that eligible uses of funds may include program development, community engagement, research and monitoring, restoration activities, and capacity building across participating organizations. The initiative’s long-term fundraising target of three million dollars annually over ten years underscores its scale and sustained commitment. Eligibility is not explicitly restricted to a narrow set of applicants but is implied to include a wide range of partners such as community groups, nonprofits, cultural practitioners, and organizations involved in marine conservation and resource management. The initiative emphasizes inclusive participation and collaboration, suggesting that applicants must demonstrate alignment with the initiative’s goals and the ability to contribute to nearshore marine management. While specific application components and submission procedures are not detailed in the provided material, funding is distributed through grants and contracts administered by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, which likely requires formal proposals and documentation aligned with the initiative’s priorities. No specific application deadlines, cycles, or evaluation criteria are explicitly stated in the available information, indicating that funding opportunities may be issued periodically or on a rolling basis depending on program needs and available resources. Similarly, details regarding award sizes, performance periods, and notification timelines are not provided, though the initiative’s multi-year funding strategy suggests that supported projects may span extended periods. Interested parties are directed to contact the Hawai‘i Community Foundation via the provided email address for further information, indicating that engagement and inquiry are key steps in accessing funding opportunities under this initiative.

Ensure required reports from past HCF grants are completed; profile must be certified prior to submission; incomplete or late applications are not accepted.