The Hawaii Community Foundation is accepting applications for its 2025 Holomua Marine Initiative Pāpio Grants Program.
Donor Name: Hawaii Community Foundation
State: Hawaii
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/19/2025
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support programs and projects that will achieve specific strategic outputs and outcomes that make meaningful contributions to effectively managed nearshore marine areas in Hawai’i with strong community engagement, stewardship and co-management.
Grant Focus
The priorities for Papio grants will include the following focal areas for this funding opportunity.
- Capacity: Projects/programs that strengthen community or organization capacity to deliver programs and results toward effective community co-management of nearshore marine areas. Examples could include (but are not limited to) strengthening technical capacity, leadership and organizational effectiveness, planning and evaluation, management, communications, advocacy, education, traditional knowledge, and cultural competency.
- Coordination: Projects/programs that strengthen coordination and collaboration between diverse groups or agencies to support the achievement of Holomua Marine Initiative goals and objectives. Examples could include (but are not limited to) crosssector collaboration, strengthened coordination between state, county, and community entities, and coordination between communities, resource managers and academia on biological and socioeconomic monitoring.
- Data and Monitoring: Projects/programs that improve data collection, analysis, management, and application to resource management, decision-making, and community awareness and knowledge. Examples could include (but are not limited to) monitoring programs, evaluation of management effectiveness, uplifting and integrating local and traditional knowledge into monitoring and resource management, establishing baselines, development of systems to improve data management, development of intellectual property agreements, and data collection and reporting in collaboration with communities.
- Engagement: Projects/programs that strengthen community engagement in effective management of nearshore marine areas. Examples could include (but are not limited to) education, awareness, and outreach to various stakeholder groups, communications, strategies that broaden inclusivity, and community events that highlight shared core values between nearshore marine resource management and community development aspirations.
- Governance: Projects/programs that lead to the achievement of Holomua Marine Initiative policy goals, good governance, and effective management of nearshore marine areas. Examples could include (but are not limited to) development of policy and regulations, adoption of site designations and management regimes such as Community based Subsistence Fishing Areas (CBSFAs), advocacy, strategic communications, and strategies targeted at ensuring community priorities for effective nearshore marine management are adequately reflected in all levels of decision-making, particularly within government decision-making.
Funding Information
Grant requests for up to $10,000 USD will be considered.
Grant Period
Grant requests for projects with a duration of up to 12 months (1 year maximum) will be considered.
Eligible Activities
Examples of activities that HCF will consider for funding include but are not limited to:
- Communications and social media campaigns, outreach activities to decision-makers, formal and informal education activities, and outreach to target communities.
- Training, workshops, learning exchanges, mentorships, and community events.
- Developing and implementing methods and protocols for use, protection, and perpetuation of community, traditional, and Indigenous knowledge.
- Leadership coaching and mentoring, strategic planning, and organizational development activities.
- Community-invited applied research.
- Biological, human behavioral, and socio-economic monitoring in collaboration with communities, state agencies and a broad range of partners.
- Management planning and implementation at site, region, island or statewide levels and evaluation of effectiveness of implementation of management plans.
- Community-designed and led surveillance and enforcement activities that lead to decrease in rules violations.
- Promotion and development of innovative entrepreneurial strategies that contribute to effective community co-management of nearshore marine resources
- Other activities that will achieve specific strategic results towards effectively managed nearshore marine areas in Hawai’i, with strong community engagement, stewardship, and co-management.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be a non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Organizations who do not have 501(c)(3) status may collaborate with a fiscal sponsor to apply for this funding opportunity.
- Applicants must have completed and submitted all required final reports for any previously awarded HCF Holomua Marine Initative Pooled Fund Pāpio grant.
- HCF will prioritize projects and programs from community-based organizations that strengthen community co-management of nearshore marine areas.
- Projects centered on research must be community-invited applied research and applicable to effective community co-management of nearshore marine areas.
- Proposals from government entities, including state and county, must be developed and submitted in partnership with community organizations to be considered for this funding opportunity.
- Proposals from federal entities will not be considered for this funding opportunity.
For more information, visit Hawaii Community Foundation.
