Waimea fund grants $500,000 to 29 community programs

The Hawaii Community Foundation awarded 29 grants totaling $500,000 to Waimea programs. $25,000 grants are going to Five Mountains Hawaii, Friends of the Future, The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School, Small World Preschool, Waimea Elementary School, the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders’ Association and the Waimea Resilience Hub.

The grants support culture, education, health and safety. Hawaii Community Foundation program officer Michelle Pope said the fund has spent a quarter-century supporting Waimea organizations. She pointed to culturally grounded healthcare, āina stewardship and new approaches to housing as examples of the kinds of work the foundation wants to sustain.

The Richard Smart Fund was created in 2001 through the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust, and Hawaii Community Foundation has administered the program since then. Over that span, the fund has distributed $8.65 million to 108 nonprofits serving Waimea. The 2026 round also topped last year’s distribution, which sent $450,000 to 24 programs, by $50,000 and five additional grants.

A 2023 redesign of the program, guided by the Waimea Community Weaving Hui, better matches present-day needs on the district’s north side. The Waimea Community Weaving Hui is a volunteer community advisory group formed to listen to residents and help align Richard Smart Fund dollars with Waimea’s desired future. This year’s grantees will also join a learning cohort focused on land and water stewardship, economic resilience and community well-being.

The fund receives annual contributions from the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust, and the trust supports healthcare, education and charitable giving in Waimea. Parker School, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, the Richard Smart Fund and Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital are among the institutions it supports.