Founded in 1962, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation works to build resources for Hawaii’s future. We do so by investing in promising initiatives and organizations through grantmaking, using our convening power, and introducing and spreading new ideas and approaches to help solve some of Hawaii’s most pressing problems. Our 2025 Mission and Strategies:
(1) to close the achievement gap in public education so that all of Hawai’i’s children and young adults, regardless of their socioeconomic background, have access to and benefit from high-quality education, from prekindergarten through college, that prepares them for a successful future;
(2) to restore Hawaii’s nearshore ocean areas so that current and future generations can benefit and learn from this rich natural resource;
(3) to build on the strengths of Ko’olau Oʻahu communities through support of the region’s rich cultural legacy, its people, and its natural resources;
(4) to strengthen communities’ ability to adapt to the effects of climate change; and
(5) to support a limited number of other unforeseen but compelling opportunities to make a significant difference in Hawai’i’s future.
We achieve this mission through grants, which we see as investments—investments in ambitious, creative initiatives that deliver results by clearly making Hawaiʻi a better place for its children, communities, and environment. Money for those grants comes from the Foundation’s endowment, which is managed carefully to ensure that the Foundation can serve as a resource for Hawai’i’s future generations. Harold K.L. Castle, owner of Kaneohe Ranch and grandson of one of the early missionary families to Hawaiʻi, established his foundation in 1962, providing much of his wealth to fund the organization.
Education and Economic Mobility Strategy: Help low-income youth graduate high school on a path to success, with college credits and relevant career experiences by supporting industry-led partnerships, strengthening academic rigor and career pathways, increasing student supports, and building work-based learning into high school and college experiences.
Ocean Resiliency Strategy: Make measurable improvements in our nearshore oceans where possible now; promote systemic change through improved governance and a community-based management model of practice for scaled impact in the near term; and foster a broad stakeholder collaborative to maintain healthy oceans in Hawaiʻi in the long term.
Climate Adaptation Strategy: Ensure that communities—especially in Windward Oʻahu—are empowered to achieve their own climate resilience through stronger planning, better communication and coordinated implementation with county agencies and state government.
Ko’olau O’ahu Strategy: 1) By 2027, to dramatically increase the number of Windward Oʻahu youth who earn a promising credential, secure a good job, and contribute to their community; 2) By 2027, to ensure that all Windward Oʻahu students graduate sixth grade with an ‘āina aloha mindset and the resiliency and civic skills needed to protect and restore the watersheds and fisheries of Koʻolauloa and Ko’olaupoko; and 3) To support other unique opportunities to strengthen the resiliency of the region’s families and communities from Kahuku to Waimānalo.