We are in this Together

by The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation staff

What is happening?

We find ourselves in unsettling times. In addition to a possible recession and threatened civil liberties, the impact of the Federal Government’s far-off actions is felt keenly on our shores. Hundreds of the 7,500 nonprofits in Hawaiʻi that employ 56,000 people face immediate budget shortfalls. Some of our 24,545 federal civilian employees are losing their jobs. And the estimated 50,000 undocumented immigrants in the state now live in daily fear. According to USAFacts, the federal government provides an estimated $6.2B to Hawaiʻi annually, making up 21 percent of all government revenue in the state. The future of that funding is unclear, causing anxieties to run high across all sectors in our islands. 

The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation is committed to a core set of values, many of which are under direct assault. As we did when faced with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and then more recently with the tragedy of the Maui wildfires, we are attempting a targeted crisis response. We recognize that limited philanthropic resources can never supplement federal shortfalls nor underwrite an ongoing legal response to the wave of autocratic actions coming out of Washington DC. Even if all philanthropies in the US were liquidated today, they could only fund 67 days-worth of the Federal programs that support States and non-profits, including here in Hawaiʻi. 

What are we learning? 

Executive branch policies have created a maelstrom of consequences that make it difficult for us to keep our bearings. Like you, we pay close attention to how this is unfolding in the hopes we can understand how best to navigate the uncertainty. Initial attempts to rescind Federal funding by the Federal Government have been unfrozen by the courts but are inconsistently accessible by grantees. For some, this is due to their government program contacts having been fired. Others face demands to remove flagged terms from agreed upon scopes of work. Consequently, grantees are being encouraged to draw down on currently available funds as often as possible, weekly or even daily. 

Hundreds of other flagged words are being scrubbed from proposals, websites, and official documents to avoid retaliation. Nonprofits are being urged to keep spending wherever possible, continue the work, and remain compliant. Yet, even if current awarded Federal grants seem safe, no one knows what will come in future years which makes long-term planning nearly impossible. It is difficult to keep calm in this storm.

We are listening to our congressional delegates, funding colleagues, and grantees. Partners such as Aloha United Way (AUW), the Hawaiʻi Association of Nonprofit Organizations (HANO), The Hawaii Community Foundation and others help us better understand the depth and breadth of the impacts. We also opted to do a survey of our own with our grantees, asking for direct feedback. Key findings are here:

We put heads together with fellow local foundations for collective sense-making and how best to pool our resources. We are committed to act collectively.

What are we doing?

As of June 2025, the Foundation’s board has carved out $425,000 above and beyond our standing grantmaking priorities to deploy towards the priority needs we are seeing and hearing about. The summary of unsolicited grants actions to date are as follows: 

Unsurprisingly, the top recommendations were selfless. Partners wanted us to help the State advocate for its Federal support, and to keep the information flowing for the benefit of all. They also focused on ways to help strengthen organizations with better financial planning, low to no-interest loan programs to assist with cash flow, and grant training expertise to ‘grow the pie’ as they searched for support elsewhere. It is a testament to Hawaii’s nonprofits that they displayed as much—if not more—concern for their partners, neighbors, and community, as they did for their own struggles.

$25,000 to Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative to host a temporary position within the State’s Department of Budget and Finance to support data gathering, analysis and sharing with nonprofit partners regarding Federal budget cuts and layoffs.

$50,000 to the Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations to bolster their capacity in supporting local non-profits strained by budget cuts via grant-writing training and other services.

$50,000 to Aloha United Way to shore up their capacity and processes in preparation of administering $50M in State support to the non-profit sector with the passage of Senate Bill 933.

$10,000 to rejoin the Council on Foundations as a full member to protect the status and impact of private philanthropy.

$50,000 to the Refugee and Immigration Law Clinic at UH to support the leading center ensuring immigrants know their rights and are processed humanely through a hotline staffed by Spanish-speaking lawyers and legal representation out in communities with the densest immigrant populations. 

$200,000 to help launch Hawaii Community Foundation’s Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund, a HANO “concierge”- facilitated fund that can help match Hawaii’s nonprofit sector’s problems with actionable solutions, from financial support to expertise to navigate mergers, closures, and other difficult decisions. 

Where to from here?

The threat is not over, so the work is not done. We continue to learn fast and try hard to address the needs of our partners. We will stick to our core values for our community, double down on our grantmaking priorities, and actively pursue ways we can help based on need and urgency. Like our legislature, we remain vigilant as the situation unfolds. We are prepared to set aside additional funding over the next three years. We remainʻonipaʻa, recognizing that the unpredictability of this administration must be matched by the steadfastness of our commitment, and the ability to act quickly. We are in this together.