East-West Center Foundation
The primary purpose of the organization is to broaden the financial support of the center for cultural & technical interchange between east & west, inc. (east-west center) a public educational non-profit corporation. The east-west center located at 1601 east-west road, honolulu, hi 96848 is a national educational institution created pursuant to public law 86-472 enacted by the U.S. congress. The funds provided to the east-west center are used to promote better relations and understanding between the united states and nations of the asia pacific through cooperative study, training and research.
East-West Center Foundation at a glance
In short: East-West Center Foundation gave $1.7M across 1 grant in 2025 (avg $1.7M), mostly in Hawaii. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,709,263
- +70.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 1
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $1,709,263
- +70.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,709,263
- Total assets
- $23,962,174
- +4.5% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Hawaii (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
Who East-West Center Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top recipient in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West Inc ($1.7M).
Grant Size Distribution
5 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $250–500K range: 2 grants of 5 (40%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Share of the 2025 grant dollars on its one itemized grant.
States
Cities
How East-West Center Foundation gives
- Giving grew 81% from 2022 to 2025. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $333K (2020) to $1.7M (2025). In 2025 it made 1 grant totaling $1.7M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West Inc Honolulu, HI | Promote security, stability, and prosperity in America's indo-pacific backyard through policy engagement, influential networks, high-level convenings, and extensive partnerships. | $1,709,263 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $23,962,174 | $3,135,151 | $1,866,675 | $1,709,263 | 1 | $1,550,752 |
| 2024 | $22,923,917 | $1,788,507 | $1,274,156 | $1,000,785 | 1 | $415,276 |
| 2023 | $17,664,196 | $2,010,187 | $899,685 | $336,878 | 1 | $613,173 |
| 2022 | $14,815,604 | $1,078,356 | $1,337,106 | $945,629 | 1 | $488,547 |
| 2021 | $18,725,557 | $1,487,119 | $677,757 | $338,424 | 1 | $795,177 |
| 2020 | $16,317,898 | $944,147 | $1,609,164 | $332,785 | 1 | $-58,613 |
| 2019 | $14,862,909 | $1,251,546 | $935,479 | $621,092 | 1 | $382,096 |
About East-West Center Foundation
Based on IRS filings
East-West Center Foundation is a public charity focused on International, Foreign Affairs & National Security, based in Honolulu, HI. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $24.0M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 1 grant totaling $1.7M. Net investment income was $1.6M.
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
East-West Center Foundation is led by Suzanne Vares-Lum, President on every filing since 2023; none of the 23 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Suzanne Vares-Lum
President
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jean E. Rolles
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karen Knudsen
Director
Vice President → Former Vice President, 2021
Former Vice President → Director, 2023
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peter S Ho
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Raoul Magana
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Richard Turbin
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sharon Lucien
Director
Director → Vice Chair, 2021
Vice Chair → Director, 2022
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Charlene L. Chan
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James K. Scott
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Melanie Kosaka
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Avelino Jumeno Halagao
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Lau
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sharon Weiner
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jim Landers
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Louise Ing
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christopher Dods
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Euan Beer
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lisa Hill
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tracey Ide
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lesley Murashige
Assistant Treasurer
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jung Song
Vice President
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Alyssa Tanabe
Secretary
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tracey M. Y. Omori
Treasurer
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (28)
- Former: Kathryn A. Nelson (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Lynn Miyahira (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Raquel Aki (2023–2024) — Secretary
- Former: Ruth Lohr (2023–2024) — Assistant Treasurer
- Former: Aaron Alter (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Carleen Gumapac (2019–2023) — Secretary
- Former: Corianne W. Lau (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Robert Kurisu (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Robert Riley (2021–2023) — Treasurer
- Former: Denise Hayashi Yamaguchi (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Richard R. Vuylsteke (2019–2022) — President
- Former: Trudy Schandler-Wong (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Clinton Nonaka (2019–2021) — Former Assistant Treasurer
- Former: Gae Bergquist Trommald (2019–2021) — Chair
- Former: Ralph R. Carvalho (2019–2021) — Former Treasurer
- Former: Russell J. Lau (2019–2021) — Chair
- Former: Anne Namba (2021) — Director
- Former: Eddie Flores Jr. (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Gulab Watumull (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Kelvin M Bloom (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Richard S Kennedy (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Ann M Bouslog (2019) — Director
- Former: Charles E Morrison (2019) — Former President
- Former: Cherye Pierce (2019) — Director
- Former: R Brian Tsujimura (2019) — Director
- Former: Sherry Menor-McNamara (2019) — Director
- Former: Sherry P Broder Esq. (2019) — Director
- Former: Tab Bowers (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about East-West Center Foundation
How much does East-West Center Foundation give each year?
East-West Center Foundation gave $1.7M across 1 grant in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $1.0M across 1 grant.
How large is East-West Center Foundation?
East-West Center Foundation reported $24.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $3.1M.
What is East-West Center Foundation?
East-West Center Foundation is a public charity focused on International, Foreign Affairs & National Security, based in Honolulu, HI. It holds $24.0M in total assets as of 2025.
Where does East-West Center Foundation operate?
East-West Center Foundation has awarded grants in Hawaii.
What is East-West Center Foundation's EIN?
East-West Center Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 99-0218752. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 10, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 26, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS December 20, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 1, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS July 21, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS August 5, 2020)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 17, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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