Culture & Arts: Creative Capacity Grants Program

Culture & Arts: Creative Capacity Grants Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Kosasa Foundation
Last Updated: February 27, 2026

Summary

The Kosasa Foundation's Creative Capacity Grants Program aims to enhance cultural authenticity and support artistic growth in Hawai'i. By focusing on innovative projects, the program seeks to engage diverse audiences and strengthen the organizational capacity of nonprofits. This initiative responds to the evolving needs of the community following recent challenges, such as the pandemic and wildfires, ensuring long-term sustainability for vital cultural organizations.

Overview

Kosasa Foundation Mission In Hawai`i, the health and resilience of our environment is inextricably linked to our wellbeing as a community and uniqueness as a place. We invest in efforts to educate and engage our communities in activities that promote the stewardship of our natural resources, and we support programs that are critical to the development of our most vulnerable youth, from their earliest years into young adulthood. We hope to ensure the preservation of Hawai’i, while giving our younger generations the resources and support they need to chart our future. Kosasa Foundation Creative Capacity Grant The Kosasa Foundation has long supported culture and arts organizations across the state, and we will continue to do so. But we also have seen the changes brought by stunning events, like the global pandemic and the Maui wildfires. We wanted to learn more about how philanthropy can support organizations as they evolve. Through interviews, a survey and focus groups we gained valuable insight into the needs of our C&A nonprofits. The result is a new grant opportunity we call the Creative Capacity program. The intention is to provide targeted funding to Hawai‘i C&A nonprofits who are trying something new or innovative or who seek to build organizational capacity to ensure long-term sustainability. The program’s intention is to: Contribute to cultural authenticity, diversity, and vibrancy of Hawai’i.Grow our artistic community and support artists in the early stage of their careers Build different audiences to ensure we have educated and engaged consumers of art and culture. Support organizational health and impactful C&A nonprofits. New and Experimental Might Mean: Projects that attract new/different audiences. Recruiting and supporting new types of voices and artists with an emphasis on younger, upcoming artistic voices. Presenting and supporting Native Hawaiian voices, artists, and subject matter as well as others who are underrepresented by the sector. Testing ways to improve access to art and culture through new collaborations, new public venues, or reducing barriers to access artistic experiences. Building new organizational capacity. This could include investments into new systems, technology, or human capacity that allows the organization to move in new directions, find new efficiencies, or build their organizational health and long-term sustainability. The Creative Capacity grant will be offered to qualified nonprofits once per year.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Who we fund: 501(c)3 non profit organizations working in Hawaiʻi What we fund: General operating supportProjectsCapital campaigns

Ineligibility

What we don't fund: Non 501(c)3 organizationsProjects that re-grant Kosasa Foundation fundsMore than one project per year per organization