HPF: Urgent Action Grants

The Hawai'i People’s Fund offers Urgent Action Grants aimed at supporting organizations that provide immediate relief to communities impacted by crises, particularly the recent wildfires on Maui Island. These grants prioritize vulnerable populations, including low-income families and communities of color, and promote community organizing as a means to combat systemic oppression and ensure safety. The fund encourages innovative projects that address social justice and economic inequality while fostering resilience within these communities.

Hawaiʻi People’s Fund believes the work of our grantees present VIABLE SOLUTIONS to the current crisis, and despite the challenges that COVID-19 has presented, we choose to use this time as our chance to usher in a new way of living, loving, and being a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Maui Aloha
While organizations may apply for Urgent Action Grants to support change-oriented direct actions happening in communities across the pae ʻāīna, the Hawaiʻi People’s Fund is prioritizing assistance to huis mobilizing to provide immediate relief to those directly impacted by the wildfires on Maui Island.
Examples of projects/responses can include:
Participatory mutual aid projects serving vulnerable communities (food justice, kūpuna care, childcare)Building solidarity economiesCommunity centered indigenous traditional healing and medicineOrganizing transportation and deployment of essential goodsOrganizing against evictions, utility shut offs, ICE and immigration enforcementOrganizing for mental health and grief counseling resourcesOrganizing to protect affected lands from predatory investors and speculators
We Fund SOCIAL JUSTICE
Inequitable allocation of resources and access to power is at the root of many social problemsSocial justice work recognizes and exposes areas of inequality and develops equitable solutions towards a better worldSocial justice work is done with, often by, ​not​ for, marginalized groupsSocial justice work creates or delivers to those most disempowered the skills and tools needed to positively alter this social context
We Fund Many Intersecting Categories of Work
​Action ResearchArts & Cultural ActivismCross-Issue Organizing Human and Civil Rights Environmental Justice Economic JusticeGrassroots Leadership Political OrganizingPeace and International Solidarity Movement BuildingYouth OrganizingPublic Policy AdvocacyWorkers’ RightsIndigenous Rights Reproductive JusticeDisability JusticeLandback

Eligibility

If the work of your group is eligible for funding, you do not need to have IRS 501c3 tax exempt status.

Ineligibility

We do not fund:Activities that promote specific political candidates for public officeMajor Capital ExpendituresFor-Profit Business VenturesGovernment Agencies (Local, State, Federal)ScholarshipsIndividual projects (e.g. graduate research, fellowships, etc.)Organizations with strong leadership from only one individualReimbursementsWork outside of Hawai‘iEndowmentsOne-time events that are neither part of or linked to ongoing social change organizing strategiesPreviously funded groups with outstanding grant reportsSocial service organizations without a strong social change componentGroups with an organizational budget over $300,000 or significant access to mainstream funding