The County of Maui Department of ʻŌiwi Resources is awarding funding to 11 local projects through the competitive County of Maui grants program.  

“Working alongside our local nonprofits honors the kuleana we have to ʻŌiwi Strongholds, ʻŌiwi Resources and ʻŌiwi Voices,” Director Kaponoʻai Molitau said. “Knowing that we only have one Maui Nui to care for, the Department of ʻŌiwi Resources reaffirms that, together, we can uplift the people and places that make our islands nō ka ʻoi. These grant recipients are working tirelessly to strengthen our communities, and we look forward to their projects, as well as future opportunities that elevate Maui Nui.”

Community grant awards totaling approximately $450,000 coincide with Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language Month), commemorated each February to celebrate and honor Hawaiian language and culture.

February 2026 awards and grant divisions are as follows:
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Kīpuka Division (ʻŌiwi Strongholds)

Focuses on safeguarding and stewarding lands of concentrated natural and cultural importance to ensure enduring access to healthy, natural resources and spaces where community may thrive

• Nā Hana Mālama Hou ($41,095) of Ke Ao Hāliʻi will continue the conservation efforts and work at Mokae and Makaʻalae restoring native plants, protecting resources and creating māla to help sustain the community during unexpected supply disruptions, and/or economic instability.

• Canoe Culture, Stewardship and Youth Leadership ($50,000) of Nā Kai ʻEwalu will deliver a 12-month educational program that revives, develops and perpetuates Hawaiian culture, language, stewardship and canoe traditions through instruction and training.

• Pilina I Honolua ($50,000) of Aloha Puʻu Kukui will preserve, protect and amplify the natural resources, cultural connectivity and sense of place ma uka to ma kai in the ahupuaʻa of Honolua and the relationship with waʻa ‘ohana (Hōkūleʻa, Moʻokiha o Piʻilani and others).

• Hoʻomaʻemaʻe ($25,000) of Paukūkalo Hawaiian Homes Community Association will create a safe, culturally pono space for ʻohana, be a resource for food sustainability primarily for the community and safeguard ʻāina for the use of present and future generations.

• Hoʻoulu Mālalani ($25,000) of Keokea Homestead Farm Lots Association will expand the current Mālalani community garden by an additional acre, implementing traditional and regenerative farming practices, wildfire prevention/disaster training and providing culturally appropriate agricultural education.

Kumuwaiola Division (ʻŌiwi Resources)

Provides programs that champion and preserve life-giving, life-sustaining elements of the natural world by defending and amplifying the conditions essential to thriving eco-cultural landscapes and vital cultural resources

• Maui Hikina ‘Opihi Surveys ($50,000) of Kipahulu ʻOhana Inc. aims to restore and protect culturally significant ʻopihi populations through community-led monitoring, traditional management practices and collaborative research.

• Kūkulu Pilina ($28,000) of Maui Huliau Foundation will deliver a professional development program designed to strengthen Hawaiʻi Department of Education’s Nā Hopena Aʻo (HĀ) outcomes by supporting educators in integrating ʻāina aloha practices and community partnerships into school culture and curriculum.

Pai Ka Leo Division (ʻŌiwi Voices)

Empowers and uplifts Native Hawaiian voices and reinvigorates the use of Hawaiian language in government and in our larger community in sincerity and fidelity to both official languages of Hawaiʻi – English and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi

• I Ka ʻŌlelo No Ke Ola – Phase II ($50,000) of Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani will strengthen Piʻilani’s teaching corps, support language revitalization and sustain a thriving Hawaiian-medium school for Maui’s keiki and ‘ohana.

• He ʻŌlelo i Maʻa ai Oʻu Mau Kūpuna ($50,000) of Ma Ka Hana Ka ʻIke will provide equitable access to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi education and improve vocational and cultural pathways that prepare East Maui youth to thrive as leaders rooted in Hawaiian language, culture and identity.

• ʻIke Pāpālua ($50,000) of Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui will deliver a program that integrates Hawaiian language and cultural practice by teaching foundational word clusters alongside hands-on traditional arts, empowering students to connect linguistic understanding with lived expressions of Hawaiian values, environmental stewardship and community well-being.

• Collective Pilina Theater: Local Voices on Stage ($25,000) of Archive for Health, Arts, and Spirit (AHAS) is a theater initiative that uplifts Maui’s diverse community voices, especially Native Hawaiian and underrepresented storytellers, through live performance, writing workshops and cultural mentorship.

For general department information, visit https://www.mauicounty.gov/oiwiresources. For information about department grants, call (808) 270-1719 or email oiwigrants@co.maui.hi.us.