In the Spirit of Generosity
In 1916, when Hawai‘i Community Foundation was founded, the concept of philanthropy was well-established in Hawai‘i. Monarchs from King Kamehameha I onward willed portions of their estates to found what would become stalwart organizations of public benefit such as Kamehameha Schools, Queen’s Hospital and Kapi‘olani Children’s Hospital. Missionaries and humanitarian missions founded chapters of such organizations as the YMCA, Humane Society and the United Welfare Fund.
Hawai‘i Community Foundation began as the Hawaiian Foundation, a benevolent organization funded by the unclaimed funds from those who died without a will on file. Today, it thrives on the legacy funds of departed patrons as well as donations from the community. Its focus has always been improving the lives of the people of Hawai‘i, no matter their origin or skin color. HCF continues to turn tragic events into public benefit, especially from Hawai‘i’s disasters over the century.
News of the devastation of Kaua‘i after Hurricane Iniki in 1992 saw major outpourings of sentiment from around the world. This disaster sparked a resurgence of generosity in the Hawaiian Islands, with 97% of Kaua‘i households giving to charity. With organizations like HCF making maximum public benefit from donations, the flywheel was engaged. HCF grew in energy and scope, expanding its mission to include environmental, health care, education and the arts.
With a recent disaster fresh in our minds — the wildfires that claimed about 100 lives in historic Lahaina, Maui — the flywheel is spinning in overdrive. “If you flip the Maui situation upside down, we have 275,000 people that have expressed their aloha for Maui,” says Micah Kane, the CEO of HCF. “This makes me think of how we make ambassadors to the world.” Four hundred corporate partners have stepped up to show their support for Maui Strong, including TikTok, Uber and McDonalds. HCF is providing a wide range of services such as childcare, housing, mental health and grief counseling. “I’m so proud of how we are developing strategies and resources [in support of Maui]. It’s such a complex disaster that will continue to change Maui County for years to come. We are fully immersed in supporting the people there,” Kane says.
Kane’s vision for HCF is an innovative, holistic approach to philanthropy and problem solving. This involves addressing critical issues in every aspect of life. HCF provides support for infants and the elderly, and funds programs from arts to the environment. Kane has been CEO for seven of his 14 years with HCF. He draws inspiration from the departed Sam Cooke, an emeritus board member. During a renovation of their headquarters in the historic C. Brewer & Co. building in downtown Honolulu, Kane stumbled upon some old documents from Mr. Cooke. “I realized how forward thinking and generous he was. I want to emulate that,” he says.
When tackling Hawai‘i's most intractable problems, like affordable housing and the related issues of homelessness, “you have to stop tinkering around the edges. The costs of infrastructure need to come down and we are working to accelerate the trajectory of progress,” Kane says, pointing to successful government-led infrastructure projects in areas like Kailua and Pacific Palisades that allowed the private sector to create vibrant and highly desirable communities.
Holistic approaches involve public and private stakeholders working together to share competitive advantages. The Promising Minds office is now up and running in the State Department of Health which brings behavior health interventions to underserved youth in their critical development years between birth and 5 years old. “The government can reach lots of people at scale. This one is giving us great hope.” This is especially important to Kane who was a beneficiary of Kamehameha Schools Indigent and Orphan Child program after his mother passed away when he was very young. “From grade school to college to graduate school, I’ve been immersed philanthropy my entire life. My wife and I are working to give back in any way we can.”
HCF provides numerous scholarships and grants to support education, many from the bequest of departed donors and a wide range of corporate partners. HCF enables people of all economic status to participate in philanthropy by providing programs and consulting so donors can maximize their impact via estate planning, tax deduction calculators and professional advisors.
If Hawai‘i’s compounding problem seem intractable, Micah’s outlook is optimistic. “There is hope. We are the world’s biggest village. The truth is that we all look out for each other.”
For more information or to donate, visit hawaiicommunityfoundation.org.