A homeless person in Hawaii. Nonprofits in Hawaii are facing a loss of funding during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Flickr
A homeless person in Hawaii. Nonprofits in Hawaii are facing a loss of funding during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Flickr
As nonprofit groups in Hawaii struggle financially during the COVID-19 pandemic, an old saying, “In order to do good, you must first do well,” comes to mind for many.
Demand for services is spiraling along with COVID-19 cases but revenue is heading in the opposite direction, Honolulu Civil Beat reported.
It cited the troubles faced by organizations from the YMCA to nonprofit hospitals as they try to make ends meets during COVID-19. The story described the “financial chaos” that the pandemic has brought, and concludes that many nonprofits will have to merge or close.
“The best business model is a paying customer – but that customer isn’t showing up anymore,” Michelle Kauhane, senior vice president of community grants and initiatives at the Hawaii Community Foundation, told Honolulu Civil Beat. “Business modeling really has to change and that shift is going to be significant enough that not every single nonprofit can survive.”
The Hawaii Community Foundation oversees more than 950 funds, including more than 280 scholarships that were created by donors to improve communities.
In 2019 the foundation distributed more than $63 million in grants and contracts statewide. And in the tumultuous year of 2020, the foundation has helped distribute federal CARES Act grants.
“At HCF we see this time as an opportunity to learn forward and help,” Kauhane said in a news release. “And emergency grantmaking is one our organization’s core competencies.”
The foundation partnered with Maui County and Hawaiian Community Assets to create the Financial Opportunity Center in Wailuku that will help thousands of residents qualify for permanent affordable housing.
Certified counselors work with Maui residents to build up savings, pay off debt and improve credit scores. The program helps residents obtain grants or loans for rental deposits and down payments for homes.
The goal is to help 3,000 people over the next three years.
The foundation also worked with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to distribute $721,000 to 30 nonprofits for food-security programs.
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