Kauai County awards grants of up to $20,000 to 16 nonprofits, from food boxes for seniors to sea turtle guardians
The Office of the Mayor chose the 16 from 54 proposals for its grant-in-aid program, nearly $200,000 in all, for projects running from Oct. 16, 2026, to Oct. 15, 2027.
Lihue. Sixteen nonprofits on Kauai will share nearly $200,000 in county grants for projects that run through Oct. 15, 2027, the County of Kauai Office of the Mayor announced on Oct. 22. The office received 54 proposals, reviewed and scored them, and selected 16 for funding.
The grant-in-aid program pays for services and activities that meet a distinctive cultural, social or economic need for which adequate federal or state funding cannot be secured, the county says. Eligible nonprofits could apply for up to $20,000. The announcement does not give the amount of each award. The funding period began Oct. 16.
Who received grants
The county sorted the awards into three groups. Six are social: Able Ministries Outreach, for Able Prom 2027, a prom night for guests with special needs and disabilities; Waimea Project Grad 2010 and the Kauai High School PAIRS PTSA, each for a drug and alcohol free graduation night for the Class of 2027; the Keala Foundation, for operations at its youth community center; Na Keiki Kollective, for an initiative that lowers cost and other barriers to play and enrichment for families; and Life Bridges Hawaii, for its Good Grief Club, which supports people coping with the loss of a loved one.
Four are economic: the Kauai Robotics Alliance, for the season costs of student teams in FIRST robotics programs; Hawaii Foodbank, which distributes food to pantries, shelters and other partner agencies across the island; the Zonta Club of Kauai Scholarship Foundation, for scholarships for young women graduating from Kauai high schools; and the Kauai Food Bank, for its Kupuna Food Box Program, which delivers monthly food packages to homebound seniors.
Six are cultural: the Garden Island Arts Council, for I Kanikapila Kakou, a free series of Hawaiian music workshops and jam sessions; Na Kupuna O Kauai Legacy of Aloha, for a ceremony honoring elders for a lifetime of service; the Kapaia Foundation, for Koinobori Kauai 2027, a Children's Day display of carp streamers; Garden Island Resource Conservation and Development, for a program that introduces children to the canoe and to paddling; Hawaii Children's Theatre, for its Summer Stars theater program; and Malama I Na Honu, for its Poipu Beach Honu Guardians, volunteers who watch over green sea turtles resting on the beach and ask people to give them space.
How the round ran
Applications opened Aug. 15. The county first set a Sept. 11 deadline and said applicants would hear about funding around Sept. 28; on Sept. 14 it moved the deadline to Sept. 30, and the awards followed on Oct. 22. Local news site Kauai Now reported them on Oct. 25.
About this story
501c3.help wrote this story from the sources listed with it, not from material an organization sent. Our editors approved it on Oct. 27, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
Found an error? Write to [email protected] and we will correct it.
For the organizations in this story: put the badge on your website
Put it on your About page or wherever you list press mentions, rather than in a footer that repeats on every page. It links to this story.
Linking is welcome and never required. Nothing about the story changes either way.