About 170 Hawaii nonprofits providing food, healthcare and other services are slated to share $40 million in legislative grants this year.

Read more IRONMAN: Newsom, Feng win Honu 70.3

State lawmakers decided on the sum and picked recipients as part of crafting the state budget bill, which awaits action by Gov. Josh Green.

The $40 million appropriation total under the Legislature’s annual Grants-in-Aid program is up from $30 million in each of the two prior years. It also equals what was appropriated in 2023 but is less than $49 million approved in 2022.

However, last year lawmakers also set up an additional one-time grant program that provided $50 million to nonprofits that lost federal funding or primarily serve a population negatively affected by federal funding cuts.

Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, in a May 6 speech on the Senate chamber floor preceding a final vote on the budget bill, said as chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee overseeing state finances that enlarging grant distributions this year was done to help maintain key programs during a continued period of federal uncertainty.

“This increase helps offset reductions in federal funding and ensures continued support for essential services,” said Dela Cruz (D, Mililani-Wahiawa-Whitmore Village).

Rep. Kyle Yamashita, grants-in-aid manager for the House Finance Committee, said making selections was difficult but resulted in what he described as an even distribution across a broad spectrum of service areas.

“I must say it was a challenge only because there was well north of 430-something applications that came in,” Yamashita (D, Pukalani- Makawao-Ulupalakua) said at an April 30 meeting in a state Capitol conference room where House and Senate negotiators agreed on a final draft of the budget bill, House Bill 1800.

There were 443 applications submitted for legislative aid grants this year, and 177 were approved, including two each for 11 organizations.

Under the program, organizations can apply for grants to help fund operations or for capital improvement projects or both. The $40 million in awards approved this year is divided equally between the two types.

Applicants often receive less than they seek because lawmakers generally want to help as many applicants as they can with a limited pool of money.

One approved applicant this year was the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, also known as Haleiwa Main Street, which was approved for a $50,000 award after applying in January for $59,691 to cover half the salaries of its two paid employees.

Carol Philips, the organization’s volunteer president and owner of surf lesson business North Shore Surf Girls, said the contribution is especially valuable given that many residents and businesses of the North Shore are still recovering from destructive flooding in March.

“We’re a small organization,” she said. “We’re not super rich.”

The North Shore Chamber of Commerce operates a visitor and business service center in Haleiwa town that provides tourists with information and also offers printing and other office services for area businesses and community members on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Read more Family, friends share stories about the three men slain in Puna killing spree

The organization, which also puts on annual holiday events and maintains historical town documents, said in its application that its use of membership dues, fundraising event proceeds, and donations to run the visitor and business service center cuts into its ability to carry out its other work.

Philips said it’s challenging for businesses to support the organization with dues even in good times, and that being approved for a legislative grant in the wake of the flooding that has depressed business makes the organization even more grateful for the selection.

“The timing of this is really good because our businesses are all hurting, and our community is still very much in recovery,” she said. “We’re grateful.”

Grant awardees are typically nonprofits but also can be for-profit businesses if the funding is for a public purpose. Most organizations are involved in healthcare, social services, arts, education, environmental stewardship and culture.

This year, the biggest award was $1 million for Hospice of Hilo while the smallest award was $12,000 for Surfing the Nations.

Hospice of Hilo, doing business as Hawaii Care Choices, applied for $2 million in part to help the organization build a workforce training center in Hilo that would help turn out a new generation of palliative care professionals to serve more Hawaii island community members.

“Demand for hospice, palliative care, and grief support continues to grow, yet Hawaii Care Choices’ existing facilities were not designed to meet today’s level of need,” the organization’s application said. “As Hawaii Care Choices launches its island-wide palliative care program, the Hilo training center becomes the hub that continuously prepares nurses, social workers, and other clinicians to deliver expert pain management and whole-person support not only in East Hawaii, but across West and North Hawaii as well. … Instead of depending on off-island recruitment or sporadic training, this center will create a steady pipeline of skilled professionals who can live and work in Kona, Waimea, Kohala, and surrounding areas.”

Surfing the Nations was selected for both a $12,000 operational grant and a $35,000 capital improvement grant.

The nonprofit, established in 1998 and largely serving Wahiawa, runs a flagship program called Changing Lives Among Youth that offers free after-school care and enrichment to middle- and high-school students who are disadvantaged economically or at risk. The operating grant is intended to support this program.

The capital improvement grant for Surfing the Nations is to build a durable canopy or roof structure and add refrigeration and storage to a weekly food distribution operation at its community outreach and training center in Wahiawa.

“Wahiawa has historically experienced higher-than-average poverty rates and food insecurity, particularly among families with children, immigrants, and working-poor households,” the organization said in its application.

The Legislature’s annual grant application window is typically between December and January. For more information about the program, visit capitol.hawaii.gov/session/gia.aspx.

Read more MLB roundup: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers cruise past Phillies