Harold KL Castle Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This is the largest private foundation in Hawaii, with assets of $165 million and annual giving around $6 million, to support community, education, and marine conservation grants.
IP TAKE: Castle only supports grantmaking in Hawaii, and takes a community-based approach to protecting and managing nearshore ecosystems. The funder is driven by performance measures, but remains open to new ideas and grant seekers. A good funder to know if your work is based in or serves Hawaii, particularly O’ahu.
PROFILE: Founded in 1962, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation was established by Harold Kainalu Long Castle, a prominent landowner, developer and philanthropist in Hawaii, especially on the island of Oahu. While the foundation reflects multiple missions particular to education and community grantmaking, its marine conservation grantmaking seeks to “restore Hawaii’s nearshore marine life populations so that future generations can benefit and learn from this rich natural resource.” The foundation has several programs: Strengthening Windward O’ahu Communities, Public Education Redesign & Enhancement, Windward Youth Leadership Fund, Nearshore Marine Resource Conservation, and others.
Castle was a descendent of prominent businessmen and missionaries in Oahu in the 1800s, and was the sole heir of James Bicknell Castle. The Castle family, continuing with Harold K.L. Castle and wife Alice H. Castle, played a prominent role in the development of modern Hawaii. Castle bequeathed a sizable portion of his real estate assets to the Foundation upon his death in 1967.
According to Senior Program Officer Eric Co, the foundation is “wed to the community-based approach that is community motivated, non profit and science facilitated, and government authorized. In this light we work with all three of these stakeholder groups as well as many partners.” By email, Co said most of their grantees work with the community and tend to be collaborative, working to hit their goals, but also to build a network of partners that contribute to a co-management model of conservation. Grantees must be based in or benefiting Hawaii, using relevant performance measures and demonstrating realistic, measurable outcomes.
Grants for Marine Conservation
Castle’s Nearshore Marine Resource Conservation program seeks to increase the effective management of shorelines and reef ecosystems by creating short-term social change that then leads to long-term biological change. It hopes to increase effective marine management through education, regulation, and improved enforcement, which will ultimately restore, improve and/or preserve nearshore marine habitats for many years to come. The foundation also works to promote sustainable fisheries, and to benefit Hawaii’s economic—as well as cultural and recreational—resources.
Castle has evolved its theory of change, and contracted its seven strategies to five:
Support Hawaii’s capacity to properly manage the state’s resources.
Improve the State’s marine management infrastructure.
Build a community-based co-management model of practice.
Reduce land-based pollution measurably and meaningfully in at least one pilot site
Designate new areas and regulations that sustain resources and benefit all users.
Previous Marine grantees include the Department of Land and Natural resources among many others. See further past marine grantees here.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
The foundation makes grants to support education in Hawai’i within several grantmaking initiatives. The Strengthening Windward O’ahu Communities program makes grants for higher education “to dramatically increase the number of Windward Oʻahu youth who complete college and attain employment success, particularly in STEM careers” It also supports programs and organizations seeking grants for K-12 education “to ensure that all Windward Oʻahu students graduate high school with a mālama ‘āina mindset and the resiliency and civic skills needed to protect and restore the watersheds and fisheries of Koʻolauloa and Koʻolaupoko.” The Public Education Redesign & Enhancement program seeks to “help Hawaii’s youth to fulfill their most ambitious dreams by placing public school students on a path to success, with college credits and relevant career experiences.” Finally, Windward Youth Leadership Fund works to provide “a way for youth to make a difference in their community and gain valuable life experience by applying what they learn in school and in life.
Past education grantees include University of Hawaii Foundation, Teach for America, Education Incubator, and Hawaii Department of Education. See more previous education grantees here.
Grants for Community Development
In addition to the program’s education priorities, the Strengthening Windward O’ahu Communities initiative seeks to “support […] unique opportunities to strengthen the health, safety, and vibrancy of the region’s communities.” At first glance, Castle’s Other Investments in Hawai’i program may seem like a catchall; however, the program “proactively seeks proposals in other areas of focus when it sees a special opportunity to make a difference with limited resources.”
Additionally, the foundation funds grants in this category that “will allow a promising organization to make a quantum leap in its capacity to build resources for Hawai’i; will help spread innovative approaches to solving Hawai’i’s most pressing problems; or will significantly increase the impact of an institution that is already well known for its contributions to the health or social, economic, or cultural vitality of Hawai’i.”
The foundation also makes grants to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Past community development grantees include Hawaii Community Foundation, Domestic Violence Action Center, Hawaii Foodbank, and Child & Family Service. See further previous community development grantees here.
Important Grant Details:
While the foundation averages $6 million in grants each year, the number of grants and the total amount given can vary significantly. To view the foundation’s financials, click here. Castle accepts unsolicited grant inquiries but requests that grant seekers contact its staff to discuss their applications before completing their submissions.
Castle does not fund individuals, ongoing operating expenses, endowments, annual fund drives, and other exclusions. Grant seekers should study Castle’s extensive and in-depth website to learn more.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
