HCF developed this funding opportunity to support organizations that intentionally place youth in decision-making roles where they can co-create and influence their own learning experiences. Through these grants, HCF aims to better understand how organizations are authentically elevating youth voice and empowering young people to lead change within the systems that shape their education and future.
HCF awarded general operating support grants totaling $1,200,000 to 12 organizations for this 2-year program (12/31/2025 – 12/31/2027). Learn more about the grantees below:.
Adult Friends for Youth (Oʻahu) – AFY has provided SEL and trauma-informed support to Hawaiʻi’s high-risk youth for more than 38 years. Its new year-round youth leadership initiative helps young people engage across differences, build healthy relationships, and co-create solutions. It aims to break down the barriers that perpetuate cycles of harm and build structures that support healing, belonging, and peace – led by youth facilitators who are former gang leaders using their lived experience to create safer pathways for their peers.
After-School All-Stars Hawai‘i – ASAS provides after-school programming for middle school students and incorporates youth voice through its Youth Advisory Boards at each site. These boards offer programmatic recommendations and meet twice a year with staff and stakeholders to inform organizational priorities. Students also lead advocacy projects designed to shift community narratives and address local issues. In addition, youth are empowered to engage in broader civic leadership through participation in the Legislature’s Keiki Caucus and the Children and Youth Summit.
Boys and Girls Club of Hawai‘i – BGCH provides youth programs at sites on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, serving approximately 3,200 youth and teens annually, the majority of whom come from low-income households. Their programs aim to support youth in becoming productive, caring, and responsible citizens. This includes the Leaders in Training (LIT) program, which builds leadership skills and provides opportunities for youth to apply their learning through strategically planned activities that address youth issues. LIT participants also engage in the Teen Advisory Council (TAC), which brings together Boys and Girls Club youth statewide to discuss pressing issues and develop youth-led solutions.
‘Ekolu Mea Nui – Ekolu Mea Nui’s Nā ʻŌpio Waiwai Initiative was created by and for justice-impacted youth. The organization aims to influence public policy and community narratives related to the criminal justice system. Youth determine the organization’s policy priorities, develop the skills needed to engage in systems change, and provide testimony on behalf of the organization. The initiative’s goals are to increase youth agency, strengthen their sense of kuleana, and build collective action to end intergenerational incarceration.
HawaiiKidsCAN (50CAN) – The mission of HIKidsCAN is to empower communities with access to information so they can elevate their voices and concerns. Their youth advocacy work focuses on developing youth as local ambassadors, providing meaningful learning experiences, and supporting them to consider how to activate their knowledge within their communities. Through this work, youth have created a network aimed at influencing public policy and addressing systemic issues through student-designed solutions and actions.
Kanu Hawai‘i – Kanu’s mission is to empower individuals and communities to build a more sustainable, compassionate, and resilient Hawaiʻi. In 2022, it launched its Student Ambassador Program to cultivate youth leadership across the state. Through an MOU with the DOE, student ambassadors co-create curriculum aligned with the Nā Hopena Aʻo framework, making it accessible to all public schools. Students also serve on the DOE design team, helping to shape the curriculum’s content, delivery, and evaluation.
Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services – KKV has served the Kalihi Valley community for more than 50 years, launching its youth-focused work in 1989 and now operating six initiatives that support positive youth development. Its Uplifting Youth Voices program was created in response to recent gang-related shootings, with the goal of building youth-led cohorts, strengthening connections across educational programs, and supporting gang diversion efforts through culturally grounded, youth-driven activities.
Partners In Care – PIC established the Oʻahu Youth Action Board (OYAB), which has operated since 2017. OYAB’s mission is to ensure that youth voices meaningfully shape decisions related to education, housing, and community well-being. The board is composed of youth with lived experience in homelessness, poverty, and systemic inequalities. Its five-member youth executive team—supported by two PIC staff—sets the vision, priorities, and day-to-day operations. OYAB is contracted by the Hawaiʻi Department of Education to lead youth-driven initiatives with a particular focus on supporting homeless youth statewide.
Purple Mai‘a Foundation – Purple Mai‘a is a youth-serving organization whose work has sat at the intersection of technology, education, and culture since 2013. Their Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy program empowers youth to serve as advocates for food security and food systems change through a peer mentorship model. Now in its fifth cohort, the program trains students in policy, advocacy, and systems thinking, while allowing youth to determine which issues to elevate and how to advance their solutions through public advocacy. Each year, participants apply their learning by shaping PM’s own food safety strategies and policies, creating a cycle in which youth leadership informs organizational priorities and strengthens PM’s long-term impact on food security.
Vibrant Hawai‘i – Vibrant Hawai‘i launched its youth-designed and youth-led ‘Ōpio Alliance for Kuleana Advancement (‘OAKA) program in 2022 to build leadership, career readiness, and civic engagement skills. Youth serve as decision-makers and facilitators—identifying priorities, designing solutions, and implementing and evaluating activities. VH notes strong youth influence on the organization, including a team in which half of members are under age 26.
Wisdom Center for Autism – TWC’s Empower’d Maui Program serves LGBT+ and Māhū youth in Maui County, providing both online and in-person spaces for teens and young adults to connect, lead, and build community. The program is fully youth-driven, with services organized and designed by LGBT+ young adults in partnership with the teens they serve. Participants engage in leadership in-action projects—such as accessibility improvements and creative wellness events—allowing youth to design and implement tangible community efforts that affirm their identities and strengthen their sense of agency.
Wisdom Circles Oceania – Wisdom Circles Oceania aims to strengthen community well-being through arts and cultural connection, particularly for youth and families affected by trauma. Its Youth Arts Leadership program provides underserved youth with coaching, leadership development, and community-connected learning. Youth help lead community arts activities, co-create and refine curriculum, and provide feedback that informs programmatic and organizational decisions.