THE FLEXIBLE FUNDING MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE As the old adage goes, sometimes you need to spend money to make money. And that’s precisely what Hawai‘i Forest Institute Executive Director Heather Simmons did when the organization was awarded a FLEX Grant for $28,000 four years ago. “We were able to launch our rolling campaign. ‘MAHALO ‘AINA: Give Back to the Forest Initiative,’ which to date has brought in $160,000 and counting,� says Simmons. “We also used our FLEX Grant to hire interns and help with administrative and operations costs that aren’t covered by other funding sources, but that are absolutely critical to our mission.�

These funds empower nonprofits to use money where they need it most

And that’s the beauty of HCF’s FLEX Grant Program, which was HVWDEOLVKHGLQWREHQHČ´W KLJKSHUIRUPLQJQRQSURČ´WV )XQGVWKDWČľRZWKURXJKWKH SURJUDPHPSRZHUQRQSURČ´WV to use the grant where they need it most, whether that be IRUVWDÎ?VDODULHVXWLOLW\ELOOVRU the occasional car repair. These

are using their data to continually improve.

types of ‘unrestricted’ funds are QRWRULRXVO\GLÉ?FXOWWRFRPH E\LQWKHQRQSURČ´WZRUOGDQG are indispensable to these organizations. “Most of the grants we get are very limited in scope and don’t give us the discretion to spend on everyday business H[SHQVHVOLNHVWDÉ?QJRUXWLOLWLHVČ‹ says Simmons. “These FLEX funds not only cover those costs, but we can leverage them to bring in additional funds.â€? The FLEX Grant Program RÎ?HUVGRQRUVDXQLTXHZD\WR VXSSRUWQRQSURČ´WVGRLQJJRRG work in the community. HCF KDVLGHQWLČ´HGRUJDQL]DWLRQVWR receive these grants that are demonstrating the importance of their work in the community, FDQVKRZČ´QDQFLDOVWDELOLW\DQG

“We realize that providing discretionary VXSSRUWWRQRQSURČ´WV UHTXLUHVDOHYHORI trust, so we spend a lot of time vetting these organizations to assure our donors that these really are high-performing QRQSURČ´WVWKDWNQRZ how to maximize funding for the most impact,â€? says +&)3URJUDP2É?FHU2SKHOLD Bitanga-Israel. “The FLEX grant award says we trust WKHQRQSURČ´WWRVSHQGWKHLU resources in a way that best furthers their mission.â€? 5HSDLULQJHTXLSPHQWZKHQ QHHGHGKLULQJVWDÎ?DQG SXUFKDVLQJRÉ?FHVXSSOLHV make it possible for non SURČ´WVWRVWUHQJWKHQRXU communities. That’s the big promise of little things.

DID YOU KNOW: 950 FLEX Grants totaling $21.7 million have been awarded to local nonprofits since the program started in 2013.

To learn how you can transform your generosity into lasting change, visit: HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org