UPCOMING EVENTS

Oct 22 @12pm Investing in Change: Foundation Support for Lobbying and Advocacy

Co-hosted by Funder Hui and Stupski Foundation.

Private and public foundations can play an important role in advocacy by engaging in advocacy themselves and funding their grantees to advocate on their issues. After this workshop, your foundation will have a clear understanding of the kinds of advocacy activities you can safely engage in and best practices for grantmaking to give your grantees the most flexibility under the law for their advocacy efforts. Not sure how to make the case for funding advocacy? Uncertain whether you can fund grantees that lobby? Wondering whether your public or private foundation can speak out on a particular issue? This training answers these questions and more! The workshop is designed for foundation staff and trustees.

Training relates to supporting lobbying/advocacy for 501c3s.

Speaker:

  • Quyen Tu, Legal Director for the Bolder Advocacy program at the Alliance for Justice, where she empowers nonprofit organizations to amplify their advocacy impact through expert legal guidance. Her professional journey spans public interest lawyering to private practice. As a founding host of the "Rules of the Game" podcast, Quyen demystifies complex legal rules, helping nonprofits navigate regulatory challenges and become more effective advocates for social change.

Register Here

Oct 27 @12pm Year of The Ocean Learning Series: Community Led Local Marine Management

As part of Funder Hui's Year of the Ocean series, this session will explore how community-led stewardship models are shaping local marine resource management across Hawaiʻi, from limu and fishpond restoration to place-based park management. Speakers will share lessons from on-the-ground efforts like the Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana's work at Hāʻena State Park on Kauaʻi alongside insights on funding pathways supporting this work, including the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation's Holomua Marine Initiative. Attendees will come away with a clearer picture of what community-driven ocean stewardship looks like in practice and how coalitions, philanthropy, and local leadership intersect to sustain it.

Speakers

  • Kevin Chang, Executive Director, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA)

  • Dana Okano, Program Director, Natural Environment, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation

  • Billy Kinney Jr, Assistant Director, Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana

  • Moderator: Amber Datta, Program Officer for Thriving Nearshore Oceans, Harold KL Castle Foundation

Register Here

Oct 29 @10am LNG Part 3: Climate and Environmental Concerns with LNG

This session examines the climate and environmental stakes of importing LNG to Oʻahu — from its greenhouse gas footprint and role in Hawaiʻi's clean energy transition to potential local environmental and community health impacts. We'll explore how LNG fits or conflicts with the state's climate goals and what environmental review processes should be considered as this proposal moves forward.

Speakers:

  • Marti Townsend, Coalition Advisor, Local Power Hawaiʻi

  • Wayne Tanaka, Executive Director, Sierra Club Hawaiʻi

  • Moderator: Maka Gibson, Resources Legacy Fund

Register Here

Dec 1 @12pm Year of The Ocean | Mauka to Makai - Upstream Solutions

This session is the final call in Funder Hui's Year of the Ocean learning call series. It will examine how upstream land-based actions—from stormwater runoff to watershed management—directly shape the health of Hawaiʻi's nearshore waters and reefs. Speakers will share on-the-ground approaches to reducing pollution and restoring watershed function, drawing on efforts spanning coastal cleanup and advocacy, community-based watershed restoration, and stream and water quality stewardship. Attendees will leave with a mauka-to-makai understanding of how upstream interventions can protect coastal ecosystems and where funders can support this connected work.

Speakers:

  • Hannah Lilley, Surfrider Foundation

  • Rafael Bergstrom, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi

  • Doug Harper, Malama Maunalua

  • Stuart Coleman, WAI

  • Moderator: Carrie Ostroski, Executive Director, The Dorrance Family Foundation

Register Here

Do you want to convene a learning call?

Please note that some events and programming are limited to funders only, while others are open to the community.

To participate in a funder-based working group, please contact us at aloha@funderhui.org.

To become a supporting member of Funder Hui, click here.