Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program is proud to deliver the Kaulunani Community Grant Program.

Tree Planting at Blanche Pope Elementary

Kaulunani grants have made nearly every urban area in Hawai‘i greener and more enjoyable through projects that have enabled the planting of, and support for community trees and our ‘āina.

Kaulunani has awarded grants to hundreds of non-profit groups, schools, community organizations, parks, museums and arboretums. As of 2019, over $3.6 million dollars has been awarded to almost 400 projects through these cost-share grants, which have been matched by over $8 million dollars in cash and in-kind contributions. Our grant program funds proposals that support urban and community forestry projects as well as the Arbor Day tree giveaway programs across the State.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES WITH KAULUNANI:

A Note for Proposed Tree Planting Projects:

Tree planting projects are asked to use native species, Polynesian introductions, or non-invasive plants that are screened by the Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment and are predicted to be a low risk of becoming invasive. All Budget forms for tree planting/giveaway projects must include Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) scores. These can be found through the Plant Pono or Hawaii Weed Risk Assessment websites.

Assessing Weed Risk Background:  The federal Executive Orders on invasive species (EO 13112 and reaffirmed by EO 13751) directs executive departments and agencies to take steps to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species, and to support efforts to eradicate and control invasive species that are established.  Kaulunani has supported the refinement and expansion of the Weed Risk Assessment system developed in Australia into a system tailored for Hawaiʻi and similar Pacific islands. In subsequent years, Kaulunani funds supported a liaison position to work with nursery and landscape industry and conservation, to bring awareness of the HPWRA, and in 2010, Kaulunani funded a user-friendly website (Plant Pono) where the public can access the HPWRA information and search for appropriate plants.  Use these tools to demonstrate your project promotes the expansion of a healthy, non-invaive urban and community forest.

Submitted?

Congratulations! The Kaulunani Advisory Council reviews and makes decisions on all applications during the forthcoming quarterly Council meeting. Check out the Kaulunani Council Page for more information on the Council and quarterly meeting dates.

Additional Grant Opportunities:

The table below lists some of the known opportunities for Urban & Community grant funding for which funding is available. We welcome your proposals to pursue any and all opportunities, please contact prior to submitting an application. Pre-Proposals are required.