2025 Sony Open in Hawaii PGA TOUR tournament proceeds support Hawaiʻi’s children and kūpuna
HONOLULU, HI – Sony Open in Hawaii tournament host Friends of Hawaii Charities, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF), announced that it has distributed $1.2 million to nonprofit organizations statewide, supporting the Aloha United Way ALICE programs, which focus on community resilience, elderly care, and early childhood social-emotional development. The Kūpuna Aging in Place and Promising Mind/CHANGE framework initiatives reflect the shared commitment of Friends of Hawaii Charities and HCF to improve the vulnerable of all ages in island communities.
“Friends of Hawaii Charities is deeply honored to stand alongside the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, supporting local nonprofit organizations that are truly the heart of Hawaiʻi nei and our community,” said Corbett A. K. Kalama, the organization’s president. “Through the continued success of the Sony Open in Hawaii PGA TOUR golf tournament, we can provide essential, sustained funding–providing multi-year grants to these vital programs. This commitment gives the caring hands and dedicated hearts, not only the stability to extend their impact, but also sustains platforms that give voice to those who need it most – our keiki (youth), our kūpuna (elderly), and vulnerable families in our community. We are all connected and striving together toward a better today, for an even brighter tomorrow.”
ALOHA UNITED WAY / 2025-2027 ALICE INITIATIVE COHORT
Nearly $4 million will be invested over three years as part of the 2025 - 2027 ALICE Initiative Cohort, which includes 20 Hawaiʻi nonprofit organizations dedicated to uplifting hardworking families who are ASSET LIMITED, INCOME CONSTRAINED and EMPLOYED (ALICE). These recipients demonstrate incredible strength and determination, working tirelessly yet still struggling to meet their families’ basic needs, without any financial savings for unexpected costs. ALICE represents a growing number of households living just above the Federal Poverty Line, often ineligible for government aid, but deeply committed to building stable, self-sufficient lives. According to the 2024 ALICE in Hawaiʻi Report, two in five island households face these challenges, with 29 percent identified as ALICE and 12 percent living in poverty.
KŪPUNA AGING IN PLACE
In addition to helping working families through the Aloha United Way / ALICE program, Friends of Hawaii Charities and Hawaiʻi Community Foundation are investing in the care and support of Hawaiʻi’s aging population. For over 30 years, HCF has supported elder care via multi-year grants, empowering nonprofit organizations which provide a wide range of services for low- to moderate-income kūpuna aged 65 and older. Services include community-based support, adult day care and adult day health programs, as well as caregiver assistance. With an over-arching goal of helping Hawaiʻi’s kūpuna age in place with dignity and support, HCF awarded over $3.7 million in grants to sixteen nonprofit organizations statewide, with distribution over a three-year period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026.
PROMISING MINDS / CHANGE FRAMEWORK
Building on these efforts, another important initiative that has made a significant impact in Hawaiʻi is the Promising Minds Initiative. Focused on nurturing the well-being of children under the age of 6 – especially those at risk of trauma, abuse, or neglect – Promising Minds addresses critical challenges facing Hawaiʻi’s youngest keiki and their ‘ohana (families). To date, nine non-profit organizations have received a total of $1,430,217 in funding, including multi-year grants supporting work from 2023 to 2025.
In 2025, the Friends of Hawaii Charities contributed $150,000 toward a new health and wellness funding opportunity within Promising Minds. Part of CHANGE, this framework supports nonprofit organizations in addressing early childhood mental health concerns by easing stigma such as parental reluctance, and guiding families to the support and assistance they deserve.
Grant recipient Kōkua Kalihi Valley
About Friends of Hawaii Charities
A 501(c)(3), Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc. was formed in 1998 through the shared vision and collaboration of a group of business and community leaders to provide support for local not-for-profit programs that serve and benefit Hawaii’s women, youth, elderly, and impoverished. The Friends’ principal fund-raising event is the Sony Open in Hawaii PGA TOUR golf tournament held at Waialae Country Club annually. Friends of Hawaii Charities (FOHC) activates financial resources from the private sector and spirited volunteerism from the community, in concert with the extraordinary natural resources of the state, to produce sports and cultural events that generate funds for qualifying not-for-profit endeavors in Hawai‘i. For more information, visit friendsofhawaii.org or SonyOpeninHawaii.com.
About the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
The vision of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation is to create an equitable and vibrant Hawai‘i in which all our Island communities thrive. With our more-than-108-year history, our trusted expertise, and the generous support of donors, we are working to address the root causes of our state’s most difficult challenges, including expanding access to affordable housing, conserving freshwater resources, and ensuring the healthy development of Hawaiʻi’s young children. We focus our efforts through the CHANGE Framework, which identifies six essential sectors affecting the overall well-being of these islands and their people. HCF works in communities across Hawaiʻi, with offices and staff located statewide. In 2024, HCF stewarded more than 1,160 funds, established by individuals, businesses, and organizations who share our passion for a better Hawaiʻi. We distributed over $172 million in grants to the community from funds at HCF, contracts, and private foundations statewide, including scholarships assisting more than 1,100 Hawaiʻi students. For more information about HCF, please visit hawaiicommunityfoundation.org and follow HCF social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
