The Castle Foundation has long valued collaborative funding of projects where the Foundation feels we lack enough resources to support every early education request. Over the past thirty years, the Foundation’s trustees and executive director have raised over 50 million dollars for Hawaii’s non-profits from the state and federal governments and numerous corporate and private family foundation philanthropies in Hawaii and the Continental US. The trustees have augmented our limited dollars through collaborative innovation while obtaining additional investments for Hawaii’s children’s families.
We especially appreciate our chances to co-fund with our cousins at the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation in Honolulu and the Pettus Foundation in Saint Louis, Missouri.
In 2024, the Executive Director will continue his work with the National Early Education Funder’s Collaborative in Washington, DC, and the Early Childhood Funders Group in Hawaii. Both groups bring outstanding early learning and child well-being donors to the table for ongoing discussions and the design of innovative funding strategies to improve life for countless families in Hawaii.
For the mid-term future, the Castle Foundation will work with the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund to recover Lahaina’s early education and care capacity. Over 200 educational seats were lost in the West Maui fires, and ample work must be accomplished in 2024 and beyond. Working with and through the Hawaii Community Foundation, we can leverage our grants, obtain matching donations, and increase our footprint by working with well-prepared HCF staff and program experts.
Although most of our planned work on West Maui will be accomplished with our Hawaii Community Foundation partners, we will also make separate and individual grants, mainly for tuition assistance to Lahaina preschoolers. This process is described on this website under the Request for Proposals slated For 2024.
Our progress on these projects will be featured in our 2024 performance review.
