Faces of
Philanthropy Fall 2011
Quarterly News from the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
Inspiring the Beauty in Community 2011 Cooke Foundation Beautification Award for Public Schools
OUR MISSION
Nomination forms are available at www.cookefdn.org
We help people make a difference by inspiring the spirit of giving and by investing in people and solutions to benefit every island community.
The Cooke Foundation’s Gregory Wrenn at the Roosevelt High School mural with school representatives
The Cooke Foundation, Ltd. has supported worthy endeavors in Hawai‘i since 1920, when the original Trust was established. As a family foundation that has been part of the fabric of the community for several generations, The Cooke Foundation involves a wide range of family members in its charitable grantmaking decisions. The Cooke Foundation Beautification Award for Public Schools was created four years ago from the basic notion that children deserve to be surrounded by beauty. “My great-great-grandmother and co-founder of The Cooke Foundation, Anna Rice Cooke had a profound love and appreciation for the arts,” said Gregory Wrenn, an Alternate Trustee for The Cooke Foundation, Ltd. and coordinator for the award program. “She knew that art can inspire people to do great things.” Currently, six Trustees serve on The Cooke Foundation’s Board of Trustees and each Trustee has two Alternate Trustees. Continuing the family tradition of the arts, education and philanthropy, Trustee Lynne Johnson came up with the idea of The Cooke Foundation Beautification Award for Public Schools and the Alternate Trustees ran with it. “We wanted to recognize and reward public schools that have completed beautification projects and to encourage other schools to do the same,” said Johnson.
Deadline: September 1, 2011
“Since we are not a large foundation, this was a great way to leverage our funds and make a big impact in the community.” Each year, The Cooke Foundation awards $5,000 to one elementary school, one middle school and one high school in the state that completes projects that add significantly to the overall appearance and ambiance of the school. A plan for maintaining the project that involves the broader school community must also be developed. This year’s recipients were Mokulele Elementary School, Washington Middle School and Roosevelt High School. At Roosevelt High School, 75 ceramic art students, alumni from the Class of 1960, teachers and staff worked together to create a dramatic ceramic tile mural fronting the school. The mosaic of tablets on this mural represent the school years from 1932 to the present. An astonishing amount of planning and effort went into this project, which was organized by the Class of 1960 as a project for its 50th class reunion and will continue as a maintenance project by its members. “Working on the mural created a stronger sense of community and school pride for current students and alumni alike,” said Jean Otake, project chairperson (continued on page 3)
For more information on connecting with a cause that you care about, please contact the Philanthropic Services Department at (808) 566-5560 (toll-free at 1-888-731-3863) or e-mail clientservices@hcf-hawaii.org
www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org
Leading the Mission
A message from our Chairman and President & CEO
Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s staff members donate school supplies for Helping Hands Hawai‘i’s Ready to Learn program. Neighbor Island staff also participated in the community service project that provided much needed items to children in need.
At the Foundation, our core values and corporate culture encourage not only a commitment to the organization, but support of the community as a whole. As the stewards of more than 600 funds, our staff members continue to appreciate the incredible stories behind them. We are also fortunate to be one of those stories as well. The Walk the Talk Fund was established in 2001 by the staff of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation to provide an opportunity for employees to collectively participate in the grantmaking process, and invest their own funds to help the causes that they care about. Ideas and nominations for grant awards come from the staff members’ personal experiences rather than from official proposals that are submitted to the Foundation. Over the years, $61,796 in grants have been awarded to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations throughout the state. This year, 10 organizations received awards totaling $12,100, including support for children of incarcerated women through Fishnet Ministries on O‘ahu, help for Alzheimer and dementia patients and their families through Maui
Adult Day Care, and support for young children with special needs through Easter Seals Hawai‘i on Kaua‘i.
SAVE THE DATE
Along those same lines, the staff participated for the first time in Helping Hands Hawai‘i’s Ready to Learn drive this summer. A friendly interoffice competition, which also included our neighbor island offices, resulted in an impressive amount of school supplies donated by staff to help children in need to be ready for school.
Conference of Nonprofit Communities of Hawai‘i
For us, it is an honor to be able to witness the amazing acts of giving every day by so many of you. Those positive effects translate into the work that we do to further support all of our donors’ philanthropic interests, and strengthens our community as well. Thank you for the inspiration.
Four local entities have joined forces to create a groundbreaking, two-day mega-conference for the leaders, employees and volunteers of Hawai‘i’s nonprofit sector. Internationally renowned keynote speakers, plus 50 diverse and informative sessions will cover a wide range of topics and issues that today’s organizations encounter, while incorporating innovation and new thought into the delivery of tomorrow’s programs and services.
Sincerely,
November 29–30, 2011 Sheraton Waikiki Hotel
Delivering Innovation—
The Future Is Not What It Used To Be
Sponsored by: Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Chaminade University of Honolulu Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (HANO)
Paul Kosasa Chairman of the Board
Kelvin H. Taketa President & CEO
Hawai‘i Community Foundation Sheraton Waikiki Hotel
More details to follow soon at www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org
We encourage your comments and questions. Please contact us via e-mail at clientservices@hcf-hawaii.org or call (808) 537-6333.
Facesof
Philanthropy Building Leaders on Hawai‘i Island The Isemoto Contracting Company has been doing business in Hawai‘i since 1926. They have built an excellent reputation over the years for their quality work and reliability. In 2006, the Isemoto Contracting Co., Ltd. Scholarship Fund for high school graduates from the island of Hawai‘i was established at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. The fund is open to all high school graduates from the island of Hawai‘i who are entering their third year in engineering, nursing and teaching. Since its creation, the fund has awarded $28,000 to 13 students. Leslie Isemoto, president of Isemoto Contracting Company, shared his family’s philosophy of giving and what inspired them to do so. How was the Isemoto Contracting Co., Ltd. Scholarship Fund first started and by whom? Larry Isemoto, chairman of Isemoto Contracting Co., Ltd. started the idea of a scholarship fund for Big Island high school graduates. Business was very good at that time, and he thought that a scholarship fund would be a great avenue to give back to our community. We firmly believe the wealth of the Big Island rests in our students’ ambition to succeed.
up a scholarship fund was proposed by our chairman, the Foundation was a natural choice, as it relieves our company from administrative duties for the fund, including advertising, collection of applications, reviews, and grant awards. Why have you chosen to give back in this way? As the largest construction firm based on the island of Hawai‘i, we realize we owe a lot to our community for keeping our business alive over the past 85 years. The children of the Big Island are our future, and we owe them the opportunity to become successful through higher education.
Isemoto Contracting Co., Ltd. Scholarship Fund 2011 Recipients Anna Golden, Hilo High School, Class of 2002 Major: Nursing College: Hawai‘i Community College Melissa Sullivan, Pahoa High School, Class of 2007 Major: Nursing College: University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Remi Wada, Christian Liberty School, Class of 2008 Major: Nursing College: University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Katherine Hu, Christian Liberty School, Class of 2009 Major: Elementary Education College: Cornerstone University
Why was it important to create this fund? We remembered how the downturn in the construction industry during the early to mid 1990s affected parents’ ability to send their children to college. As the construction industry began its upswing during the late 1990s, it was difficult to find Big Island engineering students. When we started the fund, the media also indicated that there would be a shortage of nurses and teachers. Our interest in engineering students was obvious from a business standpoint, but our family also included 10 relatives who were current teachers and retired teachers. We have just one nurse in our family, who has provided the comfort and care of our aging relatives. How has the Hawai‘i Community Foundation assisted your family with its philanthropic goals? We have been aware of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation through other business associates. When the idea of setting
(L-R) Leslie Isemoto, with last year’s scholarship recipients Kyle Buyuan and Kristen Uchida, and Larry Isemoto at an East Hawai‘i scholarship event.
Beauty in Community (continued from page 1) for the Class of 1960. “We created this big calabash and so many good things came out of it.” Wrenn was personally inspired to witness the amount of innovation, creativity and collaboration that came from all of the school communities as they transformed their physical spaces into meaningful works of art. “We believe that a beautiful environment at school is conducive to learning and encourages respect for one’s school, for others and for oneself,” said Wrenn. “When students become directly involved
in a project that transforms their school campus in a positive and visible way, it creates a sense of personal accomplishment for them and pride in their achievements.” Hawai‘i Community Foundation supports many private foundations, including The Cooke Foundation, Ltd., with strategic and cost effective grant administration services. For more information on private foundation services, please contact Amy Luersen, director of philanthropic services at aluersen@hcf-hawaii.org or call 808-566-5550.
For more information about our Scholarship Program, please contact our Scholarship Officer, Ronnie Hee, at (808) 537-6333 or email scholarships@hcf-hawaii.org.
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Open House Hawai‘i Community Foundation held its third annual reception for professional advisors on May 19. The event was held at the Foundation’s new offices located in the historic C. Brewer Building in downtown Honolulu. In addition to meeting with staff, guests were introduced to the Foundation’s extensive menu of programs and services. Highlights included its Signature Fund, Legacy Donor Society, support for private and public educational aspirations in Hawai‘i, and environmental and sustainability efforts. “The philanthropic advice and services that professional advisors provide to their clients are invaluable,” said Kate Lloyd, general counsel and vice president of operations at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
“As part of the Foundation’s mission to inspire giving, we are pleased to serve as a resource to the professional advisor community so they can help their clients achieve their philanthropic goals and have a lasting impact on the community.” (Above L-R) Ross Murakami, Diane Kimura and Paul Kosasa (Top Right) Joanne Grimes, Cindi Johns and Judy Lee (Bottom Right) Carl Choy, Wally Chin and Lynne Kinney
Copies of current and past issues of Faces of Philanthropy are available at www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org