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An award of $450,000 from the Richard Smart Fund has been granted to 24 programs supporting culture, education, health and safety in Waimea.

Grant decisions were informed in part by feedback from Waimea community organizations and residents about the area’s top priorities and greatest needs, according to a news release from the Hawaii Community Foundation.

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“These grants from the Richard Smart Fund are the result of Waimea community members describing the future they want for Waimea, a future where all of the residents of the community understand and embody their kuleana for each other and the ‘aina,” Michelle Pope, HCF program officer, said in the news release. “The funding also aligns with HCF’s long-term strategy to elevate community voices and position Hawaii as a model for local and global civic responsibility and collaborative policy development.”

“(Richard) Smart held a special kuleana with the kama‘aina of Waimea and his legacy should uplift the people of this beautiful place,” said Jeannette Soon-Ludes, executive director of nonprofit grantee Mala‘ai, which has been awarded $25,000. “Today, the Richard Smart Fund is helping us give back to Ala ‘Ohi‘a, the ‘aina that for 20 years has hosted Mala‘ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School.

“From serving a scratch-cooked meal using garden-fresh veggies to increasing biodiversity by bringing more endemic plants back to our mala, we are excited to share new opportunities with the students of WMS and grateful to be among the grantees who strive to perpetuate the legacy of Richard Smart.”

The proposals were evaluated based on the following criteria: what their kuleana is for Waimea’s future, how their work addresses critical opportunities for Waimea’s future, and how they effectively involve and engage with the community’s diverse people, organizations, and ‘aina.

Some of the nonprofits and programs receiving the largest grants are Friends of the Future ($25K), KUPU ($25K), Paniolo Preservation Society ($25K), Waimea Community Theatre ($25K) and Hui Aloha Pu‘ukapu ($25K).

Richard Smart established the Richard Smart Fund at HCF when he created the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust to support health care, educational and charitable giving for the Waimea community. From 2001 to 2025, HCF has distributed more than $6.5 million to nonprofit organizations serving Waimea.