Neighbor Island Organizations Request State Aid
Chipper Wichman of the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kaua`i asked the Legislature for Grant-In-Aid help during Wednesday’s hearing.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee and House Committee on Finance held a joint informational briefing for Neighbor Island Grant-In-Aid (GIA) applicants Wednesday morning. Representatives from 57 neighbor island organizations were invited to attend, and each organization was given three minutes to testify.
“Parents across-the-board continually seek safe places for their children, especially during those after school hours when they are working. We find ourselves competing for the hearts and minds of our children. But it is a fight we cannot afford to lose. A vibrant YMCA on Maui is a powerful and positive magnet to support, mentor and befriend our children,” Maui resident Sandy Canha said on behalf of the Maui Family YMCA.
Committee members conducted a question and answer session when GIA applicants finished testifying.
Following the hearing, Ways and Means Vice Chair Shan Tsutsui said that the state’s Grants-In-Aid will provide improvements for Hawai`i’s communities, environment and local economy.
GIA applicants must be designated as nonprofits by the Internal Revenue Service and must provide full access to records ensure the state funds produce adequate results. They must also agree to refrain from using state funds for entertainment or lobbying activities and must become licensed to provide the services for which the grant is sought.
“These programs provide services that the state cannot do alone, or in a more efficient and effective way,” Tsutsui said.
In the following weeks, the Legislature will determine how funds will be distributed within the entire state budget.
“It will be especially tough to determine how the GIAs will be allocated this year because of the slow economy and declining tax revenues,” Ways and Means Committee member Gary Hooser said. “There is no shortage of important community needs that the Grants-In-Aid are meant to fulfill, and the availability of funds is very limited.”