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Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation

Its FY2022 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$168k
Granted FY2021
7
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation’s FY2022 grant dollars went to Hawaii Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2022 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2021, the last year Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 5 organizations, $168k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

4
’17
5
’18
4
’19
4
’20
5
’21
0
’22

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2022.

Philanthropy$3.0MArts & Culture$369kEducation$95kReligion$83kHousing & Shelter$51kHealth$50kYouth Development$50kCrime & Legal$30kOther$0
02FY2021 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k2 grants · $3k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $115k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$25,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE BIG ISLAND$50,000
DONKEY MILL ART CENTER$40,000
COMMUNITY FIRST$25,000
HAMAKUA HEALTH CENTER INC$25,000
THE PACIFIC BUDDHIST ACADEMY$25,000
HAWAII PREPARATORY ACADEMY$2,000
HONPA HONGWANJI HILO BETSUIN$1,100
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY19–20, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HAWAII ISLAND ADULT CARE: $10k → 15%HAWAII ISLAND ADULT CARE: $10k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

79%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$593k · 9 repeat orgs$155k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2021, 5 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call). Read against FY2021, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
3

Total granted

$593k
$55k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+0%
+94%

Still filing today

67%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 41% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21
Arts & CultureEducationHealthHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • MH
    MANOA HERITAGE CENTER FKA MANOA VALLEY CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUND
    2× · 2017–2018 · $50k · revenue +25%
  • HM
    HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART
    2× · 2017–2018 · $30k · revenue +0%
  • HP
    HAWAII PREPARATORY ACADEMY
    5× · 2017–2021 · $10k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • D
    DENSHO
    one grant, 2019 · $30k · revenue -2%
  • DT
    DENSHO THE JAPANESE AMERICAN LEGACY PROJECT
    one grant, 2017 · $23k
  • JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUMgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $2k · revenue +94%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Hawaii Education Institute
—
2
Hawaii - American Nurses Association Foundation
Environment
3
Hawaii Maritime Center
—
4
E Kupaku Ka Aina - the Hawaii Land Restoration Institute
Environment
5
Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii

To be a vibrant resource, strengthening our diverse community by educating present and future generations in the evolving japanese american experience in hawaii. we do this through relevant programming, meaningful community service and…

Arts & Culture
6
Hawaii Book and Music Festival
Arts & Culture
7
Mohala Pua School Dba Honolulu Waldorf School

See schedule o.at honolulu waldorf school, we educate each child to find meaning, passion, and purpose in life and to contribute to the creation of a better world for all. through a curriculum based on the developmental stages of the human…

Education
8
Hawaii Medical Association

Hawaii medical association is dedicated to serving physicians, their patients and community through representation, advocacy, and public service. core activities: advocacy, education

—
9
Ho'ola Lahui Hawaii

To improve the health and well-being of our community.

Human Services
10
Hawaii International Film Festival

To foster international cultural awareness and understanding through the medium of film. to act as a creative pipeline for hawaii and the pacific, showcasing new and emerging talent from hawaii, asia, americas, europe, and the pacific…

Arts & Culture
11
Hawaii Pacific Model United Nations Incorporated
International
12
Hawaii Workers Center

The hawaii workers center envisions a hawaii in which all workers are empowered to exercise their right to organize for their social, economic and political well-being.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hawaii Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Japanese American National Museum. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

12 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 12 of the 16 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
6/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,980,354 · PhilanthropyHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONLYMAN HOUSE MUSEUM: $150,000 · OtherLYMAN HOUSE…DONKEY MILL ART CENTER: $114,000 · OtherDONKEY MILL…HONPA HONGWANJI HILO BETSUIN: $83,064 · OtherHONPA HONGW…DENSHO THE JAPANESE AMERICAN LEGACY PROJECT: $23,210 · OtherDENSHO THE …MANOA HERITAGE CENTER FKA MANOA VALLEY CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUND: $50,000 · Arts & CultureHONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART: $30,000 · Arts & CultureDENSHO: $30,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $2,000 · Arts & CulturePACIFIC BUDDHIST ACADEMY: $85,000 · EducationHAWAII PREPARATORY ACADEMY: $10,000 · EducationHAWAII ISLAND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $50,500 · Housing & ShelterBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE BIG ISLAND: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentCOMMUNITY FIRST INC: $25,000 · HealthHAMAKUA HEALTH CENTER INC: $25,000 · HealthHAWAII ISLAND ADULT CARE INC: $20,000 · Human Services
Philanthropy$2,980,354Other$370,274Arts & Culture$112,000Education$95,000Housing & Shelter$50,500Youth Development$50,000Health$50,000Human Services$20,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,980,354 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetPACIFIC BUDDHIST ACADEMY: $85,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetHAWAII ISLAND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $50,500 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetMANOA HERITAGE CENTER FKA MANOA VALLEY CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUND: $50,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE BIG ISLAND: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetHONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDENSHO: $30,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY FIRST INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetHAMAKUA HEALTH CENTER INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHAWAII ISLAND ADULT CARE INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetHAWAII PREPARATORY ACADEMY: $10,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Atherton Family Found…McInerny Foundation--Central Pacific Bank …Bank of Hawaii Charit…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Atherton Family FoundationHI15.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Atherton Family Foundation · McInerny Foundation-- · Central Pacific Bank Foundation · Bank of Hawaii Charitable Fdn · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 16 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

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    The regranting layer
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    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
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    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
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