You know what your program is trying to accomplish.

But when it is time to turn those goals into an evaluation plan, things can get complicated quickly…

Many nonprofit leaders know this frustration well:  You have sign-in sheets. You have surveys. You have spreadsheets. You have grant reports.  And yet…

What if evaluation was never meant to be a checkbox? For many nonprofit leaders across Indian Country and the Hawaiian Islands, evaluation brings up a very specific kind of fatigue.

Who has the right to tell a community’s story? It is a simple question, but in fundraising, it carries real weight. For many Indigenous and underserved communities, data has too often been collected, interpreted, and reported through systems that were not built by them or for them.

The air in the workshop is thick with sawdust and the metallic scent of a cooling welding iron. Outside, the sun slips behind the mauna, stretching long shadows across the gravel driveway.

You have been here for twelve hours.

Your hands carry the honest grime of your craft.

Growth is a good problem to have—until your programs, data, and priorities start pulling in different directions…

Most nonprofit teams do not struggle because they lack commitment. They struggle because deeply committed people can still be working from different assumptions about what the real problem is.

You can tell stories about the people, communities, and organizations you serve.

But when it is time to describe the full picture — the problem, the solution, the outcomes, and why your approach works — the language starts to feel either too broad, too detailed, or too disconnected.

This is especially frustrating for fundraisers.

Across the country, billions of dollars sit inside private foundations created for charitable purpose. These foundations receive tax advantages because their resources are meant to serve the public good. And yet, by law, most private foundations are only required to distribute about 5% of their assets each year for charitable purposes.

For years, entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders have been told to hustle harder, move faster, and compete better. But in Hawaiʻi, many of us know a different truth: the strongest work grows through relationship.

In Hawaiʻi, small business is not small. It is the backbone of our local economy, the heartbeat of our communities, and for many ʻāina-based entrepreneurs, one of the clearest paths toward food sovereignty.

What if fundraising was never meant to begin with scarcity, competition, or convincing people there is not enough? What if it began instead with genealogy, observation, storytelling, kuleana, and the relationships that already hold our communities together?

Beyond networking, Indigenous fundraisers are creating a living ecosystem of exchange, trust, and collective support. Read Olani’s reflection on the Philanthropono Network.

Indigenous fundraisers have too often had to navigate this work alone. Discover why the Philanthropono Network was created and how it is strengthening relationships, shared learning, and Indigenous-led philanthropy.

When we first set out to create our case for support, we thought we already knew what needed to happen. The challenge felt urgent. The need was visible. We had language for it, data to back it up, and even a plan in motion.

Right now, Indigenous-led nonprofits are being asked to do more than ever—while receiving only a fraction of the resources needed to sustain their work. Across the United States, for every $100 given by philanthropy, only about 10 cents reaches Indigenous communities…

Too many entrepreneurs are left to build alone. Learn how Changemakers CDFI began and why its mission to invest in Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs is helping shape a more equitable future for Hawaiʻi’s economy.

A stronger Hawaiʻi economy is taking shape through Native Hawaiian entrepreneurship. Learn how community-rooted businesses, no-interest loans, mentorship, and training are helping grow the ʻĀinapreneur ecosystem across Hawaiʻi.

Access to capital helps Native entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses that strengthen local economies and communities. Learn how CDFIs and Native Hawaiian-led lending programs are expanding opportunity through financing, training, and long-term support.

Discover how Native CDFIs expand access to capital, support Native entrepreneurs, and fuel business growth, job creation, and long-term community wealth.