The Strong Foundation
Honolulu, HI · EIN 99-0090807. Reported 68 grants totalling $5,852,671 to 64 organizations across tax years 2020-2023. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. The Strong Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $100,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $50,000 and $100,000; the smallest was $25,000 and the largest $200,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii Theatre Center | Honolulu, HI | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Manoa Heritage Center | Honolulu, HI | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Maui Health Foundation | Wailuku, HI | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Teach for America-Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Assistance Dogs of Hawaii | Makawao, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Book Trust Hawaii Chapter | Denver, CO | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Maui | Kahului, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Carden Academy of Maui | Pukalani, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chaminade University | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Child & Family Services | Ewa Beach, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Feeding Hawaii Together | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Girl Scouts of Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Halau Ku Mana Pcs | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Haleakala Conservancy | Pukalani, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hawaii Opera Theatre | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hawaii Pacific University | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Hawaiian Humane Society | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hawaiian Islands Land Trust | Wailuku, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Historic Hawaii Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hui Ho'oleimaluo | Hilo, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hui No'eau | Makawao, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Island School | Lihue, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kapiolani Health Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kokua Hawaii Foundation | Haleiwa, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services | Hilo, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lahaina Restoration Foundation | Lahaina, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Living Pono Project | Paia, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ma Ka Hana Ka Ike Building Program | Hana, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Malama Na Makua a Keiki | Paia, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Maryknoll School | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Maui Academy of Performing Arts | Wailuku, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Molokai Land Trust | Kaunakakai, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Pacific Cancer Foundation | Wailuku, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Parker School | Waimea, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pono Academy | Kahului, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Real Ongoing Opportunities to Soar Inc | Haiku, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Seabury Hall | Makawao, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Straub Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Maui Farm | Makawao, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Nature Conservancy | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Hawaii Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Variety School of Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Awaiaulu Inc | Honolulu, HI | $92,290 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kauai Planning & Action Alliance | Lihue, HI | $90,221 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| National Tropical Botanical Garden | Kalaheo, HI | $75,160 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests | Hilo, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Aloha Medical Mission | Honolulu, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bishop Museum | Honolulu, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hawaii Community Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hoola Na Pua | Honolulu, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hui O Wa'a Kaulua | Lahaina, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hui O Waa Kaulua | Kahului, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lyman House Memorial Museum | Hilo, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mental Health Association in Hawaii Dba Mental Health America of Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Montessori School of Maui | Makawao, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Naaikane O Maui | Makawao, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Special Olympics Hawaii | Ewa Beach, HI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kula Elementary School | Kula, HI | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ballet Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Moanalua Gardens Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Parents and Children Together | Honolulu, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rotary District 5000 Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
4 of 64 (6%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 0%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Maui Health Foundation
MAUI HEALTH REGIONAL CHEST PAIN CENTER - Assistance Dogs of Hawaii
ASSISTANCE DOGS OF HAWAII HONOLULU OFFICE - Boys & Girls Club of Maui
REBUILDING PROMISING FUTURES IN PAUKUKALO - Child & Family Services
FROM HOPE TO STRENGTH: A PLACE OF FAMILIES AND YOUTH IN CRISIS - Feeding Hawaii Together
WALK-IN REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT - Haleakala Conservancy
ENHANCED SAFETY AND SECURITY WITHIN HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 52 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 13 | $1,265,381 | $100,000 |
| 2021 | 16 | $1,492,290 | $100,000 |
| 2022 | 23 | $1,595,000 | $50,000 |
| 2023 | 16 | $1,500,000 | $100,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 98% of this one's giving went to organizations in Hawaii. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $100,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Hawaii.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Strong Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: Co Bank of Hawaii P O Box 3170, Honolulu, HI, 96802. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 99-0090807 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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