No major university can grow and excel without a healthy mix of public and private funds. Private contributions leverage public funds and maximize taxpayer dollars. Through partnering with philanthropic investors, our university can sustain excellence and enhance the student experience, making our campuses learning destinations of choice.
Many of the donors who give major gifts to the University of Hawaiʻi do so to support a program, school, or area of study that they believe in. Without exception, their gift has a major impact on our students, faculty and campus community as a whole.
Recent Impact Stories
ASB and other donors are deepening our understanding of the affordable housing issue and developing solutions.
Social worker Tiffanie Keliinui-McCreadie has an important job: she gets through to teens with behavioral and emotional disabilities.
A new curriculum developed at the University of Hawaiʻi through a partnership with Hawaiʻi’s banking industry will train the “universal bankers” of tomorrow. It’s one of the outcomes of innovative industry sector partnerships across the state. The sector partnership activities are part of UH’s broader Building Hawaiʻi’s Innovation Economy and Workforce initiative, which was launched in 2016 with the support of Strada Education Network.
Hōkūleʻa’s return to Magic Island marked the end of one long trek and the beginning of an epic celebration highlighted by the premiere of “Raise Hawaiki,” a composition by Dr. Michael-Thomas Foumai, a University of Hawai‘i music lecturer.
Dr. Ricardo Trimillos didn't plan to focus his research on the music of a Muslim community in the southern Philippines. He played the koto, a stringed instrument from Japan, and that's where his interests resided. When a group of friends planned a research trip to the Philippines, he agreed to go along, and spent the rest of his career sharing his expertise in Filipino culture and music.
In an effort to address the shortage of Native Hawaiian healthcare workers, The Queen’s Health Systems pledged $50,000 to fund scholarships for students enrolled in UH West O‘ahu’s ‘Ike Mauli Ola pre-nursing pathway program.
Because Will cherished his time and experience with the staff at Queen's, he wanted to create a transformational gift to benefit their children's futures. As a result, Will established two charitable gift annuities that created an endowed scholarship fund to support children of Queen's employees.
A few months before his death, legendary Hawai‘i entertainer Jimmy Borges told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that his 60 years of success on stages around the world wasn’t the product of a good voice. “It’s not just making sounds,” he explained. “Many, many singers nowadays think it’s about making beautiful sounds, but it’s like chewing gum. The taste is there, then the taste is gone. When I sing a song that tells a good story, they’ll remember it 30 years from now.”
When Roger Higa connected with UH West Oʻahu’s Risk Management program, fulfilling his desire to combine altruism, philanthropy, and service to the community – he knew it was Destiny.
