Kaneohe, HI

Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA)

EIN 45-4509939

Environment & Animal Welfare Environmental Education & Advocacy Indigenous communities

Mission

Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA) supports grassroots, place-based stewardship of Hawaiʻi’s biocultural heritage by providing facilitation, technical assistance, training, and network-building to community-based organizations and practitioners across the islands.

IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity Contributions are tax-deductible

Claim this page Visit kuahawaii.org

About Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA)

Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA) is a Kaneohe-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as a backbone organization for community-led natural and cultural resource stewardship across Hawaiʻi. KUA facilitates and strengthens island-wide networks of practitioners—including limu gatherers, loko iʻa (fishpond) caretakers, and other place-based stewardship groups—by offering training, technical assistance, and convening support. In recent years KUA has played an active role in policy advocacy, network rebuilding following the pandemic, and advancing community co-management of public trust resources. Its programs (for example E Alu Pū, Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa, and the Limu Hui) center Indigenous knowledge and practitioner leadership while supporting practical restoration, education, and local governance outcomes.

Notable achievements

Advocated passage of community co-management law (HB2218 / Act 203)

KUA helped draft and mobilize community engagement around HB2218, which was signed into law on July 8, 2026 as Act 203; the law authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources to enter formal community co-management agreements with qualified community-based organizations.

E Alu Pū network expansion

KUA facilitated the E Alu Pū network that connects practitioners and community groups across the state—linking more than 32 communities—to coordinate biocultural stewardship, shared learning, and collective strategy for ridge-to-reef management.

Strengthened loko iʻa and limu practitioner networks

Through Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa and the Limu Hui, KUA has supported practitioner-led gatherings, training, and peer exchange that have advanced fishpond restoration, native seaweed stewardship, and intergenerational transmission of skills and protocols.

At a glance

Total assets: $4.5M
Annual revenue: $3.7M
Tax status: 501(c)(3)Public charity
EIN: 45-4509939
Location: Kaneohe, HI
Website: kuahawaii.org
On Mahalo since: September 2026

Financial figures from the IRS Business Master File, the IRS’s registry of tax-exempt organizations.

Recognition

Acknowledged by state agencies and named in legislative records and the Governor’s office as a leading community advocate in the development and passage of HB2218 (Act 203).

Featured grantee and partner in conservation and Indigenous stewardship funding programs, including profiles with national funders that support Indigenous-led land and sea stewardship.

Listed and profiled in national nonprofit data resources as an active 501(c)(3) organization serving Hawaiʻi (public nonprofit databases and evaluators recognize KUA’s programmatic role in community-based conservation).

Is this your organization?

Claim this page to keep it current — add your logo, publish campaigns, and reach the donors and advisors discovering you on Mahalo.

Claim this page