Conversate, Collaborate & Create

CONVERSATE
COMMUNITY OVER COMPETITION: We aim to create a community driven process that embraces community and serves to diffuse competition through our nurturing and democratic process! We enable those who don’t have access to traditional funding streams to pitch their ideas and secure funding to create impact for the community’s benefit.
COLLABORATE
NO IDEA IS TOO SMALL: HI Soup maintains its smallness and in that we value the principle that all ideas no matter how big or small deserve to shine at our events. We know that every idea begins as a small seed of hope, innovation and desire to forge a difference. So bring it on and pitch at our next event!
CREATE
WE DREAM BIG! Microgrants enable our community change agents to dream even bigger! HI SOUP also provides networking opportunities and a place for community reflection that allow our dreamers to leverage relationships to dream big and find the support they need to make it happen!
HI Soup Projects
2021
The Hawaiian Royal Decree established the first post office in Honolulu 1850. These are examples of 15 and 25 cent postage stamps and mailed envelopes
Hulō to OUr July Winner!
After two years, we’re happy to announce that HI SOUP hosted it’s comeback virtual event on July 7! We are happy to announce that the project “Letters to the Queen” led by Kahikina Young received the “community chest”!
Kahikina’s captivating pitch took us into the past as she spoke about her experiences with finding and reading Queen Liliuʻokalani’s letters in the archives. She shared the vastness of the Queen’s knowledge and how fortunate we are to still have these treasures. Kahikina shared that the Queen’s letters reveal the complexities of the time including the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom and how letters provide an insight into the Queen’s leadership and deep aloha for her people and for the ʻāina.
She also revealed her interest and intrigue behind the well established postage system and how the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was well ahead of its time in establishing systems for communication and correspondence. This included Kingdom of Hawaiʻi postage and money.
Her next steps include uploading at least 20 of Queen Liliuʻokalani’s letters on her website, Letters to the Queen as well as working with ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi experts to translate the Queen’s letters.
Hulō Kahikina! There’s a community supporting your work! We can’t wait to hear more from you! Reach out to Kahikina at admin@letterstothequeen.com!
Our Grantees
- Urban Farm HI
- Friends with Farms Cooperative
- Pono Home
- Pono Soap
- WorkNet Hawaiʻi
- Common Ground Collective
- Mixing Innovative Arts (MIA) Honolulu
- Playbuilders of Hawaiʻi
- HNL Tool Library
- WerkArts – Bamboo Bikes
- North Shore Food Hub (Colleen Chapman)
- Meli Bees
- Kōkua Kalihi Valley (KKV) – KVIBE, Kahauiki Village, Puʻuhonua Society
Our Partners
- Hawaiʻi Food Policy Council
- Interisland Terminal
- Mālamalama Maui
- Da Shop Bookstore
- Impact Hub Honolulu
- Lana Lane
- Playbuilders of Hawaiʻi
- City & County of Honolulu – Office of Economic Development
- Purple Maiʻa Foundation
- UH Office of Sustainability
- Waihuena Farm
- Nella Media Group


