2024 is the Year

Aloha and kumusta kayo pamiliya, fam, and friends,

It has been a blessing to have been born and raised in Hawaiʻi. This place has been home for my family who migrated from the Philippines. As a second generation settler in Hawaiʻi, I have always been moved to know who and where I come from and act in ways that honor the past, present, and future generations to come. I seek to be part of the movement towards a Free Hawaiʻi and LAND BACK BODIES BACK everywhere.

The Hawaiʻi People's Fund (HPF) has given me a space and community to grow, learn, and witness the possibilties when the people of Hawaiʻi lead. I’ve been part of HPF since I joined the grantmaking committee in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. HPF's “Change, Not Charity”™ means that communities already HAVE THE POWER and let us redirect community-raised resources to FUEL that power. As a current HPF Board Member, I commit to stewarding the abundance to flow and grow this social movement.

What systems are we investing in and building together? 2024 is a U.S. election year. We are witnessing a collective awakening and reckoning to dismantle systems of white supremacy, capitalistic exploitation, and misogyny. HPF community partners have been addressing root causes with root remedies. When systems oppress and by design cause harm, we know that community will always have the answers and have been building generative and life-giving systems that will bring hope, healing, joy, and abundance for everybody.

That is why I am doing the Giving Project (GP). It is with this 4th GP, I am ready to understand the landscape of philanthropy, ecosystem of social change in Hawaiʻi, and my own positionality in a human way. From January through May, I alongside 18 other curious and committed GP24 members are radically transforming the way we move money to movements for real change from the roots up. Our collective goal is $100,000 to support HPF’s community partners who are combating systems of oppression every day throughout our pae ʻāina. Here are a few organizations I would like to uplift:

• Kīpuka Kuleana perpetuates kuleana, ahupua’a-based natural resource management and connection to place through protection of cultural landscapes and family lands on Kauaʻi.

• As a Native Hawaiian, women-led organization, Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi is deeply committed to menstrual equity and ending period poverty in Hawaiʻi. They have taken on the kuleana (responsibility, privilege) to ensure all individuals of menstruation age have access to sanitary products, safe and hygienic places to use them, and the right to manage their bodies without shame or stigma.

• Kalauokekahuli supports Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people by providing culturally-based perinatal support and education.

• Project Koa Yoga’s mission is to diversify the faces of yoga while preserving the people, land, and culture of Hawaiʻi.

I am asking friends and family to contribute to my goal of $2,024. Whether that is $2, $4, $20, $24, $200, $240, or those willing to match my personal contribution of $202.40.

I love Hawaiʻi and her people. 2024 is a year I am exploring how trust-based philanthropy can be a meaningful way to advance social justice in the islands. I invite you to share the journey with me.

Other ways you can support these GP24 efforts & join the movement:

• Check out our progress toward our GP24 Collective Fundshifting Goal and share it with your network
• Follow Hawaiʻi People’s Fund on IG and Facebook
• Listen to the Hawaiʻi Rising podcast to hear directly from community partners doing social change work

In solidarity,
Ashley Ancheta Galacgac