Kūkulu Ola (Living Hawaiian Culture Program)

Kūkulu Ola (Living Hawaiian Culture Program)

The Kūkulu Ola Program supports community-based initiatives that celebrate and preserve Hawaiian culture.

Through this program, the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) provides funding to nonprofits, cultural practitioners, and organizations committed to ensuring that Hawaiian traditions, practices, and values are shared and sustained for future generations.

In Fiscal Year 2026, HTA’s Kūkulu Ola program invested $980,000 to support 26 community-based organizations statewide to implement cultural projects and programs from July 2025 to June 2026. View the Media Release and list of July 2025 to June 2026 Kūkulu Ola Awardees.

In addition, HTA’s Kūkulu Ola program invested $900,000 to support 30 projects statewide from July 2026 to December 2026. View the Media Release and list of July 2026 to December 2026 Kūkulu Ola recipients.

HTA has partnered with Kilohana Collective, a division of the Hawaiian Council, to administer the program through ʻUmeke Powered by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

• The application period for the July 2026 to December 2026 project cycle for the Kūkulu Ola program Closed May 7, 2026.
• The application period for the January 2027 to December 2027 project cycle is estimated to open in October 2026.

For more information about this program, contact Dede Howa at 808-973-2265 or via email at [email protected].