Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 4, 1 April 2011 — New program builds financial smarts [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

New program builds financial smarts

With $3 million grant, CNHA aims to help at least 3,000 statewide

By Melissa Moniz

Long-term hnaneial success and home ownership has just been made more attainable through the Hawai'i Family Finance Project. All Hawai'i resi-

dents who are 18 years of age or older, are of low to moderate ineome and do not own a home are eligible. The recently launched project is an initiative of

the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, a

nonprofit dedicated to enhanee the cultural, eeonomie and community development of

Native Hawaiians. "The Hawai'i Family Finance Project is a statewide program and it's not just for Hawaiians, it's for anyone who qualifies," says Lilia Kapuniai, CNHA Vice President and Community Services Manager. "Our target at CNHA is the Native Hawaiian community, but we serve everyone." The Hawai'i Family Finance Project, or

HFFP, is funded in part by a three-year grant of $3 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The grant was awarded in September 2010. "The three-year grant started October 2010, however, the project is just kicking off now because we just signed on our (hnaneial literacy) partners: Hawai'i

Community Assets and Hawai'i HomeOwnership Center," adds Kapuniai. Through the project, monies will also be used to fund community-based nonprofits, including credit unions, to deliver services to eligible families. Credit union partners include: Hawai'i Community Federal Credit Union, Hawai'i First Federal Credit Union, Hawai'i USA Federal Credit Union, Honea Federal Credit Union, Ka'ū Federal Credit Union and West O'ahu Federal Credit Union. "We know that there are terrific community organizations serving their communities and special-needs populations that would benefit greatly by being a grantee under the HFFP," says Kapuniai. The project's primary mission is to help families achieve home ownership and gain the tools to reach their hnaneial goals. The free services offered through HFFP include hnaneial education courses, one-on-one eounseling, opening deposit accounts, accessing the federal Earned ineome Tax Credit, and saving for down payments on homes. "By the end of the three-year grant our goal is to get at least 3,000 individuals into the SEE CNHA ON PAGE 14

Lilia Kapuniai

A elienl, left receives tax assistance from a certified tax preparer at CNHA's Volunteer ineome Tax Assistance site in Kaka'ako. The VITA program is part of the Hawai'i Familv Finance Project. - Photo: Courtesy ofCNHA

CNHA

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program," adds Kapuniai. "We know only a small percentage will get to loan closing and home ownership. But even though not everyone will get to that hnal step, we do want to get people closer." The project's hnaneial education courses provide information on areas such as budgeting, credit score, how to use and manage bank accounts, Individual Development Accounts (IDA) and opening deposit accounts. "It's really focused on hnaneial education and hnaneial literacy," she adds. In March, First Hawaiian Bank announced

that it was providing a $30,000 grant to the Hawai'i Family Finance Project to promote hnaneial education for homebuyers and help them with their down payments. CNHA is a certified Community Development Financial Institution operating a community loan fund and access to capital and technical resources. For information about CNHA or the Hawai'i Family Finance Project, eall (809) 596-8155 or toll-free at 1-800-709-2642, or visit www.hawaiiancouncil.org. ■ Melissa Moniz is a Contributing Writer for Ka Wai Ola. A former Associate Editor at MidWeek she has chosen a ne w career path as afuU-time mom to spend more quality time with her husband and two young daughters.