It’s hard to imagine a time in Hawaiʻi without ABC Stores.
The company under Paul Kosasa has made it a point to give back to the community through the Kosasa Foundation. The family has recently set aside $1 million to help strengthen Hawaiʻi’s nonprofit arts and culture sector.
Kosasa and Foundation CEO Christine van Bergeijk spoke to The Conversation about their new funding program and supporting the arts.
“The Kosasa Foundation has always been an advocate for arts and culture, particularly here in Hawaiʻi,” Kosasa said. “We believe that the fabric of our society needs an arts and culture component, just like athletics or health care or anything else that society needs. And so to have a vibrant and healthy community, we need to make sure that we have a vibrant and healthy arts community.”
The foundation recently surveyed several culture and arts leaders about how it could better serve their organizations. It learned that there are nearly 1,000 culture and arts organizations in Hawaiʻi.
"They employed 3,000 people, they generated about $300 million a year in revenue, and they held nearly $1 billion in assets. So this is not a small component of our economy," van Bergeijk said.
She said further surveying of the organizations revealed that audiences want to be in person, connecting with their communities, and that audience expectations have changed.
"They want to hear local voices. They want to hear from Indigenous people, perspectives, the diversity of Hawaiʻi. They want to hear from what makes Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi, you know, they want to see young, up-and-coming artists, and so they're really working hard to kind of meet that increasing demand."
The foundation's new funding program, called Creative Capacity, aims to use the arts to uplift spirits during these tumultuous times. The program invites groups to apply for grants of up to $100,000 this year to build capacity and more. The application deadline is April 25.
“My belief is that our community, more than ever, needs a sense of belonging. They need to belong to something, right? And I think the art is that conduit that can give you that sense of belonging," Kosasa told HPR.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 17, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
