Papahana Kuaola

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202565007
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Kaneohe, HI, USA
Phone
8084477694
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical, Horticultural, and Landscape Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,256,538
Expenses
$1,274,151
Assets
$893,203
Liabilities
$51,609

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HALONA TANNER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MAHEALANI MERRYMAN (CO-EXEC DIRE): $105,558 total reported compensation
  • DONNA TUISAMATA (FISCAL MANAG): $60,658 total reported compensation
  • NAYSHA SORIANO (FISCAL MANAG): $33,952 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Papahana kuaola's mission is to create quality educational programs focused on environmental restoration and economic sustainability fully integrated with hawaiian knowledge in order to exemplify a lifestyle respectful of kanaka, `aina, and akua. Papahana kuaola is a multi-faceted program servicing o`ahu and moloka`i that looks to ensure that the future we build today can actually sustain us into tomorrow. Papahana kuaola believes in the need economic self-sufficiency without sacrificing ourselves and our `aina; in the need environmental sustainability without littering our islands with no trespassing signs; and most importantly we need to do it in a way that is meaningful, in which hawaiian knowledge provides the course of action.

What it reported doing in 2025

Lelekamanu program - papahana kuaola's outreach and service project division on o'ahu and moloka'i that encompasses a variety of educational opportunities that occur outside of the ahupua'a of he'eia. These include field trips to marine and terrestrial conservation areas and active restoration sites, partnering with other community organizations on malama 'aina-based initiatives and participating in native vegetation restoration projects throughout hawai'i and the pacific. Papahana kuaola's goal is to take the lessons of papahana kuaola to the wider community, with an emphasis on restoration projects that improve ecological, cultural and physical health and well-being.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.4%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 72.4%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19,882.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.4% of revenue deployed · 72.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $923K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $106K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.