Waipa Foundation

“A copy of waipa foundation's form 990 was provided to the board of directors prior to filing via electronic mail or hand delivery. Board of directors have one week to review the 990 in draft form before it is submitted, to ask questions, request clarification, more information, or make comments.”

“Each board member signs a conflict of interest disclosure statement annually. Board members are covered under the policy. Staff reviews the completed statements, and if a conflict is identified, the issue is reviewed at the board level. Although not stated in the policy, the board would have the member in question recuse themselves. Restrictions on persons with a conflict are not identified in the policy, but in practice, the board would prohibit them from participating in the deliberations and decisions on a transaction.”

“The board of directors will review and approve the executive director's compensation periodically or upon consideration of a proposed change in the compensation rate. In determining the executive director's compensation, the board of directors will use comparable data based on the form 990 filed by other 501(c)(3) organizations of similar size and geographic area. A record of the decision shall be noted in the meeting minutes. This process was undertaken in 2021.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“Waipa foundations mission is to restore waipa's vibrant natural systems and resources, and inspire healthy, thriving communities connected to their resources. Due to the covid-19 pandemic slow decline, waipa's activities were changed from previous years, but were different than 2020. An additional challenge during this year was the march 2021 landslide on kuhio highway shutting down access to the hanalei and waipa area for two weeks, and severely limiting access for everyone, including waipas staff from march through august 2021. Despite these challenges waipa continued almost full operations during the year. Most significant activities during the year included: implementing programming for children and youth from the local community - during the summer and on intersession breaks. - in kindergarten through post high, which focuses on enrichment, academics, connection with food and the land, leadership, cultural knowledge and job and work skills. During the second half of the year other groups of learners came to waipa on learning visits. Waipas campsites, spaces and facilities were also made available for local families on camping retreats and celebrations. During this year, waipa served just under 1,000 learners and families. Another major activitiy included growing fresh produce in our gardens, and processing poi in our kitchen, both of which are distributed weekly at affordable prices (0%-60% of retail) to support the food sustainability of waipa's communities. Over 5,000 lbs of fresh produce was grown, and over 20,000 lbs of poi processed during this year. Waipas food team during this year began making and selling prepared food items including baked goods and savory entrees through its retail space onsite. All products contain local and waipa ingredients. Baked goods are priced at retail and savory entrees are priced at 60% of retail as service to our community. Savory items were launched during the road closure as local communities were challenged with access to healthy, local, affordable prepared foods during this time. Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and so these items continue to be produced. Managing and maintaining the land, resources, and facilities at waipa both to increase their health and productivity, and as learning sites, including stream monitoring and restoration; farms, gardens, greenhouse, and taro fields and their related infrastructure; coastal habitats, campsites, and a fishpond; lowland native forest restoration and management; open spaces for community festivals, gatherings and events; facilities for program use, to meet, gather, prepare food, and administrative use for management of the organization and its programs. In total over 50 acres of learning sites and farm/garden areas, along with their access and water and other infrastructure were maintained by waipa staff team. Also during the year, waipa ran its weekly farmers market on tuesday afternoons from january through early march and june through december. The market was shut down by the landslide for a few months. In december, waipa hosted a christmas craft fair on two saturdays to support local craft and food vendors. Over 50 vendors were served through this event. Waipa also partnered with a local christmas tree farmer who needed additional help to sell local trees. The 2021 year was a busy and challenging one for waipa.”