Wai’anae Organic Farmers Cooperative Takes First Prize

Honolulu, HI—May 13, 2004--Winners of the first Hogan / Bank of Hawaii Nonprofit Business Plan Competition were awarded more than $50,000 in cash and consulting services today at Chaminade University. Organized by the Hogan Entrepreneurs at Chaminade with the support of 3Point Consulting, the competition is the first of its kind to take place in the State of Hawaii that is exclusively for non-profit organizations.

• Gary Maunakea-Forth of the Wai’anae Organic Farmers Cooperative (WOFC) received the first place prize of $15,000 cash plus 40 hours of consulting services. WOFC is a proposed organic farming venture co-owned and operated by youth who have graduated from the Wai’anae Community Re Development Corporation MA’O Youth Leadership Training Program.
  
  
• The second place award of $10,000 cash and 30 hours of consulting services was presented to Olin Lagon of Hawaiian Homestead Technology Inc., an initiative of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement to create and sustain technology jobs for residents in and around Native Hawaiian Homestead communities.
  
  
• The third place prize of $5,000 cash and 20 hours of consulting services was presented to Shari Lyn for Ka Hale Pomaika’I “The Blessed House,” the first and only Recovery Community Organization in the State of Hawaii striving to become the first and only residential recovery program on the island of Moloka’i.

With 78 business plans entered in the contest, judges selected the top eight finalists to interview. All submitted business plans were evaluated on the basis of social innovation, need, implementation capacity, risk and the thoroughness of the plan.

Finalists presented their plans to a panel of judges comprised of senior executives from banks, private foundations, consulting firms, venture capital funds, and leading nonprofit organizations. The other finalist are All Saints Bakery & Catering at Central Union Church, The Blue Hawaii Building Project at Lokahi Pacific, The Entrepreneurs Foundation of Hawaii, the Intergenerational Theatre Company, and Pacific Biotech Support Services LLC at the Pacific Health Research Institute.

Hogan Entrepreneur Director John Webster says Chaminade's nonprofit business plan competition has “helped reveal the strong leadership, exciting creativity and business savvy that is characteristic of Hawaii's nonprofit sector, but too often unrecognized.” Webster says the competition showcases “both Hawaii's passion for community service, its entrepreneurial energy, and recognizes the important role the nonprofit sector plays in Hawaii's economy, supporting nearly 1 in 10 jobs in the state.”

The Hogan Entrepreneurs program was started at Chaminade University in 2002, with a grant from the Hogan Family Foundation. It is dedicated to preparing the University’s best students for successful careers after by providing them with the exposure and business skills needed to “start new things.”

Founded in 1955, Chaminade University is committed to educating future leaders equipped with both talent and character. Chaminade University offers a liberal arts curriculum that prepares students for life, work and service. With 22 undergraduate degree programs and five graduate degree programs, CUH enrolls over 2,500 students at its scenic Kaimuki hillside campus overlooking Diamond Head. CUH offers day, evening, online and accelerated 10-week courses to meet the needs of working adults at 10 satellite locations around O’ahu military bases and Catholic parishes and schools.
Webster can be reached at 739-4611 or jwebster@chaminade.edu.

Chaminade University is located at 3140 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816. For more information, visit the website at www.chaminade.edu or call (808) 735-4711.