• Either attended Part 1 Webinar or watched the recording here (strongly recommended).
• Started or completed your organization’s compliance procedures (view the Compliance 101 Guide here), which we reviewed in the Part 1 Webinar.
• Reviewed the HGG Green Fee RFP Tracker here, which tracks funding by State Budget line item. While little information is available about them at this time, we recommend making a note of any that you see initial alignment with.

About the Green Fee

Act 96, Hawaiʻiʻs Green Fee legislation, established a dedicated funding mechanism to support the stateʻs environmental priorities. The approximately final Green Fee funding was recently allocated via the State Budget (HB1800 CD1) at the close of the 2026 Legislative Session, which will be accessible to through contracts and RFPs through the state agencies that have been allocated the funding. This is the first year that these funds will be distributed through a government RFP process, which gives a significant leg up to organizations that are familiar with RFP processes and government contracts. This workshop series seeks to provide training and access to ensure that those doing this work are not boxed out because of administrative hurdles to accessing funds.

Context & Workshop Purpose

Government RFPs differ significantly from private foundation grants—in their compliance requirements, reporting structures, procurement rules, and co-management frameworks. Many community orgs have rich programmatic experience but limited familiarity with the specific demands of state contracting. This workshop series directly addresses that gap and aims to ensure this funding is accessible to those who know the work best.

These county-based workshops follow a statewide, online webinar hosted in June which offered participants a status update on the Green Fee funds post-legislative session, an overview of the understood funding flow to agencies and RFP process, and a briefing on how to prepare your organization for state procurement processes. For the recording and access to all referenced materials, visit the HGG Green Fee page here. While at the time of sending only 1 RFP is available, HGG is tracking Green Fee Funds and RFP opportunities via this public-access spreadsheet.

The first State Agency Request for Proposal (RFP) was released by DLNR in mid-July. At the request of many community organizations, HGG and partners are hosting the second workshop as part of this Community x Green Fee series throughout early August in person in each county. The intention is to support individual orgs prepare proposals and compliance procedures for competitive RFP bids. Presenters will include officials from the State Procurement Office; procurement, budget and policy experts; and many seasoned non-profit and community orgs who have successfully received funds from RFPs in the past that can share peer advice. These workshops, hosted in partnership with each of the Counties and County Sustainability (or equivalent) offices, are free and open to community and non-profit orgs.