Castle Foundation’s 50 Years Of Philanthropy

Harold K.L. Castle. Photo from Kaneohe Ranch.

The largest private foundation in Hawaii is marking its 50th year from its Kailua headquarters, where millions of dollars in grants have gone to Windward Oahu – and the rest of the state – over the decades for public education, marine conservation and building strong communities.

Established in 1962, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation made its first set of grants in August of 1963. Since Harold Kainalu Long Castle’s death in 1967, the foundation has been supported by the businessman’s Kailua real estate assets. In 50 years, according to the foundation figures, that works out to $168,541,264 distributed via 2,345 checks.

“What a gift Harold Castle has left for our children, families and communities of Hawaii,” said Terry George, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the foundation. “I continue to marvel at the generosity of Mr. Castle and his family and at the power of a perpetually endowed foundation to do good in this world.”

Doing good locally in 2012 alone, for example, the foundation continues to fund the popular Kanikapila and “I Love Hula in Kailua” shows at the town center. Its reports also list $8,250 awarded to Kailua High School for citizenship programs and $10,000 for its underwater robotics team, $75,000 to expand Aloha Harvest’s reach to Windward, $20,000 to Blueprint for Change’s walk-in help space in Waimanalo and $30,000 for the same for the Bobby Benson Center in Kahuku, $50,000 for youth leadership projects from Kahuku to Waimanalo, $25,000 to Hawaii Community Foundation for the Dalai Lama’s visit to Kailua High, $10,000 for a video of Ho’okua’aina’s youth lo’i restoration in Kailua, $179,790 to Hui Malama I Ke Kai for Waimanalo Teen Project and $7,500 to Kahuku High’s first-place state team in “We the People.”

Castle himself also donated land and money for dozens of familiar landmarks in the area, among them Hawaii Loa College (now HPU), Castle Medical Center, Castle High School, Kainalu Elementary School, the Kaneohe Marine base and Kailua’s “church row.”

Happy Birthday, HKLCF.