About Hawaiʻi FoundHer
Hawaiʻi FoundHer is a women’s business accelerator serving wāhine-owned small businesses across the Pae ʻaina. Through direct funding, ʻohana care stipends, one-on-one mentorship, and culturally-grounded business workshops, FoundHer builds economic sovereignty and lasting community impact.
Since 2021, FoundHer has served founders across 36 companies, 67.6% of them Native Hawaiian, across every major island. Founders achieve a median 41% revenue growth in their first year after the program, five times the rate of comparable U.S. small businesses.
In 2026, FoundHer received independent 501(c)(3) status. This is a founding moment. The incoming Executive Director will be the first leader of FoundHer as its own independent nonprofit built to serve wāhine founders for generations.
The Role
The Executive Director is responsible for the overall leadership, operations, and sustainability of Hawaiʻi FoundHer. The majority of the time will be spent fundraising and building community partnerships.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the ED ensures the organization enacts its mission, manages day-to-day program operations, builds and maintains a strong funding base, and serves as FoundHer’s primary external voice.
This is a hands-on leadership role. FoundHer operates with a small, dedicated team, which means the ED is both strategic leader and active implementer.
Key ResponsibilitiesFundraising & Sustainability
- Design and execute a fundraising strategy that maintains both organizational solvency and a minimum six-month operating runway. FoundHer’s funding base includes grants, individual donors, corporate sponsors, and partnerships. Many of these relationships are early-stage and require active cultivation.
- Write or oversee grant proposals; ensure compliance with all grant requirements; steward existing funder relationships with consistency and care.
- Identify and cultivate new funding opportunities aligned with FoundHer’s mission, constituency, and program stage.
- Work with the Board to engage donors and build a sustainable individual giving program.
Partnerships & Community Engagement
- Build and sustain relationships with funders, investors, mentors, and industry leaders who share FoundHer’s values and can advance its mission.
- Serve as FoundHer’s primary spokesperson and advocate for NHPIAA wāhine entrepreneurs in local, regional, and national spaces.
- Collaborate with local and national partners to extend FoundHer’s reach; contribute to research, policy advocacy, and collaborative efforts that uplift wāhine founders.
- Cultivate an engaged alumna network that supports peer learning, community building, and capital-raising for current and past program participants.
Program Leadership & Development
- Lead strategic planning to advance FoundHer’s accelerator programs and community engagement work in alignment with the organizational vision.
- Oversee cohort selection, curriculum design, and program implementation to ensure a culturally responsive, equitable, and empowering experience for every participant.
- Use data to demonstrate and communicate program impact to funders, partners, and the public.
- Direct the marketing, communications, and outreach strategy; delegate execution to staff and contractors.
Organizational Management
- Manage day-to-day program operations, budgets, and funder reporting.
- Lead and support a small team of program staff and contractors; recruit and onboard new team members as the organization grows.
- Work closely with the Board of Directors — providing regular updates on program progress, financial health, and organizational strategy; engage board members actively in fundraising and governance.
- Build and maintain organizational systems, documentation, and processes that support continuity, accountability, and long-term health.
Skills & ExperienceRequired
- Proven fundraising track record across at least two of the following: foundation grants, government grants, individual donors, or corporate partnerships. Grant writing experience is required.
- Organizational leadership experience: you have founded and operated a business yourself, OR led a nonprofit organization including staff, budget, and board management.
- Strong community-building skills; the ability to build trust, convene diverse stakeholders, and sustain relationships over time.
- Deep commitment to FoundHer’s mission: economic sovereignty for NHPIAA women, indigenous cultural grounding, and community-centered leadership.
- Clear, compelling communication skills, both written and verbal, for audiences ranging from funders and policymakers to founders and community members.
Preferred
- Knowledge of Hawaiian culture, values, and community, or a demonstrated history of working within and remaining accountable to Native Hawaiian communities.
- Experience designing or facilitating business curriculum, cohort programs, or adult professional education.
- Familiarity with Hawaiʻi’s funding landscape: OHA, Kamehameha Schools, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, and federal sources such as the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- Experience standing up or significantly growing a nonprofit, launching a new program track, or leading an organizational transition.
- Direct entrepreneurial experience: you have started and operated a business yourself, giving you firsthand credibility with FoundHer’s founders and an instinctive understanding of what they need.
Who We’re Looking For
FoundHer is a culturally grounded organization. The right candidate doesn’t just understand this mission intellectually, they embody it. They operate with humility, center community over institution, and lead by bringing people in rather than directing from above. They are comfortable in a boardroom and in a community gathering. They take data seriously and use it to tell honest stories about impact.
If you come from outside the Native Hawaiian community, we expect you to name that honestly, lead with hāʻahāʻ, and demonstrate a track record of being accountable to and learning from indigenous communities.
This is a role for someone who is energized, not overwhelmed, by the challenge of building something lasting.
Pay: From $120,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Honolulu, HI 96826
