HLI Mission
Founded in 2020, HLI is dedicated to the delivery of financial services and capital to residents, farms, ranches and mercantile businesses on or near Hawaiian Home Lands. We believe access to capital facilitates economic prosperity in our communities.
HLI is governed by a six-member board of directors with five designated seats representing each of the island regions or Mokupuni and one executive of HCDC as its sponsoring entity.
KARA CHOW
Chair Chow is the Co-Executive Director of HCDC, the sponsoring nonprofit that incorporated HLI as a community development financial institution with the U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund.
DONNA STERLING
Vice Chair Sterling is a member of her local HBA, where she resides on Hawaiian Home Lands in Kahikinui, Maui. She is long time agriculturalist, and currently chairs the Maui County Board of Water.
CORA SCHNACKENBERG
Secretary/Treasurer Schnackenberg is a member of her local HBA dedicated to the 2,200 native Hawaiians on the waitlist for an allotment of Hawaiian Home Lands. She is employed with the State of Hawaii in child services.
REYN KAUPIKO
Director Kaupiko is a member of the SCHHA residing on the island of Oahu. He is employed by the federal government Department of Defense with a passion for serving Native Hawaiian veterans.
MYRNA BUCASAS
Director Bucasas is a member of her local HBA where she resides on Hawaiian Home Lands in Kekaha, Kauai. She is employed by the federal government at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in West Kauai.
LAUAE KEKAHUNA
Director Kekahuna is a member of her local HBA where she resides on Hawaiian Home Lands in Makuu, Hawaii Island. She is employed by the HBA social enterprise, the Makuu Farmers Market.
HCDC is led by Executive Director, Rolina Faagai.
ROLINA FAAGAI
Rolina K. Faagai, is the Executive Director of Hawaiian Lending Investments (HLI), a nonprofit Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI) loan fund founded in 2020 to serve native Hawaiian families and business on or near Hawaiian Home Lands in the State of Hawaii.
Ms. Faagai spent over a decade of her professional career in business and retail management on the continent, where she was trained in corporate business strategies as a finance analyst. She used her skills in key performance indicators to quickly rise to middle management ranks of a fortune 500 company.
Moving home to Hawaii in 2014, she transitioned to the private wealth management industry with AIG VALIC, in Honolulu, allowing her to merge her business acumen with personal investment finance services.
In 2019, she joined a team developing strategies to increase access to capital on trust lands established under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 (HHCA). These trust lands total 203,000 acres located on 6 islands in the State within 4 county jurisdictions. HLI was founded and Ms. Faagai served as its founding Loan Fund Manager in 2020 and promoted to its Executive Director in 2023.
Ms. Faagai serves on the national board of the Native CDFI Network, a policy and capital intermediary serving American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian CDFIs. She is also a Track & Field coach at Punahou High School and volunteers to many civic organizations advancing Native rights.
Ms. Faagai is the eldest of six children born to Pili and Alana Faagai. She resides in her home town of Kaneohe on the island of Oahu.
Programs & Initiatives
Financial Services
HLI delivers financial assessments and trainings to invest in the capacity of its clients both individuals and businesses.
Financial Stability Grants
HLI delivers grants for down payments on home purchases or new construction.
Loans
HLI originates consumer, transportation, housing, clean energy and agricultural loans.
HLI Resources
Periodically, HLI informational materials about its work across the State of Hawaii, including program and application materials.