INPEACE, Nonprofit with a mission

INPEACE, among the local nonprofits hurt by cuts in federal grants, has pivoted to seeking new funding while keeping its programs running, CEO Sanoe Marfil says.

For 30 years, the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture has built a community by empowering and uplifting Hawai‘i residents of all ages through its three pillars: education, equity and economics, Marfil says.

Its 11 programs are varied but all free. Its Keiki Steps provides Hawaiian culture-based learning for keiki 5 and under and their families, with locations on three islands: Wai‘anae, Līhu‘e and Hilo. Programs meet regularly for enrolled families during the school year.

Another program, Ka Lama, offers training and workshops on topics such as business and financial goal setting; Ho‘āla provides families with information about early childhood education – prenatal to 5-year-old – through events, workshops and one-on-one counseling. The topics include finding and paying for preschool, and long-term real estate planning.

Hi‘ilei provides at-home educational visits to help parents learn about their child’s development through four points: language, cognitive, social and motor skills. Educators also assist with future planning. Meetings are often weekly, and annual participation includes 200 parents, according to the INPEACE website.

Eō is a cultural program that takes place after school and during the summer and prepares children for peer mentorship and leadership roles.

Other programs provide assistance with early literacy with preschool children and work closely with public schools to provide access to STEM programs.

Many INPEACE programs employ a circular model of turning participants into educators – whether it’s the “parents as teachers” model with the Hi‘ilei program, or the “grow your own teacher” model in Ka Lama. Marfil says the continuous engagement strengthens the community.

One parent who grew into a teacher is Chantal Richie, a self-described “local girl” from ‘Ewa Beach, who started participating with INPEACE in 2015 when she enrolled her kids in Keiki Steps.

“I’ve been able to grow as a parent,” Richie says, “but then also as a professional.”

She went on to work for INPEACE – first as an ‘ohana advocate and now as an early literacy coach.

“Being a participant, I was able to get more acquainted with the community, the resources that were available, meet other families, and just have a space where my children could grow and flourish. But we could do it together, and that was such a meaningful time for me.”

Many INPEACE employees start as parent participants, including CEO Marfil, whose child was enrolled in Keiki Steps for over two years. “I really wanted to be with my daughter, grow up with her and be her first teacher,” Marfil says.

She went on to work for INPEACE for 17 years before becoming its chief executive in 2024.

Marfil says she’s gratified that so many of INPEACE’s students have become its teachers. “It gives the organization this sense of pride that the impact we made when they were young has now come back to benefit us through their employment at the organization.”

The nonprofit recently acquired a home in Nānākuli formerly owned by Kaiser Permanente that will be used to house over 20 staff members. It will also serve as a temporary storage site for traveling science exhibits, and as the future home of the INPEACE center for entrepreneurship.

The home could also be used as a site for INPEACE seminars, and the nonprofit might also share it with other organizations, Marfil says. Funds are being raised now to renovate the home.

Despite the loss of federal funding from the National Science Foundation, only the Kaulele STEM program has been affected, and INPEACE has sought to diversify funding and pivoted to keep all staff members employed, Marfil says. The organization is open to securing more funding through grants and private donations.

“We would encourage and invite anyone who is interested, whose mission aligns with ours to donate, partner and see how we might collaborate,” Marfil says.

inpeace.org and @inpeacehawaii on Instagram