County Of Hawaii

County of Hawaii, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Hilo, Hawaii, operates as a federal grant recipient across 35 distinct customer agencies, with 60% of its federal award footprint as prime recipient and 40% as sub-recipient on community development, emergency management, and local infrastructure programs. The County does not compete as a prime contractor on federal contracts; its sole named federal contract award is a $4,350 purchase order from the Smithsonian Institution for microwave tower maintenance services completed in October 2023.

The County's federal funding portfolio is dominated by formula and project grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Department of Health and Human Services. HUD's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development has issued 23 awards to the County covering Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for non-entitled counties in Hawaii, Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) for homeless services, the Family Self-Sufficiency Program for low-income housing residents, and Economic Development Initiative community project funding. FEMA has awarded 32 project and cooperative grants totaling significant funding for fire and emergency response capacity: a $4.34 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant awarded March 23, 2026 (CFDA 97.083) to enhance firefighter staffing through March 2029; an $537,594.90 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (CFDA 97.044) from August 2024; a $3.5 million SAFER grant from February 2022; and a $1 million cooperative agreement from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CFDA 97.120) for rural emergency medical communications. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $1.901 million coastal habitat restoration cooperative agreement (CFDA 11.473) executed October 2025 for the Puapuaa Iki Habitat Restoration Project on Hawaii Island's western coast, with County matching funds of $799,440.

Recent prime grant activity includes a $3.36 million Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) demonstration project award (CFDA 20.939) from the Federal Highway Administration for smart and safe intersection improvements across Hawaii Island; a $180,000 State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance grant (CFDA 10.698) from the USDA Forest Service for wildfire risk reduction; a $1.522 million Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) cooperative agreement (CFDA 20.941) from EPA Region 9 for a city-scale reusable food ware system in Hilo; a $1 million zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle replacement grant from EPA Region 9 under the Inflation Reduction Act; and an $825,000 Water and Waste Disposal Systems grant (CFDA 10.760) from USDA Rural Utilities Service. The County also receives recurring annual allocations under the CDBG non-entitled counties program, ESG formula grants, and Family Self-Sufficiency coordinator funding from HUD's Public and Indian Housing Office.

As a sub-recipient, the County acts primarily through pass-through grants from Hawaii state agencies. The Hawaii Department of Health issues sub-awards for Older Americans Act Title III meals and supportive services; the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations channels Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) employment and training funds; the Hawaii Department of Education administers Summer Food Service Program and Child Nutrition block grants; and the Hawaii Department of Defense (in its civil defense capacity) flows emergency management and disaster recovery funding. The County's Office of the Prosecuting Attorney receives sub-awards from Hawaii's Attorney General for victim assistance and impaired-driving prosecution support. Sub-award activity also includes emergency rental assistance, affordable housing development (HOME and Housing Trust Fund), and emergency protective measures funding related to natural disasters.

Award volume has grown from 15 awards in 2022 to a peak of 30 in 2024, settling to 22 in 2025 and 9 recorded to date in 2026. The recompete window shows seven awards reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The County's award footprint reflects its role as a local government administering federal community development, emergency response, housing, and environmental infrastructure programs on behalf of Hawaii Island residents; it does not pursue federal contracts in the traditional prime-vendor sense and generates no parent contract vehicles or teaming relationships typical of federal contractors.