Altres Foundation

The ALTRES Foundation is the corporate foundation of ALTRES, a Honolulu staffing and HR company. Its stated aim is to encourage generosity and strengthen communities through leadership development and community service. It gives money, expertise and volunteers to causes aligned with the company's business priorities, values and communities. Treat it as a relationship-driven local funder, not a competitive open-RFP funder. No application form, deadline or guidelines are published, and our records list the application process as unspecified.

Who it favors. Of 203 grants in our data totaling $1.46M, 165 (81%) went to Hawai'i recipients. The remainder is scattered across CA (9), NY (7), TX (7) and a few other states, mostly small or matching gifts. Repeat recipients include Hawaiian Humane Society, Hawaii Community Foundation, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust and Kupu. Established, mid-sized Honolulu nonprofits dominate, with a strong tilt toward food security, youth, workforce, animal welfare, culture and health.

Likely progression. Without a published process, expect an informal path: introduction or inquiry, a brief conversation or short proposal, then a program-support or capital grant. Several recipients received multiple grants (Hawaiian Humane Society, 9 across its two listed name variants), which suggests that a first modest grant often leads to repeat support, including matching-gift grants.

First-time applicants should know: - Giving is restricted in practice to Hawai'i, with Honolulu and Oahu the center of gravity. - Grant labels reveal categories the foundation thinks in: Community, Youth, Education, Workforce, Cultural and Capital. - Officers (Barron Guss, President; Kerry Kopp, VP/Treasurer; Siana Hunt, Secretary) serve unpaid, so decisions are made by a small board. Unsolicited, polished mass mailings are unlikely to work; a targeted, local, relationship-based approach is.

Size. Our typical-grant calculation (13 grants) puts the median at $10,000, the average at about $16,900, and the range at $5,000 to $95,000. Across all 203 grants in the grantee data, the average is only about $7,200, which shows many small matching and event-level gifts beneath a set of larger program and capital awards. The largest single recipient grant listed is $200,000 (Le Jardin Academy, a 3-year restricted capital improvement grant for education). The most common program-support figure is $10,000, and $25,000 is the usual ceiling for community program grants (Hawaii Symphony, Anthropos Arts, Life 360 Network).

Total giving trend (IRS data). - 2020: about $231K total giving - 2021: about $291K - 2022: about $191K - 2023: about $260K - FY2025: about $781K total giving, with $510K in grants paid

Assets grew from $750K in 2019 to about $4.82M in FY2025. The foundation was funded mainly by contributions ($750K in 2019, $1.05M in 2021, $1.2M in 2022, $1.4M in 2023, $200K in FY2025), so giving is tied to ALTRES's corporate contributions, not only to endowment returns. Investment income was about $120K in FY2025, so a payout increase is plausible if the sponsor keeps contributing. No filing for 2024 appears in our financial table.

By theme (grantee list, by dollars among the top 50 recipients). - Education and capital: Le Jardin Academy ($200K), Hawaii Mobile Museum of Tolerance ($28.8K) - Animal welfare: Hawaiian Humane Society and variants (about $191K combined), Hawaii Animal Rescue Foundation ($20K) - Food security: Hawaii Community Foundation ($96K), Aloha Harvest ($30K), Food Basket, Feeding Hawaii Together, Grow Some Good ($10K each) - Youth and mentoring: Boys & Girls Club, Life 360, Scouting, Hawaii Youth Symphony - Maui wildfire relief: Na Kama Kai, Chef Hui ($25K each), plus several $10K grants - Health, conservation (Kupu $35K), culture and historic preservation

Geography. Hawai'i accounts for 165 of 203 grants (81%). Recipients outside Hawai'i are rare and typically tied to matching gifts (for example Give Kids The World Village, FL).

The data bundle provides asset levels for peers but not their annual giving, so giving cells below are marked unavailable instead of estimated. Peers are drawn from the same NTEE category and asset band, not from a shared geography or sponsor type.

All five peers sit within a few thousand dollars of Altres's assets, but they are in other states, so none competes with it for the same Hawai'i applicants. Altres is notable for its payout: FY2025 giving of $781K is about 16% of assets, well above the 5% typical of a private foundation. That is possible because its sponsor keeps adding capital. Grant seekers should treat it as a fast-moving corporate funder whose giving can change with ALTRES's own finances.

Public news on the foundation is thin. A web search for 2025-2026 announcements returned no press releases, grant lists or leadership changes, and the ALTRES giving page carries no dated announcements. The page highlights community activities including a food pantry SouperBowl, a back-to-school drive, Keiki Day 2023, a Lanakila Pacific volunteer day and a giving day at Chef Hui's Kokua Learning Farm.

The IRS-derived record is the best evidence of recent activity: - FY2025 filing: total giving of about $781K (grants paid about $510K), assets of about $4.82M, revenue of about $338K, and $200K in contributions received. Aggregators report different grant counts for the same period (about 163 grants and $504K), so verify against the Form 990-PF. - Maui wildfire response: the grantee list includes Maui Disaster Relief grants to Na Kama Kai and Chef Hui ($25K each) and to Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center and Na Keiki O Emalia ($10K each). - Large multi-year commitment: a $200K, 3-year restricted capital improvement grant to Le Jardin Academy is the largest recipient total in our data. - Leadership: the officers listed across filings are consistently Barron Guss (President/Director), Kerry Kopp (VP/Treasurer/Director) and Siana Hunt (Secretary/Director), with no compensation. No change was found.

We found no announced new programs. Treat any claim about 2026 priorities as unverified.

Public sources document no application process, so these tips are inferred from the grant record and should be confirmed with the foundation.

• Start with a conversation. The foundation's page lists only ALTRES general numbers, (808) 591-4940 and (808) 591-4944 (the number on the IRS record), at 967 Kapiolani Blvd, Honolulu. Call or write to ask whether it takes unsolicited requests and what format it prefers before you send a proposal. The IRS contact is Siana Hunt.
• Be in Hawai'i. 81% of grants go to Hawai'i organizations. Out-of-state applicants should not expect to compete.
• Ask at the right size. The median is $10,000 and the 13-grant range is $5,000 to $95,000. A first request of $10,000 to $25,000 fits the pattern; $25,000 is the usual cap for community program grants. Larger requests ($50K and up, such as Arc of Hilo at $50K or Le Jardin at $200K) have gone to well-known recipients or capital projects.
• Use their category language. Grant purposes use labels such as 'Program Support Grant - Youth', 'Community', 'Workforce', 'Education', 'Cultural' and 'Capital Campaign'. Phrases like 'food assistance to low-income families' recur. Frame your request in those terms.
• Offer more than money. The foundation says it gives money, expertise and volunteers. Propose a volunteer day or skills support, especially workforce readiness, which fits an HR and staffing sponsor (YWCA Dress for Success, Purple Mai'a).
• Matching gifts are a pattern. Several recipients received 'Unrestricted Matching Gift' grants. If your organization has ALTRES employees as donors or volunteers, say so.
• Cultivate for repeat support. Hawaiian Humane Society and Hawaii Symphony received several grants. Report results concisely after a first award.
• Common mistake to avoid. Do not pitch national programs, or projects with no Hawai'i service area. Timing is unknown; no deadline is published, so ask whether a year-end cycle exists (the list includes 'Unrestricted Year End Grant' awards).