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Ulupono Initiative is a Hawai‘i–based and –focused organization that uses impact investing, non-profit grant-making, and advocacy with the stated goals of promoting local food production, renewable energy, environmentally friendly transportation, and better management of freshwater resources.

eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam established Ulupono in 2009, after each spent parts of their childhood in Hawai‘i. Pierre Omidyar has also founded other Hawai‘i-based organizations such as Honolulu Civil Beat and Ohana Real Estate Developers. In 2010 Omidyar joined Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s campaign The Giving Pledge.

Activities
Ulupono does:
 * Non-profit grants including creating and supporting school gardens, farm-to-school networks, agricultural incubators, as well as leadership development in these key areas.
 * Advocacy to shape and influence state and county measures and amendments that they believe will make a meaningful impact in Hawai‘i.
 * Research to help inform its work, including a local food market demand study of O‘ahu shoppers to gauge consumer demand and studies about grass and water for grass-fed productivity.
 * Impact investing in areas that include solar energy, biofuels, and electric vehicle charging networks.

Ulupono initially focused entirely on investments and grants; over time, the organization has begun engaging in more policy advocacy. As of December 2017, Ulupono invested approximately $77,104,422 toward achieving its mission and goals. Of its funding allocations in their portfolio 47.5% are dedicated to local food, 48.5% are dedicated to renewable energy, 3.0% are dedicated to waste reduction, and 1.0% is dedicated to water management.

Ulupono has also provided grant funding to Bikeshare Hawaii to start and expand operations.

When Ulupono was founded in 2009, Kyle Datta and Robin Campaniano were brought on to co-lead Ulupono as its first leadership team. Current leadership includes Murray Clay, the organization's president.

Ulupono was a strong advocate of a Hawaii state constitutional amendment to allow farmers, ranchers and owners of other agricultural endeavors to request special purpose revenue bonds (SPRB). The measure passed with 50.2% of the vote in Hawaii's 2014 general election. Ulupono, the main funder of the "Local Food Coalition", contributed $500,000 of the $507,400 (98.5%) raised for the amendment's passage.

Investment portfolio
Ulupono has invested in companies including Hawaii Dairy Farms on Kauai, Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning, Sopogy, SolarCity, Blue Ocean Mariculture, Hawaii BioEnergy, Phycal, Kapalua Farms on Maui, Oceanic Institute Research Feed Mill, Ibis Networks, and Bioenergy Hawaii.

Controversies
Citing regulatory challenges, Ulupono announced in January 2019 that it would discontinue planning for Hawaii Dairy Farms, a proposed 557-acre dairy farm in Mahaulepu Valley, Kauai. Honolulu-based Ulupono had received $875,000 in state tax credits designed to encourage landowners to preserve farmland for agricultural use. Ulupono said that the tax credit program allowed the organization to take on risk, with a total estimated project cost of $17.5 million.

Ulupono first invested $1 million in Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning in August 2013 ; in November 2014, Ulupono Initiative and Capital Cooling purchased a majority stake in the company. Ulupono invested more than $6 million in the project. In December 2020, Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning announced it would conclude its operations by the end of January 2021, citing rising construction costs.

In 2014, Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2, which "allows the State to issue special purpose revenue bonds to assist agricultural enterprises on any type of land, rather than only important agricultural lands" passed with 50.2%, 0.2% more than required and making it the closest ballot initiative in Hawaii's history. Ulupono contributed $500,000 of the $507,400 (98.5%) raised for the amendment's passage. The League of Women Voters noted the concern about Amendment 2's passage was, "Large, for-profit agribusiness will also be eligible for low cost, privately-funded loans. This will give them a competitive advantage over small farms".

In March 2017, JLL released a report commissioned by Ulupono claiming that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) could save up to $570 million on construction of the Skyline rail system by working with private contractors. The analysis concluded that the project remained dependent on public funding to close the $2 billion funding gap. Delays in funding could further delay the project, potentially costing the taxpayers of Hawaii up to $114 million per year. In response to Ulupono's report, HART worked with Ernst & Young to investigate possible public-private funding models.

In September 2020, the city announced it was withdrawing from the effort to land a private-sector partner on the rail project. HART shared that it was canceling the public-private effort two months later. An 11-mile section of the Skyline rail opened in June 2023.

Ulupono has provided funding to Bikeshare Hawaii, which runs the Biki bike-sharing program launched in 2017. Biki announced in April 2021 that due to revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, it would cut services by up to 60 percent. By October 2021, returning tourism had led to an increase in Biki use, and the organization claimed it was able to make less deep cuts than initially anticipated. Biki marked six years in operation and nearly six million rides in June 2023.