August 12, 2025

HONOLULU, HI — Ronald McDonald House Charities Hawaiʻi (RMHC Hawaiʻi) is proud to announce the appointment of Lee Higa-Okamoto as its new Chief Operating Officer. A respected leader with more than two decades of experience in nonprofit administration, human resources, and strategic planning, Higa-Okamoto brings a proven track record of operational excellence and a deep commitment to community service.

In her new role, Higa-Okamoto will oversee day-to-day operations and help guide the strategic direction of the organization, which provides essential support and housing for families traveling to O‘ahu for their children’s medical care. She joins RMHC Hawaiʻi at a pivotal time as the nonprofit expands its programs and services to better meet the needs of families across the islands.

“Lee’s breadth of experience in nonprofit leadership, her dedication to people-centered management, and her heart for service align perfectly with our mission,” said RMHC Hawaiʻi CEO Ed Nishioka. “We are thrilled to welcome her to our ‘ohana.”

Higa-Okamoto most recently served as Director of People Development at Y. Hata & Co., and previously held executive roles at Child and Family Service and Friends of the Waikiki Aquarium. Her expertise includes operational oversight, organizational development, strategic planning, and fostering inclusive workplace cultures. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to strengthening Hawai‘i’s communities, with leadership roles in organizations such as the Waialae School Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaiʻi Alliance Board, and the Friends of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Children’s Center.

“I’m honored to join Ronald McDonald House Charities Hawaiʻi and support the incredible work being done to keep families close during some of their most difficult moments,” said Higa-Okamoto. “I look forward to working alongside the team to ensure that every family who comes through our doors feels the warmth, compassion, and support that defines the Aloha Spirit.”

Higa-Okamoto holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

June 18, 2025
Article by Ed Nishioka via AlohaStateDaily.com

Have you ever thought about hiring a nonprofit for professional services? Maybe it’s time to, especially if you’re a nonprofit reliant on donations. Here’s one way we’re turning business expenses into “a built-in impact multiplier.”

Nonprofit organizations invest significant time and effort in fundraising — refining gala scripts, crafting grant proposals and maintaining a strong social media presence. But behind the scenes, a steady stream of procurement dollars quietly supports day-to-day operations: shredding documents, landscaping, printing materials, maintaining internet service — everything that keeps the organization running.

At Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawaiʻi, we began to ask a straightforward question: Can this spending do more than pay for services? Can it also support the mission of another organization? We’ve found that the answer is yes, and we’re committed to putting that idea into practice.

We had the opportunity to implement this idea when we needed to shred banker boxes of records that required secure destruction and digital scanning. We decided to hire Abilities Unlimited, a local nonprofit that trains adults with developmental or physical disabilities in real-world jobs. Their shredding crew visits a couple of times a month and is very efficient and comes with their own supervisors (who we do not have to pay). I can vouch for the impact, as my nephew is on that crew, and his monthly paycheck gives him a sense of accomplishment and self-worth that most of us take for granted.

A few months later, the owner of our longtime landscaping vendor decided to retire, and we could have hired the usual commercial outfits. Instead, we contacted Habilitat, a recovery program that maintains its operations through a portfolio of vocational enterprises, including landscaping. Our two properties require a fair amount of landscaping and their crews have been up to the task. They have been very responsive to all of our needs.

Experiences like these upend the tired notion that buying from a nonprofit vendor is a mercy contract. I would argue it is the opposite. Abilities Unlimited pounds through documents, and Habilitat has done our green spaces proud. Both provide the same services, and are responsible, so the work is seamless and doesn’t demand extra time or effort. When I watch these workers, I see the pride that they take in what they are doing. They are very concerned about not just doing the job, they want to do a really good job.

For us, hiring these organizations yields three layers of benefits. It provides jobs for those who need them. We get services that we need. And the third impact is the greatest one: there is a compounding effect, in that we operate on donations, and our donations not only go to support our mission, in this instance, they are helping other mission oriented nonprofit organizations. That is one multiplier effect that has paid off in so many ways for us and these organizations.

I don’t get excited about expenses. As the head of an organization, I am always trying to hold the line on expenses and/or reduce them. This is different. These are the kind of expenses that make cents (and sense). This is not charity, it is business. In our experience, the cost for these services is competitive, if not more than competitive, but I think there is a bigger picture and greater good here, and at the same time, we are getting professional services we need and would have paid for anyway.

State directories list dozens of mission-driven vendors, offering everything from catering and printing to custodial and facilities support. Hire one and you do more than check a task off the list; you hand someone a job and a sense of belonging. Lanakila Pacific handles catering, printing and embroidery; Goodwill Hawaiʻi covers custodial and more. You won’t need to switch every contract, but even choosing a few turns routine spending into measurable impact — no regrets, just results.

Again, think of your donation as being turbocharged. A donation to us helps pay for accommodations, transportation, meals and activities, and that keeps a family close to a hospitalized ill child. Because our shredding dollars are landing at Abilities Unlimited and our landscaping dollars flow to Habilitat, that same gift simultaneously helps adults with disabilities earn a paycheck and supports addiction-recovery programming. One contribution, three missions advanced — a built-in impact multiplier that even the savviest donor would applaud.

Nonprofits exist to plug the gaps many times where the free market and government often fail to fill. For us to make an impact, all we had to do was redirect the money we were going to spend anyway. That is truly one of the few times I get excited about expenses. Next time you need a service that one of these nonprofits provides, think about hiring them and watch your dollars double the impact.

May 19, 2025
Article by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros via AlohaStateDaily.com

With the help of the nonprofit’s board of directors, RMHC President and CEO Ed Nishioka seeks to hire a local leader who will oversee its annual budget, facility operations, human resources and more. He also provides an update on the organization.

Ed Nishioka, president and CEO of Ronald McDonal House Charities of Hawaiʻi, is hiring. Over the last couple of weeks, hundreds of candidates have applied from across the globe to become the organization’s next Chief Operation Officer.

“I’ve been consulting with some of our board members who have executive hiring experience. I’m basically operating as if I were executive search firm … But you’ve got to do it right to find the right fit,” he told Aloha State Daily. “We’re taking a full approach, [posting] on job sites with [Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations], Association of Fundraising Professionals. We’ve advertised on LinkedIn, which so far, has gotten a high volume of applicants, but they’re not as high quality. Indeed the same way.”

Nishioka added that word-of-mouth and referrals have produced the best leads. As part of his long-term vision, he said he morphed duties for this new role from the current director of operations position, which in mid-June, will be vacated by Kanoe Paauhau.

“So, we’ve got a little time, but I’m guessing they may not cross paths because it’s just that lengthy of a process,” said Nishioka, who took the helm of the organization in February 2024. He previously served as director of development for the Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council, and managed Marcus Mariota’s Motiv8 Foundation.

“I think for this type of job, I’m looking for someone with a similar management style and personality that fits the culture I’ve built over the last 16 months. Someone who has their own local contacts on-the-ground and who knows Hawaiʻi’s business and nonprofit environments,” he said.

“Hawaiʻi is so different than the rest of the country – not only do you have to learn the business and culture here, you have to understand the different ethnicities. If you’re trying to raise money and you can’t say people’s name right or the street that they live on right, it’s a little tougher for someone to come from the outside, but not impossible.”

See the full job description, here.

Nishioka leads a team of about 23 full- and part-time staff, he said, overseeing RMHC’s annual budget of more than $2.5 million – most of which comes from donations. The organization’s mission is to “to provide a home-away-from-home for seriously ill children and their families, and to develop other programs and partnerships aimed at improving the lives of children in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.”

The local chapter operates two residential facilities to accommodate families that must travel to Oʻahu for their child’s medical treatments. According to Nishioka, “We’re the only RMHC in America where families have to fly to stay with us.”

He added, 85% percent of families come in from the Neighbor Islands, with the remaining from Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, and Mainland families vacationing in Hawaiʻi.

Nishioka’s main goal in 2025 is to expand services for families – both within the homes and in the community at hospitals, events and other spaces suitable for keiki and their families. He noted that although the length of stays varies, the nonprofit aims to double the number of families hosted in the next five years.

“We are at 100% occupancy right now, and we do have overflow partnerships with hotels in Waikīkī, Nishioka said. “We’re working on a lot of things related to the family experience, creating more meal programs, activities and therapy support. … We’re trying to be more than a place to stay.”

On the funding side, support from the community has been ongoing, he said. “McDonald’s is a strong supporter; they don’t back us completely. We also have no federal grants.”

Nishioka said fundraising events have been doing well. Leadership is reworking its endowment accounts for future sustainability, too.

“What a joy it is to work for an organization with a mission like ours: We aim to create normalcy where normalcy doesn’t exist,” he said. “Our model where families can live together allows them to make good friends during a hard time, and they stay in contact with each other well after they leave.”

For more information about Ronald McDonal House Charities of Hawai’i, go to: ronaldmcdonaldhousehawaii.org. Follow on Instagram @ronaldhousehi

View original article here.