riends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., a 501(c)(3 )organization, was formed in 1998 as a result of the shared vision and collaboration of a group of Hawaii business and community leaders. The Friends provide support for local not-for-profit programs that serve and benefit Hawaii’s women, children, elderly, and impoverished.
The Friends’ principal fund-raising event is the annual Sony Open in Hawaii PGA TOUR golf tournament held at Waialae Country Club each January.
Friends of Hawaii Charities will award $1.2 million in charitable grants from proceeds raised at the Sony Open with support from its new partner Hawai’i Community Foundation (HCF). In a new four-year partnership, HCF matches funds raised via the tournament, with the strong support of title sponsor Sony Group Corporation; host site Waialae Country Club; and state sponsor, Hawaii Tourism Authority. 2023 charity grant recipients are community-based, non-profit organizations which operate programs that, 1) help Hawai’i families transition out of poverty via the ALICE Initiative,* 2) support community-based services for the elderly via the Kūpuna Aging in Place program, and, 3) increase healthy development of under-resourced keiki ages 0-5 years via the Promising Minds Initiative.
As the first full-field PGA TOUR event of the year, the Sony Open is the largest charity golf event in Hawaii. The event has raised over $23 million dollars for over 350 local not-for-profits since 1999. On November 8, 2021, Sony Group Corporation (Sony) announced extension of its title sponsorship for the Sony Open in Hawaii through 2026. The PGA TOUR tournament has been held at Waialae Country Club since its debut in 1965. In 1999, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., became the host organization of the tournament with Sony as title sponsor.