A Channel of Wise Giving

Since 2007, the Conduit Fund has quietly backed more than fifty Hawaiʻi nonprofits — emergency relief, scholarships, shelter, second chances. It started, unexpectedly, at a lunch.

Suzanne Nakano showed up that day expecting to listen to a presentation about the National Christian Foundation (NCF) approach to wise giving. Instead, the conversation was perplexingly about Hawaiʻi’s tourist attractions—and something in Suzanne wouldn’t let it go. After the lunch, she read everything she could find about NCF, and discovered a mission that matched her heart.

Moved by NCF’s impactful giving stories, she opened an NCF 501(c)(3) donor-advised fund of her own: the Conduit Fund. Her giving continued to increase as she donated appreciated assets to expand her reach. Nearly two decades later, that first lunch has become a legacy built to outlast her lifetime.

Wise giving was never meant to be a one-time gift. It's a daily practice — consistent and rooted in relationship. That's the heart of everything the Conduit Fund does.