Q. How did you become the head of the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation?

A. I was the real estate consultant on the sale of Kukui Gardens, and during that process I learned a lot about the late Clarence T.C. Ching. As the sale was coming to a close, I was asked if I would consider joining the foundation as executive director. I'd been retired for some time and I thought that this was just a wonderful opportunity to work with the community here, and that's how it happened.

Q. Is this a new position?

A. Yes it is. This is a time of transition for the foundation. With the sale of Kukui Gardens, the funds from that sale went into the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation, which now is Hawai'i's third-largest charitable foundation accepting grants. We opened a new office, and I was appointed the executive director.

Q. How was it run before?

A. There were always trustees. The foundation was set up by Clarence in 1967, and from that point on there were always trustees, but it was run out of another office.

Q. What are your responsibilities?

A. My responsibility is to carry out the wishes of the trustees and to make sure that the trust is run in an appropriate manner.

Q. How large is the foundation?

A. The sale from Kukui Gardens was $131 million, and there was some money in the foundation prior to that. So it's about a $135 million foundation. This is what Clarence Ching wanted when he set up the foundation in 1967 and when he built Kukui Gardens in 1970. His dream was at the end of the HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) agreement that the funds go into the foundation to help the people of Hawai'i, so that's what we're doing.

Q. The foundation has contributed millions of dollars to Saint Louis School, Chaminade University and St. Francis Medical Center. Will the list of beneficiaries grow as a result of the growth of the foundation?

A. The three institutions were default beneficiaries, and this is something the Internal Revenue Service asked to be done. In the event that the Kukui Gardens Corp. failed, then the default beneficiaries would end up with the property. However, that is not the case today. We, of course, are going to be looking at those three institutions, but it's going to be open for requests from any charitable group in Hawai'i. This was just set up on Jan. 1, so it hasn't even been a month yet, but we have been receiving a number of requests for grants.

Q. Do you know how much will be given out each year?

A. Because it's a charitable, private 501(c)(3) charitable organization, we're required to give out a minimum 5 percent of the value of the trust every year.

Q. The sale of Kukui Gardens generated a lot of controversy when it was announced that the rental complex was to be sold to a developer. Is part of your job to improve the foundation's image?

A. I really don't want to get into a lot of discussion on Kukui Gardens. I think enough has been said in the paper on that. However, I was involved in recommending to the corporation the purchaser, Carmel Partners, which is not a developer. They're operators of many apartments and along with that many HUD projects too. So it's worked out well because Carmel ended up with about half of the property and the nonprofit that the state was involved in has the other half of the property. I think it's worked out well for everybody, and as I said, our goal was to sell the property and to put the money into the charitable foundation, and that's exactly what's happened. We're very pleased that that's all behind us.

Q. Is it a big adjustment for you to go from a for-profit to a nonprofit agency?

A. No. I've been involved in nonprofit organizations before and it's exciting. It's going to be very rewarding to see the money from Kukui Gardens go to good use and for charitable organizations. And the trustees are very atuned to that and they want it to be run as a business and in a very strict manner, so that's what we're doing.

Q. What are some of your challenges as executive director?

A. It's a challenge today because of the way the markets are reacting. What we plan to do is to grow the foundation, certainly the 5 percent plus any inflation that comes along. That's really our minimum growth that we're looking for. I think that beyond that, just to make sure that the funds are allocated in a proper way to charities that are really in need and that will carry out the wishes of the trustees. That's our main goal.

Q. Have you set any benchmarks for yourself or the foundation while you're there?

A. It's the thought of the trustees to walk before we run, and we're in the process now of setting up our investment accounts and we're going to be conservative. The trustees certainly want to not jump into anything that's going to be risky. We have a big obligation to preserve this trust and do what Mr. Ching had in mind when he set this up in 1967.

Q. Have you ever really been retired?

A. That's what my wife says. I've been in business for a long time, and I retired a couple of times, but I'm not the kind of guy that likes to sit on the beach. I enjoy working and I especially enjoy the work that is going to be coming forth for the foundation because it's so needed in the state of Hawai'i. As long as the trustees would like me to serve, I'll be happy to serve. If you enjoy it, it's really not work. Our primary goal is to make a real and meaningful difference in the support of local organizations. We're committed to helping families across the state. That's really what we're all about.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.