EBay Inc. founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam, have pledged $50 million over six years to the Hawaii Community Foundation.

The charitable gift is one of the largest ever in Hawaii.

"Pam and I are privileged to call Hawaii home. Given the economic crisis and hardships throughout the state, we felt it was especially important at this time to expand our philanthropy in the islands," Pierre Omidyar said in a news release.

Part of the money will be used to fund a Community Stabilization Initiative aimed at helping families hurting from the recession, and an Omidyar Innovation Fund to encourage new ideas in "Hawaii's social sector."

The gift also includes a $6 million challenge grant for Punahou School. The grant requires matching funds from other donors and will be used to finance construction and operations of the new Omidyar Kindergarten-First Grade Neighborhood at the Mänoa school.

Omidyar, whose net worth recently was estimated by Forbes magazine at $5.5 billion, founded the online auction site eBay in 1995.

He attended Punahou for the eighth and ninth grades and Pam Omidyar grew up in Hawaii Kai and attended Iolani School. The couple returned to Hawaii in 2006 to raise their children.

"(Since) Pierre and Pam moved here three years ago, they have become more active in the community," said Kelvin Taketa, the foundation's president and CEO.

The foundation said it believes the Omidyars' donation is the biggest single charitable gift by a living person in Hawaii.

Financier Harry Weinberg and Big Island rancher Richard Smart set aside larger, perpetua l endowments. But those gifts — worth hundreds of millions of dollars — were made after the donors' death.

GIVING BACK

Omidyar, who walked away from the day-to-day management of eBay in the late 1990s, has focused much of his recent efforts on his philanthropic ventures. His Redwood City, Calif.-based Omidyar Network has given away hundreds of millions of dollars since 2004.

In Hawaii, the Omidyars have supported a number of causes and organizations.

They helped launch Kanu Hawaii, a grassroots social organization that encourages residents to improve their community, and supported the expansion of Mao Organic Farms in Waianae and its farm-to-school program for young adults.

Most recently, the Omidyars launched the Ulupono Initiative, a social investment organization that makes nonprofit grants and for-profit investments aimed at addressing issues critical to Hawaii's sustainable future: renewable energy, local food production and waste reduction.

"Our family was warmly welcomed by old friends and new acquaintances when we decided to make Hawaii our home," Pam Omidyar said.

"That experience was a strong reminder of the important role community plays in every aspect of life here in the Islands."