Two years after wildfires swept through Maui in August 2023, the Hawaii Community Foundation released its Maui Strong Fund Two-Year Impact Report, providing a detailed account of donations, grants and recovery programs, while noting the continuing challenges for residents.
The fund, activated immediately after the fires, raised over $210 million as of last week, including interest earned, from more than 240,000 donors across 78 countries.
Of that total, over $141 million had been awarded or committed to over 200 local organizations and community-led initiatives as of July 17. HCF said more than 90% of funds were directed to Maui-based or statewide partners with a strong presence on the island.
The report emphasizes that the fund has shifted from immediate relief to long-term recovery, using a four-phase approach outlined in the report.
Kehau Meyer, senior program officer for HCF’s Maui Recovery Effort, said the fund’s strategy has evolved as the recovery has progressed.
“As we head into long-term recovery, there is so much depth of the information coming from community data and conversations,” Meyer said. “We connect with other funders to ensure efforts are not being duplicated, that resources are being managed and leveraged well, and that programs we are considering are moving recovery forward, especially for our most vulnerable populations or for folks who don’t have access to certain recovery resources.”
Housing has been a primary focus of the recovery effort. HCF reported that $82.8 million has been dedicated to interim and permanent housing. Interim solutions have included programs such as Ka La‘i Ola and Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement builds at La‘iku and Ke Ao Maluhia, which Meyer described as successful.
“Families have moved in and are finding security and safety there,” she said.
Permanent housing efforts include the rebuilding of the Ka Hale a Ke Ola campus in Lahaina, which will provide affordable housing units, an emergency shelter and a health clinic.
HCF is also working with the Ho‘ola ia Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group to support volunteer rebuild efforts that help reduce labor costs.
Mental health support has been another major component of recovery. HCF has provided $6.1 million to 53 grantees offering a combination of counseling, peer support, art therapy and culturally grounded healing practices.
Meyer said that incorporating cultural and traditional practices has been central to the approach.
“We’ve seen a great number of programs come through the Maui Strong Fund seeking to offer cultural and traditional healing practices to survivors and it’s been inspiring to hear these programs have such great reception in community,” she said.
Last fall, the Maui Strong Fund awarded $2 million to 24 nonprofits for mental health programs, supporting a combination of cultural healing practices and community-based clinical therapy events.
Programs for youth and adult survivors also have been prioritized.
Meyer noted that extracurricular and in-school programs have been effective for youth, providing stability and a sense of normalcy.
“For youth survivors, we see programs that engaged them in extracurricular activities to be valuable to a return to normalcy,” Meyer said. “In Year 2, we are seeing in school programming a great success for engaging the youth, and we are still working through solutions now to make sure the youth have resources that they need for their own recovery journey, including some groups, like Kibou for Maui, who are Lahainaluna student engagement on how they want their community to recover.”
For adults, programs focused on financial assistance and homeowner rebuilding navigation have shown positive results.
“These programs will be key to recovery as housing and stability are the keystones to most recovery plans,” Meyer said.
HCF also stressed that recovery needs remain highly individualized, and long-term navigation and case management services will be critical.
To ensure funds reflect local priorities, HCF said it incorporates community data and feedback into its review process.
“We engage with many organizations who are navigating survivors directly and we are digesting the many reports that survivors are participating in related to their experiences in recovery,” Meyer said.
The fund also has catalyzed new partnerships and innovative approaches to philanthropy. Last year, HCF and other philanthropic partners launched the Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative to coordinate funding, reduce duplication and streamline grant applications for nonprofits.
The initiative was recently recognized at the Council on Foundations convening as an innovative approach to disaster recovery funding.
Meyer emphasized that the foundation’s priorities remain grounded in local needs for Maui’s long-term recovery, which continue to be housing, financial stability, supporting community navigation and case management.
The report underscores the continuing challenges for the island, including the ongoing need for individualized recovery support, rebuilding of homes and community infrastructure and programs that address both mental health and economic stability. HCF said its efforts are intended to complement public recovery funding, and the foundation will continue working with community partners to track outcomes, ensure effective resource use and support programs that respond to the evolving needs of Maui residents.
Source: The Garden Island
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