Give Big Hawaiʻi: Where the Money Went
More than a year after the devastating Maui wildfires, we tracked the latest distribution of relief funds.
After last year’s devastating wildfires, which reduced Lahaina to ashes, destroying more than 2,200 homes there and 19 in Kula, support poured in from around the world to mālama the Valley Isle. To date, the federal government has allocated nearly $3 billion in support, including more than $500 million for emergency measures, debris removal and infrastructure repair, and $300 million for temporary housing. Another $385 million has been distributed to households through FEMA assistance programs. State agencies, nonprofit organizations and private fundraising efforts including GoFundMe campaigns collectively raised at least another $1 billion for Maui’s recovery.
Four local nonprofits—the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, Maui United Way, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and The Salvation Army—spearheaded the biggest local fundraisers, raising some $272.6 million. However, with such substantial sums being accumulated, questions began to arise in the months after the fires about the funds, such as where the money was going and whether it was truly being directed to help the people of Maui.
For its Maui Strong Fund, which by September 2024 had amassed more than $200 million for relief efforts, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation established an oversight committee and tapped global auditing and consulting firm Moss Adams to keep track of the money. Looking ahead, executive director Micah Kāne says the organization’s focus will be to help Maui reestablish its economy and address housing issues worsened by the fires. “The cost burden of housing on Maui is the highest in the state of Hawai‘i. The fires exacerbated that,” he says. “I strongly believe that there’s a solution that can come out of this recovery that proves we can make homes affordable.”
In response to immediate needs, temporary housing for those who lost their homes was prioritized. HCF has allocated more than $110 million on Maui wildfire relief so far. Of that, HCF committed $67.2 million to housing initiatives, including $2.8 million to nonprofits providing emergency housing support; $14.4 million for direct financial assistance to subsidize housing costs; and $50 million to the Hawai‘i Interim Housing Program, an initiative involving federal, state and Maui governments, the American Red Cross and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
HCF is in phase three of its four-phase disaster response plan, which prioritizes recovery and stabilization. Kāne says the organization is still considering whether to ramp up funding for the short term, or whether to preserve resources and make distributions on a longer timeline. It’s currently estimated that the Maui Strong Fund will be fully distributed by 2026.
For its part, the CNHA alone raised more than $40 million for Maui, with 70% going to individuals to help with housing and other needs. The rest went to nonprofit support, local business assistance and CNHA’s direct services, such as its workforce programs, staffing and operations.
Of the $21 million it raised, Maui United Way distributed $11.3 million to mental health programs and for emergency financial aid. Of that total, $7.8 million was delivered as immediate, direct payments to nearly 8,000 affected residents. The rest went to local nonprofits or other in-house programs like the Sentry Mālama Nā Keiki Initiative and stop-gap emergency food assistance.
Similarly, The Salvation Army raised $11.6 million and so far, has directed $4.5 million to long-term stability programs, including emotional and spiritual care for Maui residents to support community healing. Several other projects are in the works, including property surveys and help with rent, utilities, food and clothing. “Focusing resources where we can address individual cases in a personalized way is a guiding priority for this phase of recovery funding,” says Maj. Troy Trimmer, divisional commander of the organization in Hawai‘i.
Take a closer look at how these organizations are distributing funds and collaborating with smaller nonprofits.
Hawai‘i Community Foundation
Fundraiser: Maui Strong Fund
Total Donations Received: $200 million
Total Spent on Maui Relief: $110.6 million
Highlighted Beneficiary: Hawai‘i Community Lending
Amount: $5.4 million
*Amounts as of Sept. 20, 2024
From finding temporary shelter to the complex rebuilding process, housing remains one of the most pressing issues fire survivors face today. Funds from various nonprofits have allowed Hawai‘i Community Lending to help local families build and buy homes and save roperties from foreclosure.
Backed with $5.4 million from the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and $100,000 from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, the finance-focused nonprofit was able to hire staff members, most of whom are Maui residents, including many from Lahaina. These employees work one-on-one with owner-occupants affected by the fires to help them rebuild, according to executive director Jeff Gilbreath.
Hawai‘i Community Lending intends to serve 500 homeowners affected by the fires over a three-year period. As an example of the kind of help provided, Gilbreath points to a homeowner whose house was contaminated by smoke and ash, making it uninhabitable. The owner’s insurance company refused to issue a standard hygienist test and offered just $17,000 as compensation for the home. Hawai‘i Community Lending stepped up to pay for the test, which confirmed the home was a total loss. The insurance company has now offered $1.2 million in compensation, plus loss-of-use funds while the homeowner awaits a settlement.
“We’re helping folks to navigate a really complex process,” Gilbreath says. “What they need to know is that they’re not alone. It’s going to take time, but at least they have someone on their team that can help them walk through those steps.”
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
Fundraiser: Kāko‘o Maui Fund
Total Donations Received: $40.05 million
Total Spent on Maui Relief: $29.3 million
Highlighted Beneficiary: Pu‘uhonua Society
Amount: $25,000
*Amounts as of Sept. 9, 2024
The Honolulu-based Pu‘uhonua Society connects traditional Hawaiian cultural practices with contemporary art, environmental stewardship and education. Its Keanahala hala weaving initiative, one of the group’s six main programs, was launched to help the Maui community grieve its losses. “Part of our lau hala practice is to weave hīna‘i (baskets), which are typically woven for iwi kūpuna (ancestral bones) or for those who have passed,” executive director Emma Broderick says. “Historically, it would be for bones, but is now sometimes used for ash as a way to give people a communal nd a cultural space to release loved ones.”
During an event last year in Kā‘anapali, the nonprofit provided hīna‘i kits and instruction to participants. Its CNHA grant provided funding to support the lau hala harvest, as well as the monthlong preparation, the assembly of kits and the group’s travel to Maui. Group members also left behind additional kits and trained others in the weaving process, ensuring that the workshops could continue. “It was such an intense time for so many people, and that feeling of wanting to support in some way was very present with our hui,” Broderick says. “One of the phrases we brought with us was he pū‘olo waimaka (an offering of tears). In this case, it’s speaking to the importance of grieving, and not grieving alone.”
Photo by Aaron K. Yoshino
Maui United Way
Fundraiser: Maui Fire Disaster Relief
Total Donations Received: $21 million
Total Spent on Maui Relief: $11.3 million
Highlighted Beneficiary: Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui
Amount: $110,000
*Amounts as of Aug. 19, 2024
After losing its Lahaina clubhouse and a company van in the fires, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui sprang into action to support displaced keiki and their families. “We always say we do whatever it takes,” director of operations Thomas “TJ” Daya says.
The outreach began at Nāpili Park to give Lahaina youths a place to reconvene and participate in activities. Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui CEO Kelly Maluo-Pearson recalls a conversation with Lahaina clubhouse director Aaron Naea. “I texted him and I said, ‘How are things going?’ And he said, ‘You know, the best part is just hearing the laughter of the kids,’” Maluo-Pearson says.
The organization recently set up at Lahaina Intermediate School, after operating its clubhouse temporarily from the Hyatt Regency in Kā‘anapali. “We just moved into [modular buildings] this week because we have a lot of youth in the program right now, so we needed more space and wanted to make it feel more like a clubhouse,” Daya says, noting that membership has actually increased since the fires.
The Maui United Way grant pays for the addition of a mental wellness coordinator who will run programs out of all Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui locations. Other funds have been used to purchase two vans—one to replace the vehicle that was destroyed in the fire and another to accommodate the new outreach programs, and some of it will go toward repairing the Lahaina clubhouse.
Donations totaling $1.5 million have been used for programming, summer camps, field trips, school supplies, laptops, grocery gift cards, scholarships for graduating seniors from Lahaina and Upcountry schools, and more. “Out of that, we have expensed over $1 million in grants to families [and] grants to youth organizations,” says Susan Ellingwood, the organization’s director of finance.
The Salvation Army
Total Donations Received: $11.6 million
Total Spent on Maui Relief: $4.5 million
*Amounts as of Sept. 11, 2024
While other major nonprofit organizations are focused on distributing funds to other groups, all money raised by The Salvation Army stays within the company for direct distribution to impacted communities. “Our investment in the community’s recovery is in both immediate and longer term support needs for fuller healing,” says divisional director of development Charmaine Hauanio-Kuewa.
As of Sept. 11, 2024, more than $4.5 million in direct financial assistance has been provided to help Maui wildfire survivors get back on their feet. More than 3,000 fire survivors have received financial assistance, and 680,000 meals have been distributed across 35 shelters, Hauanio-Kuewa says. “As we now move into meeting necessities for longer term stability, the most pressing needs shift from high-volume emergency meals toward ensuring food is on the family table, and to creating the financial and emotional foundations for a sustainable place to call home.”
Some of the greatest needs at present are helping with everyday necessities like groceries, rent and clothing. “Gift cards that empower families to get the specifics they need will continue to be crucial to filling these gaps,” Hauanio-Kuewa explains. “To date, nearly $250,000 in clothing vouchers have been provided to help survivors return to normalcy.”
The Salvation Army is also providing rehabilitation services for substance abuse and mental health crises—which can spike during times of communal stress—as well as emotional and spiritual care programs, which include opportunities for worship and fellowship, pastoral counseling, spiritual support and social development activities.
Moving forward, The Salvation Army plans to focus its resources on such things as housing transition programs, smoke remediation, and property surveys and certifications.
“Next year marks 130 years that The Salvation Army has been blessed to be a part of the Maui community, and we are here to help our Maui ‘ohana at every step of the way on this road to recovery,” Hauanio-Kuewa says.
This article appears in the November 2024 issue of HONOLULU Magazine.
Lead photo by Aaron K. Yoshino
