Hawai’i Community Foundation Leverages Worldwide Support to Fund Recovery in Maui

More than 200,000 donors from around the globe have come together to support the Hawai’i Community Foundation’s The Maui Strong Fund  — created to help Maui recover and rebuild following the devastating August fires that become of our nation’s deadliest disasters.

Together, those donors have contributed more than $120 million — making it one of the largest community foundation-led disaster response funds in history.

In an interview with Hawai’i Public Radio Hawai’i Community Foundation CEO Micah Ka̅ne said the foundation spent the weeks following the Aug. 8 fires directing about $20 million from the fund to support nonprofits that were addressing immediate needs.

Now, it is shifting into a new phase — moving from rapid response to stabilization and recovery.

"What that means is investments in temporary housing, investments in temporary schools, investments in temporary transportation, investments in temporary health care services — all things that help to create this interim, new normal," Kāne said in the interview.

And as priorities continue to evolve, the foundation is hopeful that bigger investments will be made to make a greater impact in the community.

By leveraging its partnerships with local and state leaders, community members, and nonprofit organizations, HCF will gain a better understanding of what the community needs are to ensure that resources are being funneled effectively and efficiently.

The impact of the fires took the lives of at least 97 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes, burned thousands of acres of land, and left the state in complete shock.

Learn more about the Maui Strong Fund and ways to support here .