Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund

Thank you for your generous donation to the Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund. Your support continues to help Maui communities receive essential services such as food distribution, healthcare and trauma support, and housing reconstruction.

In our fifth grant round, your donation has supported 10 high-impact and community-led nonprofits at the forefront of recovery on the island. 

Here is a short description of some of the critical work you’ve supported:

• Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers is a Hawaii-based nonprofit dedicated to ending the cycle of homelessness on Maui. The August wildfires destroyed the organization’s 48-unit homeless shelter and 30 rental units in Lahaina, displacing more than 140 people. The organization is still working to find long-term housing for its displaced families as they continue to offer housing assistance and rebuild  their lost shelter facilities
• Maui Mutual Aid Fund, led by Maui Rapid Responseis a local mutual aid group focused on helping Native Hawaiians and people with disabilities navigate the complexities of rebuilding post disaster. The organization has reconstructed over 37 homes and is ensuring families and individuals living with disabilities have the necessary living equipment in their homes. MMAF is also offering casework and advocacy support for Lahaina communities and tenants evicted due to landlords’ exploitation of FEMA rental assistance. Their Native Hawaiian-led financial advisory council is also making structured mutual aid fund distribution plans to provide sustained aid to communities affected by the fires for years to come. 

• Southern SmokeFoundationis working within Maui communities to provide flexible emergency cash assistance for food and beverage workers impacted by the fires. The organization also provides accessible mental health support and, since the fires began, has supported over 300,000 individuals with $3,000 individual cash grants. Due to the substantial loss of local businesses and livelihoods in the fires, the organization is actively working to raise additional funding to continue providing recovery assistance in Maui. 

• Hale Makua Health Services is a local health-oriented community organization working in Lahaina, Napili, Kihei, and Kula, focusing on temporary and long-term housing solutions, transportation coordination, care navigation, behavioral health support, and social services for elderly and disabled Hawaiians. Hale Makua also provides mobile resource centers and technical assistance in partnership with other local and state actors. 

• Roots Reborn is a collective of migrant-focused human rights lawyers and organizers on Maui directly serving immigrant communities. Their goal is to help affected refugees, immigrants, and migrant workers receive access to  translation services, housing and food assistance, support with navigating insurance claims, mental health support, healthcare, economic independence, domestic violence prevention, as well as other resources for which migrant and immigrant communities often face higher barriers of access. 

Your support of the GlobalGiving Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund powers community-led responses, and it means the communities of  Maui continue to receive  the critical resources they need to help their community rebuild after the Hawaii Wildfire.

With gratitude, 

Irene + the GlobalGiving Team

All Nonprofit Partners Receiving Grants This Round:

Aloha Diaper Bank

Arc of Maui 

Hale Makua Health Services

Hui No Ke Ola Pono

Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers

Maui Food Bank

Maui Mutual Aid Fund, led by Maui Rapid Response

Native Hawaiian Philanthropy

Roots Reborn

Upcountry Strong 

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you for your donation to the Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund. Your donation continues to make a difference, supporting recovery and providing supplies, shelter, and culturally appropriate health care and healing to communities affected by the wildfires in Hawaii. 

With your support, GlobalGiving made four emergency grants in September and eight emergency grants in November to partners in Hawaii that are trusted, local nonprofit organizations on the front lines of the wildfire response in the Islands. These third and fourth rounds of emergency grants continue GlobalGiving's sustained, long-term support to Hawaii, made possible by the generosity of donors like you.

Although recovery from the wildfires in Hawaii has been difficult, vetted GlobalGiving nonprofit partners are bringing hope and moving their communities forward. Here is a short description of some of the critical work your donation is already supporting:  

• Roots Reborn is a local-led, grassroots Hawaiian organization of migrant-focused human rights lawyers and organizers on Maui. The team directly serves immigrant communities across Maui County with vital legal aid. Roots Reborn is working with immigrants, refugees, and migrant workers affected by the wildfires to ensure they are included in recovery and response efforts by advocating for their rights and resources. With a focus on people disproportionately affected by the recent wildfires, grant funds will be used to aid translation services, housing assistance, food assistance, and support for navigating insurance claims and other resources for which migrants are eligible but often are disadvantaged in accessing. 

• Hale Makua Health Services is a local Hawaiian community health organization working in Lahaina, Napili, Kihei, and Kula. The organization focuses on temporary and long-term housing solutions, donation gathering, transportation coordination, care navigation, behavioral health support, and social work services for Hawaiians living with disabilities and the elderly. Hale Makua Health Services is providing communities with mobile resource centers and continuing to provide technical assistance to individuals and families impacted by the fires in partnership with state agencies, the county of Maui, local and national pharmacies, FEMA, and other nonprofits. 

• Native Hawaiian Philanthropy is a local Hawaiian-led nonprofit that partners with a network of 14 Native Hawaiian organizations to provide immediate assistance through emergency relief and distribution of emergency supplies, as well as culturally safe healing spaces, grief counseling, long-term housing funding, and casework support to families affected by the fire. That includes management of 14 acres of land through taro farming and Indigenous methods. In addition to this work, its teams are exploring an expansion by purchasing land to build quality, sustainable homes for those displaced by the fires within their existing Indigenous land management model.

• Aha Punana Leo is a community-led Hawaiian language and cultural school and mutual aid group raising funds in partnership with Punana Leo Lahaina to support communities impacted by fires. Their Lahaina school, which provided culturally competent schooling and comprehensive family services for Hawaiian children and their families, was lost in the recent wildfires. The organization is working to rebuild its facilities while aiding affected families. At its Punana Leo Maui site, Aha Punana Leo is also offering direct resources to impacted families, including distributing donations and resources, providing childcare, coordinating communication with families, and providing continuing education to children whose education has been interrupted. 

Your support of the GlobalGiving Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund powers community-led relief and recovery, and it means that organizations like these and the communities they serve get the critical resources they need to rebuild after the devastating wildfires in Hawaii. 

With gratitude, 

Alli + the GlobalGiving Team 

Nonprofit Partners Receiving Grants:

Aloha Diaper Bank

Arc of Maui 

Hawai’i Peoples Fund

Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers

Malama Maui Nui 

Maui Food Bank

Maui Mutual Aid Fund, led by Maui Rapid Response

Regenerative Education Centers