With more than $200 million in donations, the Maui Strong Fund is the largest private fund for Maui wildfire relief.
The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, which administers the fund, recently released its two-year impact report with details on how that money is being spent.
In the two years since the fires, it has given out about $83 million to support housing programs for residents affected by wildfires.
A major objective of the Maui Strong Fund is supporting displaced renters, according to Kehau Meyer with the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
Meyer said a significant portion of Lahaina's population, who were impacted by the fires, were renters, but many federal resources are geared toward affected homeowners.
Maui Strong funds have supported temporary housing projects, including Ka Laʻi Ola, a newly built neighborhood of hundreds of modular homes.
It was designed for residents who didn't qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance.
“We're focused on getting people into temporary builds that are safe and secure [and have] reasonable rental rates,” Meyer said.
Meyer added that as the recovery process continues, the needs of Maui residents are becoming more individualized.
“Each person's unique recovery journey has different needs, and so a one-stop shop of solutions is actually not going to be useful,” she said.
Hawaiʻi Community Foundation helped to set up the Ho'ōla iā Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group to coordinate resources that could meet survivors' specific needs.
“It might be someone just needs a car, or someone just might need certain bills taken care of, or maybe once they get a rental unit that's affordable, they'll be good to go,” Meyer said. “That's a different story for every family.”
The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation has about $68 million remaining in the Maui Strong Fund.
