Hawai’i Mutual Aid Network has raised over $22 million for disaster-impacted Hawai’i residents over the past three years. Now, they’re jumping in to help in the wake of Hurricane Lala.
Their goal is to get people immediate financial support to get back on their feet.
“We really just try to keep it simple and tell them to just create a GoFundMe or have somebody that they trust create the GoFundMe for them,” Hawaiʻi Mutual Aid Network founder Kenna Reed told HPR.
“We have a submission form that we have families fill out where they put their information, so we can properly vet them. And then we have a team of volunteers from the community,” she explained. “So, for instance, for Hurricane Lala, we have a group of people who are actually from Kaʻu that we're running certain fundraisers through to make sure that those people are truly who they say they are and that they were impacted how they say they were.”
In addition to a shareable list of individual fundraisers, the network also creates a group fund in partnership with GoFundMe’s nonprofit branch.
“You can either donate directly, or you can donate to the fund, and we'll donate it directly,” Reed said. “But either way, all the money goes straight to the families.”
The Google Sheet also helps with funding equity for those who don’t have a large social media following or familiarity with digital sharing.
“We wanted to create something that would make the crowdfunding platform a little more fair for those that didn't have as much of an online presence,” she said.
Hawaiʻi Mutual Aid Network has housed several initiatives like Help Maui Rise, which raised $18 million for Lahaina fire survivors. Then Storm Kokua raised $4 million for those impacted statewide by the Kona Low storms.
The grassroots effort got started immediately after the Maui wildfires, when Reed, an Oʻahu resident, wanted to ensure her donations went directly to fire survivors.
“I was like, 'Whoa! How do I know where to give to?'”
She said she wanted to give directly to impacted families but wasn’t sure what campaigns to trust.
“A lot of people were having very similar frustrations and cynicisms around who and like what the best way to donate was,” said Reed.
The Google Sheet they created makes it easy to compile and share information.
“We've since taken that same model and applied it to the Kona low storms, and now to the ʻohana that are impacted by Hurricane Lala,” said Reed.
While the most severely affected communities are still focused on getting basic essentials, Reed urges families to set up a fundraiser as soon as they can.
“Don't wait, because one thing that we've seen again and again after these disasters is that those who create fundraisers immediately after a disaster tend to do a lot better just because that's when you have the attention of you know the mainland and you have people are talking about it.”
When setting up a GoFundMe, she said agencies suggest being specific about how you were impacted in the fundraiser description, but advise broad language about what funds will go towards, to avoid concerns about duplication of benefits.
“The phrasing that [is recommended] is that you say funds will be used for ‘immediate and urgent needs.’”
Reed said it’s okay to ask for help, even if you feel reluctant.
“These disasters are just going to become more and more frequent. And if we don't, as a community, start to accept help and allow each other to lift each other up, it's so difficult already to bounce back from these things.”
If you were impacted by Hurricane Lala and want to submit your GoFundMe to Hawaiʻi Mutual Aid Network, click here for the registration form. If you’re a donor wanting to help affected families, click here to contribute to individual families' fundraisers, and here for Hawaiʻi Mutual Aid Network's group fund, in partnership with GoFundMe's nonprofit branch.
To help others or seek resources yourself from Hurricane Lala, click here.
