WHAT IS HELP MAUI RISE:

Help Maui Rise is the only Direct-to-‘Ohana initiative that allows for the equitable distribution of a single contribution among numerous families. 

Help Maui Rise, at-a-glance:

• 100% pass-through (zero admin, zero fees when using wire transfer or check)
• bypasses having to choose between families in need (we use data to disperse funds in an equitable way among recipient families) 
• tax deductible
• each recipient has been carefully vetted and verified by a team of volunteers
• is over 1,600 ʻohana and growing 

OUR STORY:

We are Help Maui Rise; home of the spreadsheet you may have seen circulating that houses the stories and donation links of families displaced by the Maui Wildfires. What started out as a simple Google sheet to share within our inner circles has evolved into a growing resource of over 1,600 affected loved ones, all vetted by our team and reviewed by GoFundMe directly. By utilizing Help Maui Rise, you can directly and quickly get money to multiple families in need while also receiving a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) write-off. Please refer to the explanation below for further details on how this process works. 

In Hawai'i, community is everything, and when the fires began on August 8th, we knew we needed to take action. As community members, our only wish was to provide aid to the displaced 'ohana of Lāhainā & Kula as quickly and directly as possible. The Maui fire was the deadliest US wilfire in over a century and leveled the historic town of Lāhainā. It took the lives of 102 people and nearly 3,000 homes and businesses. Families were given no warning and sometimes only seconds to escape, many of them with only the clothes on their backs.

Just one week after the fires, the Help Maui Rise Google sheet included over 900 displaced families and our initial Instagram post on August 10th had reached over 118,000 accounts . It didn’t take long for a Lāhaināluna graduate who worked for Google to take notice. She reached out to us directly and offered us a direct contact to help us with formulas to better organize our list. With their support, we were able to create our Sorted GoFundMe tab, which sorts fundraisers from lowest to highest funded, allowing donors to easily give to those who need most. Shortly after, we were contacted by GoFundMe and they generously offered us a support team to assist us with any challenges we encountered. They also committed to thoroughly vetting submissions on a daily basis, offering donors an added layer of security.

As our list grew, we realized that we wanted to also offer a simplified donation option by removing the need for donors to choose which family to support. Additionally, we wanted to provide a donation option specifically for businesses that would be tax-deductible. GoFundMe.com informed us about GoFundMe.org, their nonprofit branch, which agreed to act as our 501(c)(3) beneficiary (fiscal sponsor) and handle all grant distribution. This led to the creation of the Help Maui Rise Fund. It serves as a single fund where donors can contribute to the entire list of qualified applicants with a single donation. Moreover, we can distribute grants from our larger donors ($5k+) to the families with the lowest funding, ensuring a more equitable distribution of donations.

OUR GRANTS:

We keep in regular touch with the families, observing the pressing nature of their financial needs. As a result, ensuring transparency and the swift distribution of money has become a vital aspect of our mission to prevent funds from remaining dormant. 

Help Maui Rise has diligently allocated every dollar exclusively to its mission without redirecting any amount towards operational expenses. Since our inception, our small team has been wholeheartedly engaged as volunteers, and I have personally financed all associated expenses.

We’d also like to highlight that Help Maui Rise has conducted nine in person outreach days at Honokowai Beach Park, Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School, and Lāhainā Civic Center. We’ve worked alongside Tagnawa (Filipino outreach), Kaibigan ng Lāhaina (Filipino outreach) and Roots Reborn Lahaina (immigrant outreach) to provide much-needed tech support and translation services specifically tailored for older and non-English speaking families and immigrants. In addition, we have created submission forms and informational videos in Ilokano, Tagalog, and Spanish to ensure that everyone can access the necessary information. It is of utmost importance to us to offer support to these marginalized groups. Many of these families do not qualify for additional aid and lack the means to promote their own donation links due to a lack of social media presence. Moreover, the older members of these communities often struggle to create fundraisers without technical assistance. We are dedicated to addressing these challenges and shining a light on those who are too often overlooked. 

WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING

Starting April 8th, Help Maui Rise has started Phase 2 of the Help Maui Rise Fund where all donations will go directly to the families who have been approved via our application. We are collaborating with GoFundMe.org to take care of distributing the funds to each fundraiser fairly and on a regular basis.

Phase One Achievements:

Prior to April 8th, 2024, during Phase One of the Help Maui Rise Fund, we raised $777,113, exceeding our original goal by over seven times. With the assistance of GoFundMe.org, Help Maui Rise conducted 21 grant rounds, distributing $400 grants to 1,247 GoFundMe fundraisers on our list and $8-900 grants to 449 households from our Lowest Funded tab; a variation of our initial google sheet that sorts fundraisers from lowest to highest funded, prioritizing fundraisers in need of the most support to those with the lowest funding.

Current Phase Two:

As we enter Phase Two, we are rolling out an application to continue providing direct aid to those impacted by the Maui wildfires. Our priority is to maintain transparency and provide cash assistance while adhering to charitable granting guidelines.

Who Qualifies for Grants:

• Proof of Displacement: Applicants must provide proof of displacement due to the wildfires.

• Income Consideration: We prioritize households with incomes up to 300% of the federal HHS poverty level for Hawai'i. This means families with incomes up to three times the federal poverty level are given priority to account for Hawai'i's high cost of living.

• Receipt Agreement: Applicants must agree to provide receipts as they spend the grant funds.

We will distribute grants based on need stated by the applicant and available funds, with initial grants of up to $1,000 per family and potential additional grants of up to $11,000 as funds allow and as needs are assessed. Our goal is to support as many families as possible through transparent and fair grant allocation.

As we approve new applicants, we will allocate the funds raised regularly and update you as grants are issued to those who qualify.

FOR DONORS:

Click Help Maui Rise to access the original google sheet with direct ways to donate to over 1,600 families.

Click Sorted GoFundMes to access individual fundraisers sorted from lowest funded to highest to directly donate to the families that need you most.

Click The Help Maui Rise Fund to access our fund where you can donate to all qualified applicants with a single tax deductible 501(c)(3) donation.

If you choose to donate directly to our fund, GoFundMe applies a single transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30. This covers credit and debit charges, secure delivery of donations, and enables various donation methods like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. For anyone looking to donate $5,000 or more, please reach out to us directly, before you make your donation, to discuss the various ways we can help you to reduce and eliminate these fees. 

One year later and Maui still needs us. The money you donate will help the displaced families of Lāhainā & Kula to get back on their feet and rise from the ashes. Whether you are from Hawai'i, have visited our island home, or are just learning about this from the news, we humbly ask for your kāko'o.

FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY THE FIRES: 

To the displaced ‘ohana of Lāhainā & Kula, please keep in mind that in order to qualify for grants from the Help Maui Rise Fund, your ‘ohana must fill out our application and have your GoFundMe transfers fully set up.

If you are unsure of how to do this, you can find detailed instructions in English, Spanish, Tagalog and Ilokano on how to create a GoFundMe and how to set up transfers on our GoFundMe Support tab.

If you do not wish to receive our grants, but would like to be inputted to our list, you can perform a quick search for your name with [Command + F] or [Ctrl + F]. If you’re unable to find your name and have already submitted your application, please reach out to us directly.

We are here to help. If you encounter any challenges at all, please reach out to our team directly at info@helpmauirise.org or on instagram @helpmauirise.

Mahalo nui,

The Help Maui Rise Team