The Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative has awarded more than $2.7 million to 31 local nonprofits focused on mental health, following the 2023 Maui wildfires. Grants of up to $100,000 will go to each organization that is working to increase access to mental health resources for individuals and families directly.
The hui of funders particularly for this Mental Health RFP, which sought grant applications in October, is comprised of the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the HMSA Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund and Maui United Way. Established in response to the wildfires, The Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative has awarded more than 80 recipients over $9 million in total.
“The Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative continues to support wildfire response and recovery since the immediate aftermath of the fire, as we understand the deep trauma that fire survivors and their families have experienced,” said Keanu Lau Hee, vice president of community resilience and strategic implementation at Hawai‘i Community Foundation. “We are grateful to the nonprofits for their tireless efforts to support and strengthen the resilience of their surrounding communities, and we are grateful to the participants of the Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative for supporting community-led recovery efforts well over two years after this disaster.”
Keanu Lau Hee, senior director of the Maui Recovery Effort, Hawai’i Community Foundation (Hawai’i Community Foundation)
Lau Hee told Aloha State Daily in August that the Maui Strong Fund is committed to supporting “case management and the urgent needs of our community – both mental health and wellness, with a focus on the education of our youth, as well as thinking about our impacted workforce.”
Similarly, The Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative Mental Health RFP’s aim to support health for youth, kūpuna and workforce, as well as first responders and mental health providers.
Tina Andrade, president and CEO, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i (Catholic Charities Hawai‘i)
For Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, the funding will go toward its Maui Support Center in Wailuku, which is open to first responders residing on Maui. President and CEO Tina Andrade told ASD that the center “provides counseling services for those tirelessly caring for and assisting survivors of the recent Maui wildfires.”
“The program provides individual and group therapy, wellness activities, outreach and much more,” she said. “This continued assistance aims to promote healing and well-being within the community.”
The full list grantees are:
Archive for Health, Arts, and Spirit
Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission
Maui Youth and Family Services
Na Hoaloha-Maui Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers
Pacific Birth Collective Incorporated
Looking ahead, other funding priorities for Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative include food, housing and cultural and natural resource management.
Interested in applying for a grant in 2026? Contact aloha@mauirecoveryfunders.org and visit mauirecoveryfunders.org.
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.