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 stay in regular contact with the families on our list, many of whom still face urgent financial needs two years later. Our goal is to keep funds moving—not sitting—by distributing them quickly to the families who need them most.

Help Maui Rise has never used donations for operational expenses. Since day one, we’ve run entirely as volunteers, with all costs personally covered by our team.

So far, we’ve granted over $1.1 million in direct aid directly from the Help Maui Rise fund:

In Phase 1, we conducted 21 grant rounds of $400 to 1,247 families, and sent $800–$900 to 449 families from our "Lowest Funded" tab.

In Phase 2, we’ve conducted 6 rounds of $1,000 to 500 families with another $50,000 going out soon.

We’ve also hosted fifteen in-person outreach days at Honokowai Beach Park, Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School, Lāhainā Civic Center, and many other locations—partnering with Tagnawa, Kaibigan ng Lāhainā, and Roots Reborn to provide translation, tech support, and culturally rooted care for older residents and immigrant families.

Many of these ‘ohana don’t qualify for federal aid and don’t have the social media reach to promote their fundraisers. Some struggle with internet access or digital tools entirely. We’re here to change that—making sure every voice is heard and no one is left behind.

WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING

All donations to the Help Maui Rise Fund are distributed directly to families who have been displaced by the fires and have been vetted through our application process. Our fiscal sponsor, GoFundMe.org, helps us ensure these grants are sent fairly, securely, and consistently—without our team ever touching the money ourselves.

Each grant we give is guided by need, timing, and the availability of funds. Initial grants are $1,000 per family. Additional grants of up to $11,000 may be issued as needs are assessed and funding allows.

FOR DONORS:

FOR DONORS

You have options when it comes to giving:

The Original Sheet** — [Help Maui Rise Sheet](#) to view and donate directly to 1,600+ families.

- **📊 Sorted GoFundMes** — [Lowest Funded List](#) to prioritize families still in urgent need.

- **🌺 One-Click Giving** — [Help Maui Rise Fund](#) to support all qualified applicants with a single, tax-deductible donation.

Donations to the Help Maui Rise Fund go through GoFundMe.org and include a standard processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30. This covers transaction costs and enables secure payment options like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

**Thinking of giving $5,000 or more?**

Reach out to us directly before donating—we can help minimize or eliminate fees so more of your gift goes to families.

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