Learn How You Can Help and Donate To Those Affected By Maui Wildfires

The Maui Strong Fund was created to provide community resilience with resources for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. The fund is currently being used to support communities affected by the wildfires on Maui. Visit Website To Donate

Maui Strong Fund: Online
The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation started a Maui Strong Fund to support residents affected by the wildfires, which firefighting crews continue to battle in Lahaina, Pulehu/Kīhei and Upcountry areas.

There is a credit card processing fee, but HCF will not take an administrative fee, and 100% of the money will be given to the service provider.

The fund has been seeded with $1 million.

Non-profits seeking funding can email a request to mauistrong@hcf-hawaii.org.

(Full disclosure: Hawaiʻi Community Foundation is an underwriter of HPR.)

Aloha for Maui: In-person and online
The Hawaiʻi Bankers Association launched Aloha for Maui, a program accepting donations at any of its member branches statewide. Monies will be donated to the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation's Maui Strong Fund, listed above.

Donations can be made at the branches of:

American Savings Bank
Bank of Hawai’i
Central Pacific Bank
Finance Factors
First Hawaiian Bank
Hawaiʻi National Bank
HomeStreet Bank
Territorial Savings Bank
The bankers association has donated $25,000 to the fund.

Cash and check donations are being accepted. Checks should be made out to "Hawaiʻi Community Foundation" with "Maui Strong" written in the note section.

Donations can be made online at www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong.

Tips on avoiding scams
State Attorney General Anne Lopez urges residents to exercise caution when choosing where to send their money and donations.

“I know that the people of Hawaiʻi will come to the aid of our families, neighbors and communities,” Lopez said. “We are already seeing various fundraising efforts being promoted on social media platforms and online. In moments of crisis, we all must be extra vigilant against bad actors who try to take advantage of people’s goodwill.”

Only donate to trusted, well-known charities. If someone is fundraising on behalf of a charity you are familiar with, the best practice is to donate directly to that charity.

Any charity that solicits donations in Hawaiʻi is required to register with the Department of the Attorney General. You can verify a charity’s legitimacy here. The attorney general also suggests using the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, Charity Navigator and DCCA Business Search.

Stay away from suspicious donation requests and be aware of scammer’s tactics, including:

Rushing you into making a donation
Asking you to make a donation using cash or gift card; most legitimate charities will accept credit card and check donations
Using names that sound similar to the names of real charities
Making vague and sentimental claims without giving no specifics about how your donation will be used

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