Any adult (18 or older) who is not able to live in their primary residence due to the wildfires in Lahaina and Kula. This includes homeowners and renters. This does not include property owners not living in the residence.

Applicants provided proof of residence for their lost or uninhabitable residence.

Applicants needed to provide both a government-issued photo identification card and one utility bill in their name (mobile, telephone, cable, electric, gas, etc.).

After working with local officials to secure or replace their identification card, applicants were encouraged to apply ahead of the September 22, 2023, deadline.

You will be notified of your application status by email. If your residence is verified and you are approved to receive financial assistance, funds will be electronically transferred to your bank. We will verify each request to ensure assistance is given to all eligible individuals.  

People's Fund of Maui sends application status notifications to the email you provided when applying. Please check all folders. If you still have questions, please email peoplesfundofmaui@eifoundation.org.

People's Fund of Maui will disburse monthly payments as long as members of our community are still in need and as long as the funds last. 

The quickest way to receive funds is through an electronic bank transfer.

Information will be provided to you by email after your verification process is completed and before your direct financial assistance is sent. 

Financial disbursements provided by People’s Fund of Maui are considered Qualified Disaster Relief Payments and are intended for the following expenses: (i) reasonable and necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses incurred as a result of a qualified disaster, (ii) reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for the repair or rehabilitation of a personal residence due to a qualified disaster (a personal residence can be a rented residence of on you own) and (iii) reasonable and necessary expenses incurred from the repair and replacement of the contents of a personal residence to due a qualified declared disaster.

No, you will not need to report the monthly income payments on your taxes. Payments will be characterized under the IRS’s “charitable gift status” which is non-taxable and only needs to be reported to the IRS if individuals receive $17,000 in 2023 or more in one year (estimated at $18,000 for 2024). Individuals will only need to report this income payment if they receive additional cash/asset gifts that bring the total to more than $17,000 per year in 2023 (estimated at $18,000 for 2024).

People's Fund of Maui payments to you from this disaster relief effort will NOT impact or reduce any of your state of Hawaii public assistance benefits, such as SNAP/Food Stamps, TANF, Medicaid, and childcare subsidies. None of these benefits will be reduced as a result of receiving payments from the People's Fund of Maui. PLEASE NOTE, that if you receive payments from the federal government for SSI, your SSI benefits will be reduced.