What Maui’s Kahua Card Program Reveals About Philanthropy’s Recovery Gap

Nearly three years have passed since the tragic 2023 Maui wildfires, and recovery is still far from over. On August 8, 2023, the world watched as wind-driven wildfires enveloped the Hawaiian island of Maui, resulting in the death of over a hundred people and the destruction of more than 2,200 structures. During the months that followed, recovery efforts included emergency relief programs as a short-term response, but once national attention shifted, locals were left to deal with long-term recovery.

That’s when the community stepped in with the Kahua Card Program. More than just another relief program, this is an example of what recovery looks like when local organizations continue to support residents after public attention has moved on, even though recovery isn’t finished. The Kahua Card Program illustrates why philanthropy needs to rethink disaster recovery timelines and to trust community-led organizations that remain long after the news cameras leave and as long-term recovery begins.

Emergency Relief vs. Long-Term Recovery

Emergency relief and long-term recovery are often used interchangeably, but in reality, they have different roles in crisis management. Emergency relief focuses on the immediate aftermath, or the first 72 hours of a disaster.

During this time, news crews gather, the disaster makes headlines, help is mobilized, and donations peak. Emergency relief typically includes food, water, and shelter for displaced families. Medical, safety, and hygiene kits are supplied during this time while rescue efforts take place.

But once all the camera crews are gone, long-term recovery begins. Rebuilding homes, schools, and businesses takes years. According to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, recovery is about “addressing sources of inequitable and unjust outcomes, and individuals and families being able to rebound from their losses and sustain their physical, social, economic, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.”

For example, a 2025 study on the aftermath of the Maui wildfires revealed that individuals inside the burn zones had a 53 percent higher risk of depression and 67 percent higher risk of anxiety than people not exposed to the wildfires. This issue is not solved by emergency relief. As the authors of the study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, wrote, “Housing displacement and income loss jointly accounted for more than half of the associations with depression and anxiety.”

According to another 2025 survey, launched by the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (UHERO) in partnership with the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, more than 70 percent of displaced residents in temporary housing have now remained in the same location for at least six months. But the results also revealed that a third of survey participants are staying with family and friends with no assistance, or are unhoused. Statistics like these show that recovery is one of philanthropy’s biggest weak spots.

The Kahua Card Program as a Case Study

A grassroots organization called Maui Rapid Response (MRR), made up of members of the Maui community and nonprofit and direct-aid organizations, created the Kahua Card Program. Community values and needs drive MRR, and so the Kahua Card Program was formed.

The program provides monthly cash on a prepaid card for one year to 100 to 150 ʻohana who didn’t receive traditional fire relief aid. According to MRR, this includes people who face multiple challenges like poverty, housing insecurity, mental health concerns, trauma, and barriers to legal help.

For example, one resident, Mari Younger, is receiving money from the program. She didn’t qualify for certain grants because her home did not burn down. But she remains displaced after her landlord sold her condo, and skyrocketing rent forced her to move into a state-run hotel for survivors. Younger’s story is just one of hundreds.

It’s a tool for building trust with residents, meeting changing needs, and supporting dignity.

The Kahua Card program is funded by over 4,000 donors giving $5 or more. Providing participants with money gives them the freedom to choose how to use the assistance, and it builds a system of trust. So far, the flexibility of the program has proven successful. As Nicole Huguenin, executive director of MRR, explained to Honolulu Civil Beat, “When we let them choose, it unwinds the trauma and gets them out of survival mode faster.”

Alongside the cash assistance program, MRR makes it easier for households to access food and services through the Relief Compass. This is an app that connects households with the services they need, without having to stand in long lines or fill out piles of paperwork. Hawaiian values guide the app and the cash program by prioritizing those in the most difficult positions first, reflecting the traditional noble values of aloha, kōkua, kuleana, and mālama (love, help, responsibility, and protection).

The Kahua Card Program is more than just financial aid; it’s a tool for building trust with residents, meeting changing needs, and supporting dignity.

What Community-led Recovery Can Teach Funders

What makes MRR’s program a lesson for other funders is often overlooked: the organization’s members are from the community.

They have a first-hand understanding of the particular needs of their own community once nonprofits leave, and can adapt that support as needs change. For example, Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson spearheaded an effort in 2023 that paid 8,100 Maui survivors $1,200 for six months. But what happens after those six months are up? Is six months enough time to rebuild from the ground up physically, emotionally, and financially?

MRR’s program understands that recovery is not linear, and the flexibility of unrestricted financial assistance demonstrates that. 

According to the results of a 2026 Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES), three years after the fires, some families are still facing food insecurity, housing uncertainty, difficulty getting medical care, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

MRR’S card program allows families the flexibility to choose what matters the most to them, what needs are most urgent. For example, traditional grants like FEMA assistance might provide temporary housing to displaced families and access to mental health support. However, the eligibility criteria exclude many, like Younger, whose homes did not burn down but were still impacted by the devastation.

Recovery is not linear, and the flexibility of unrestricted financial assistance demonstrates that. 

Community-led initiatives like MRR’s cash assistance program demonstrate that when local organizations are given the resources and autonomy to lead recovery efforts, they can deliver help grounded in lived experience.

Why This Matters Beyond Maui

The story of the 2023 Maui wildfires is not a unique case, but rather a national challenge in disaster recovery funding. This is especially important considering that extreme weather and warming temperatures are causing more climate disasters across the globe. From floods to fires, communities across the country are still dealing with recovery timelines that extend far beyond the peak of public attention.

Look at the 2025 Los Angeles fires. A year after the fires and breaking news reports, more than 70 percent of displaced residents remained displaced, and many residents reported increasing debt after the disaster.

The Kahua Card Program demonstrates that recovery should not be measured by how quickly aid arrives, but by whether communities have the resources to rebuild long after the headlines fade. With the increasing frequency of disasters, philanthropy has the opportunity to rethink what effective recovery looks like. Funders should consider investing in local leadership and flexible funding because lasting recovery starts when communities are trusted to lead their own path forward.