Maui Pono Foundation
Makawao, HI · EIN 93-2930295. Reported 55 grants totalling $1,081,616 to 52 organizations across tax years 2023-2025, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Maui Pono Foundation, the IRS classifies it under public safety & disaster relief rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE M99) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 52 distinct organizations, with 10% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 35% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 2 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $15,000. Half of what it reported fell between $12,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $5,200 and the largest $80,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hui Noeau | Makawao, HI | $110,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Lahaina Arts Guild | Lahaina, HI | $74,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Operation Hope Inc | Atlanta, GA | $65,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pacific Whale Foundation | Wailuku, HI | $51,250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Akua Seva Inc | Lahaina, HI | $29,200 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Arcobaleno LLC Dba Sale Pepe | Lahaina, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement | Kapolei, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fuzz Box Productions LLC | Lahaina, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Island Catering LLC | Lahaina, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kane's Legacy Tree Services LLC | Lahaina, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kites Hawaii Ltd | Lahaina, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Luce Caro LLC | Lahaina, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Maui Sunriders Bike Co Inc | Paia, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Positively Kai Foundation | Paia, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Psf Masonry Contractors LLC | Lahaina, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Downtown Athletic Club Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization | Kamuela, HI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kaha Kukahi | Lahaina, HI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kaze Enterprises LLC | Lahaina, HI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lahaina Music | Lahaina, HI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lahainaluna High School Foundation | Lahaina, HI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Manakai Swimwear | Haiku, HI | $16,799 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aesthetics & Cosmetics | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Baya LLC | Kahului, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Choice Health Bar | Paia, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hood Marine Ltd | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| International Mountain Bicycling Association | Boulder, CO | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Island Dream Productions LLC | Paia, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ka'anapali Collision | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Krista's Tropicals | Wailuku, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lahaina Health Center Inc | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lahaina Jewelry Inc | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Macario Pascual | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Maui Shore Fishing Guides | Wailuku, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Monet Baniqued | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Slip 78 LLC Dba Gungho Sailing | Wailuku, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Val and John Private Chefs | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| West Maui Sports and Fishing Supply | Lahaina, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Westside Boba LLC | Kahului, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Maui United Way Inc | Kahului, HI | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mele Bintliff Stylist | Makawao, HI | $11,400 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Edward Montgomery Fine Art | Carmel, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Handmade By Heather | Lahaina, HI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pipe Pro Services LLC | Lahaina, HI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Napili Kai Foundation | Lahaina, HI | $9,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cool Cat Cafe LLC | Kihei, HI | $8,750 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Leru LLC | Wailuku, HI | $8,132 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Go Cycling Maui | Paia, HI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Serenity Spa Maui LLC | Lahaina, HI | $6,900 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gina Kalar | Lahaina, HI | $5,972 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Maui Food Bank Inc | Wailuku, HI | $5,513 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Lahaina Intermediate School | Lahaina, HI | $5,200 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
2 of 52 (4%) received money in more than one year over the 3 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center
HUI NO'EAU'S ART WITH HEART: MAUI FIRE RELIEF PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY AND SUPPORTING RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE THROUGH DELIVERY OF ENRICHING, HANDS-ON ARTS EXPERIENCES FOR MAUI RESIDENTS OF ALL AGES, WITH A DIRECT FOCUS ON SERVING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LAHAINA. - Operation Hope
GRANT FOR 5 WEEK BUSINESS COHORT ($45,000); GRANT FOR 6 WEEK BUSINESS COHORT ($20,000) - Pacific Whale Foundation
GRANTS TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAMS - Lahaina Arts Guild
DISTRIBUTIONS TO 80 ARTISTS INCLUDING NINE WHO LOST THEIR HOMES, AND STAFFING AND SUPPLIES FOR NUMEROUS CHILDREN'S POST-FIRE ART CLASSES. - Akua Seva
FUNDS TO BE USED FOR THE MALAMA AINA PROJECT - FIREBREAK TREES TO BE INSTALLED AT LAHAINA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL AND LAHAINA HIGH SCHOOL. - Positively Kai Foundation
RAISING LAHAINA CHARITY EVENT ON OCTOBER 21, 2023 TO RAISE FUNDS FOR FAMILES AFFECTED BY THE FIRES
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 14 of 52 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 | $139,000 | $34,000 |
| 2024 | 42 | $722,603 | $15,000 |
| 2025 | 10 | $220,013 | $16,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
92% of its giving went to organizations in Hawaii. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $15,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Hawaii.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Maui Pono Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 3 returns (tax years 2023-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 2800 Palalani Street, Makawao, HI, 96768.
EIN 93-2930295 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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