Through the Collaborative, requests are welcome from all eligible organizations. The Funding Partners worked together to create an application designed to meet the criteria of nearly all funders, eliminating the need for repeated submissions. This funding approach involves three key parties: the applicant (as part of broader Community engagement opportunities), the Funding Partners, and a contracted Administrator. Our Collaborative’s  administrator has extensive experience working with direct service nonprofits, the philanthropic sector, and disaster recovery, and has successfully designed and managed collaborative and pooled funds. This added capacity ensures a smooth and efficient process for both applicants and funders, allowing community-based organizations and funders to focus on the ever-evolving disaster recovery needs of the Maui community.

As a Collaborative funding group, each participating Funding Partner works together yet maintains autonomy over their own funds; this is not a pooled fund. As such, Funding Partners independently assess applications processed by the Colalborative’s Administrator, evaluating each request's alignment with their own funding guidelines and priorities. This individual review allows funders to consider requests through the lens of their specific goals and criteria.

Concurrent with completing individual assessments, the Collaborative convenes to discuss applications in depth (along with engaging in topic-based learning, welcoming community guests and other special Subject Matter Experts, coordinating with the public sector, andmore).  At these regular meetings, Funders Partners share their insights and explore how the requests align with the collective goals of the group. This discussion helps identify additional questions about the request and fully leverage funding from peers participants.

By combining individual and group perspectives, the Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative ensures a well-rounded, strategic and maximully leveraged approach to grantmaking.