Opportunity Overview
Maui United Way is accepting Cycle 1 applications for the Ola Maui Nui Grant, supporting recovery and long-term resilience across Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. The four focus areas are Community Recovery, Financial Security, Food Resiliency, and Healthy Community. Healthy Community priorities expressly include mental and behavioral health, healthcare access, prevention, education and wellness, domestic violence services, substance-use treatment and recovery, and culturally grounded healing.
Funding and Deadline
Maui United Way anticipates awarding up to $2.7 million across FY2026-27. Eligible applicants may request up to $100,000 per application. Cycle 1 closes October 31, 2026. The controlling RFP does not publish a closing clock time or time zone, so applicants should submit early rather than assume end-of-day acceptance. Cycle 1 awards are expected in December 2026, with a January 1 through December 31, 2027 grant period.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving Maui, Molokaʻi, and/or Lānaʻi, as well as organizations operating under a qualified fiscal sponsor. Organizations previously funded by Maui United Way must be in good standing. The RFP allows one application per review cycle and states that an organization may receive only one Ola Maui Nui award during FY2026-27.
Allowable Costs and Restrictions
Eligible costs include direct-service program materials and supplies, personnel and contracted services directly related to the funded program, equipment and technology necessary for program delivery, training and professional development, organizational-capacity expenses, evaluation and data activities, emergency financial assistance, community events, and administrative or indirect costs up to 15% of the request. Major construction, land/property purchases, debt, fines, lobbying or political activity, fundraising, endowments or reserves, religious instruction, unrelated personal costs, duplicate reimbursement, and costs outside the grant period are not eligible. Minor repairs, facility modifications, and equipment may be considered with prior approval.
Required Documents and Evaluation
The RFP requires the applicant’s IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, latest audited financial statements, current-year IRS Form 990 with schedules, current State of Hawaiʻi Certificate of Vendor Compliance, board list, agency-wide operating budget, program budget, and logo. Applications are evaluated on Focus Area alignment, Program Summary at 30%, Program Effectiveness at 30%, Organizational Experience and Capacity at 20%, and Financial Clarity and Sustainability at 20%.
Application Process
Applications are submitted through Maui United Way’s grants portal. Existing grantees are instructed not to create a new portal account if they are unsure whether one already exists. Portal fields have character limits and only complete, timely applications will be considered. A Cycle 1 information session is scheduled for September 17, 2026 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.; Maui United Way states that an FAQ will be developed from applicant questions. No mandatory match or cost-share requirement is stated in the controlling RFP.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 96/100. This is a strong Hawaii-local healthcare and human-services opportunity with a verified $100,000 applicant cap, clear nonprofit eligibility, a substantial application runway, and explicit support for healthcare access, behavioral health, food resilience, recovery, and related community services.
N9+ Fit: 68/100 conditional. The RFP expressly permits equipment and technology necessary for program delivery, so a qualified nonprofit may have a legitimate pathway for remote physical-examination technology when it is integral to an applicant-led healthcare-access program and the cost is reasonable and directly tied to the funded scope. N9+ is not named by Maui United Way, and Atlas should not assume device allowability, quantity, or budget without a project-specific justification and applicant approval.
QC Healthcare Fit: 65/100 conditional. Contracted services directly related to the funded program are eligible, creating a potential applicant-side implementation or clinical-support role when genuinely needed and properly budgeted. Dr. Miltie direct-applicant fit: 0/100 under the verified nonprofit/fiscal-sponsorship eligibility structure. Dr. Miltie may participate only as an applicant-side vendor or partner where the nonprofit’s project, procurement practices, budget, and Maui United Way rules permit.
Next Action
Prioritize verified Maui Nui nonprofit healthcare, behavioral-health, food-resilience, maternal/pediatric, recovery, and community-health organizations. Confirm each organization’s 501(c)(3) or fiscal-sponsor status, current good standing if previously funded, portal account, authoritative recipient, CRM opt-out and sent-history status, and the exact project fit before outreach or package work. Build any application package from the live RFP and portal prompts, preserving the published character limits and labeling unresolved applicant facts ACCOUNT INPUT REQUIRED.
Official sources: Maui United Way Ola Maui Nui Grant and the FY2026-27 Ola Maui Nui Request for Proposal.