Kaiaulu Initiatives
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
KAIAULU INITIATIVES IS REGREENING AND REBUILDING LAHAINA ONE TREE AND ONE PERSON AT A TIME THROUGH EDUCATION, TRAINING, COMMUNITY NETWORKING & SUSTAINABILITY WHILE INCORPORATING HAWAIIAN CULTURAL PRACTICES.
- Income
- $14,670
- Spending
- $3,369
- Reserves
- 40.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 58%
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $731 spent. REFORESTATION AND AINA RESTORATION OUR REFORESTATION PROGRAM IS THE FOUNDATION OF KAIAULU INITIATIVES' WORK, RESTORING LAHAINA'S UPLAND WATERSHED THROUGH HANDS-ON NATIVE PLANTING, INVASIVE SPECIES REMOVAL, AND WATER SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT. SINCE OUR FOUNDING IN 2023, WE HAVE COORDINATED OVER 150 VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS, ENGAGING MORE THAN 1,200 COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PLANT AND MAINTAIN OVER 4,000 NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS, INCLUDING A'ALI'I, KOA, WILIWILI, AND ULU. VOLUNTEERS HAVE COLLECTIVELY CONTRIBUTED OVER 6,000 HOURS OF SERVICE TOWARD REGENERATING THE LANDSCAPE, REBUILDING SOIL HEALTH, AND STRENGTHENING THE ECOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL INTEGRITY OF LAHAINA'S UPLANDS. EACH PLANTING EVENT STRENGTHENS BOTH THE ECOSYSTEM AND THE COMMUNITY. THE RETURN OF NATIVE SPECIES IMPROVES SOIL STABILITY, INCREASES GROUNDWATER RECHARGE, AND REDUCES WILDFIRE RISK, WHILE PARTICIPANTS REPORT A RENEWED SENSE OF HOPE, HEALING, AND PURPOSE. BY INTEGRATING TRADITIONAL LAND- MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, THIS PROGRAM HAS TRANSFORMED THE AINA INTO LIVING CLASSROOMS AND SAFE SPACES FOR CULTURAL RECONNECTION. IN THE SHORT TERM, WE PLAN TO REPLANT AND STABILIZE 25 ACRES OF PRIORITY WATERSHED AREA BY THE END OF 2026. INSTALL SUSTAINABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT YEAR-ROUND MAINTENANCE.IN THE LONG TERM, WE PLAN TO CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE FROM FALLOW LAND TO RESTORING A PORTION OF THE 350-ACRE PROJECT AREA INTO A NATIVE FOREST CANOPY, REINTRODUCING CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT NATIVE PLANTS FOR COMMUNITY GARDENS, AND CREATING FOOD CROPS TO SUPPORT LOCAL CONSUMPTION AND RESILIENCE.
- $366 spent. EDUCATION: CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP EDUCATION IS WOVEN INTO EVERY ASPECT OF KAIAULU INITIATIVES' WORK. THROUGH OUR HANDS-ON RESTORATION PROJECTS, WE TEACH BOTH VOLUNTEERS AND STUDENTS THE DEEP INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN CULTURE AND ECOLOGY. EVERY WEEK, DURING OUR TUESDAY, THURSDAY, AND SUNDAY VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS, PARTICIPANTS LEARN HOW TO IDENTIFY NATIVE AND INVASIVE PLANTS, APPLY SUSTAINABLE LAND-CARE TECHNIQUES, AND UNDERSTAND THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EACH SPECIES THEY HELP RESTORE. OVER THE PAST YEAR, MORE THAN 1,200 VOLUNTEERS HAVE ENGAGED IN THIS FORM OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, GAINING KNOWLEDGE THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE LAND TO PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE TRANSFORMATION. WE ALSO PARTNER WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS AND YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS TO DELIVER STRUCTURED OUTDOOR LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT MERGE HAWAIIAN CULTURAL VALUES WITH ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. OUR KU I KE KUMU OUTDOOR CURRICULUM, FOR EXAMPLE, ENGAGES MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN FIELD-BASED EDUCATION THAT CONNECTS THEM TO PLACE THROUGH TRADITIONAL PRACTICES, MO'OLELO, AND CONSERVATION PRINCIPLES. PARTICIPANTS GAIN A WORKING UNDERSTANDING OF NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS AND DEVELOP THE CONFIDENCE TO ACT AS ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS IN THEIR DAILY LIVES. TEACHERS AND VOLUNTEERS ALIKE REPORT STRONGER CONNECTIONS TO HAWAIIAN CULTURE, IMPROVED AWARENESS OF SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES, AND AN OVERALL INCREASE IN CIVIC AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSIBILITY. THESE SESSIONS HAVE HELPED TO BUILD A COMMUNITY NETWORK OF INFORMED, CAPABLE CARETAKERS WHO ARE ACTIVELY SHAPING THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE OF LAHAINA. IN THE SHORT TERM, WE PLAN TO ENHANCE THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS OF WEEKLY VOLUNTEER SESSIONS BY CREATING STANDARDIZED LEARNING MODULES AND PLANT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS. EXPAND SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS TO REACH THREE ADDITIONAL YOUTH PROGRAMS BY 2026.IN THE LONG TERM, WE PLAN TO DEVELOP THE KAIAULU RESTORATION SITE INTO A LIVING OUTDOOR LEARNING CENTER WHERE INTERGENERATIONAL EDUCATION THRIVES, BRIDGING ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, AND COMMUNITY WELL-BEING TO SUSTAIN LAHAINA FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
- $365 spent. MENTAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY HEALING KAIAULU INITIATIVES RECOGNIZES THAT HEALING THE LAND AND HEALING THE PEOPLE ARE INSEPARABLE. IN THE WAKE OF THE 2023 LAHAINA FIRE, OUR COMMUNITY HAS CARRIED NOT ONLY PHYSICAL LOSS BUT ALSO EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL TRAUMA. IN RESPONSE, WE ARE DEVELOPING A DEDICATED MALAMA MIND, MALAMA AINA PROGRAM THAT INTEGRATES MENTAL HEALTH AND CULTURAL RESTORATION THROUGH AINA-BASED HEALING PRACTICES. THIS INITIATIVE BUILDS ON WHAT WE ALREADY PRACTICE DURING OUR VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS BY CREATING SPACE FOR REFLECTION, CONNECTION, AND EMOTIONAL RELEASE THROUGH HANDS-ON AINA CARE. THE PROGRAM UNDER DEVELOPMENT WILL FORMALIZE THIS APPROACH BY INCORPORATING GUIDED MINDFULNESS, GROUP DISCUSSION, AND CULTURAL WORKSHOPS LED BY PRACTITIONERS IN HULA, LEI- MAKING, AND LA'AU LAPA'AU (TRADITIONAL PLANT MEDICINE). ALTHOUGH STILL IN ITS FORMATIVE STAGES, THIS PROGRAM AIMS TO ADDRESS THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACTS OF POST-DISASTER RECOVERY BY FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING, PURPOSE, AND RESILIENCE. EARLY FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS IN OUR EXISTING VOLUNTEER DAYS INDICATES A STRONG EMOTIONAL BENEFIT: INDIVIDUALS REPORT FEELING CALMER, MORE GROUNDED, AND RECONNECTED TO BOTH COMMUNITY AND AINA AFTER EACH SESSION. WE PLAN TO DESIGN AND PILOT A STRUCTURED AINA-BASED WELLNESS CURRICULUM BY 2026 THAT BLENDS CULTURAL PRACTICE, MINDFULNESS, AND COMMUNITY CONNECTION. WE ARE ALSO PARTNERING WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, CULTURAL PRACTITIONERS, AND MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO EXPAND ACCESS AND REACH MORE PARTICIPANTS ACROSS MAUI'S RECOVERY NETWORK, ENSURING THAT COMMUNITY HEALING REMAINS AT THE HEART OF RESTORATION.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
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