• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy

2

CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it

3

A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history

1

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy

2

CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it

3

A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history
LeadershipOprah Winfrey

‘How do we help?’: Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson commit $10 million for Maui residents displaced by fires

By
Thalia Beaty
Thalia Beaty
and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Thalia Beaty
Thalia Beaty
and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 31, 2023, 7:40 PM ET
Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah Winfrey.Arturo Holmes—Getty Images FOR ESSENCE

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson have committed $10 million to make direct payments to people on Maui who are unable to return to their homes because of the wildfires, through a new fund they announced Thursday.

Recommended Video

The People’s Fund of Maui will give $1,200 a month to adults who are not able to return to their primary residences because of the recent wildfires, including people who owned and rented their homes, according to the fund’s website. The fund will also seek donations to extend the length of time it can provide the support.

“How do we help?” the “Young Rock” star said he and Winfrey asked each other during the wildfires, saying in a video released along with the announcement that they grappled with how to best direct their efforts. “You want to take care of the greatest need of the people, and that’s giving them money.”

They are looking forward to the help of “every person who called me and said, ‘What can I do?’” Winfrey said in the video. “This is what you can do.”

The pair were inspired by a similar fund set up by Dolly Parton after wildfires swept through Gatlinburg, Tennessee in December 2016, killing 14 people and destroying 2,400 structures.

Jeff Conyers, president of The Dollywood Foundation, said he consulted with Winfrey’s team multiple times in the past weeks to share the lessons that they’d learned from administrating the fund, which eventually granted $11 million to families who had lost their homes.

“Dolly’s idea was that, ‘Hey, look, these are my people and I want to take care of them and we trust them to know what recovery looks like for themselves and their families in the days and weeks following this immediate catastrophe here,’” Conyers said.

Parton’s fund, called My People Fund, worked with first responders and a local utility company and asked residents to help them determine which structures were destroyed and who lived in those homes, Conyers said. Around 1,000 families eventually received assistance from the fund, according to an evaluation from the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Social Work. That included a final $5,000 lump sum transfer at the end of six months.

To qualify for the People’s Fund of Maui, applicants must show a government ID and a utility bill in their name for a lost or uninhabitable residence, the fund’s website said.

Winfrey, who lives on Maui part-time, visited an emergency shelter on Maui in the days after the wildfire hit and worried about effectively getting resources to residents. At least 115 people were killed in the fires, though an unknown number are still missing. The fire that ripped through the historic town of Lahaina on Aug. 8 was the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

Forecasters warned Wednesday that gusty winds and low humidity increased the risk that fires could spread rapidly in the western parts of each Hawaiian island, though they were not as powerful as the winds that helped fuel the deadly blaze three weeks ago.

In the announcement, Winfrey and Johnson said they consulted with “community elders, leaders and residents including Hōkūlani Holt-Padilla, Keali’i Reichel, Archie Kalepa, Ekolu Lindsey, Kimo Falconer, Tiare Lawrence, Kaimana Brummel, Kaleikoa Ka’eo, Brian Keaulana, Kaimi Kaneholani, Henohea Kāne, Paele Kiakona, Ed Suwanjindar, Shep Gordon and Jason Momoa.”

The Entertainment Industry Fund, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps celebrities administer their charitable work, is sponsoring the fund, the announcement said.

Johnson and Winfrey hope the fund will continue to make transfers to qualifying residents for at least six months, but Winfrey said it would be up to the American public to determine how long the fund extends, based on their support and donations.

When setting up a direct cash transfer program, it’s important to define the objective, said Holly Welcome Radice, the regional representative for the Americas at CALP Network, a collective of organizations that studies cash assistance programs. In this case, $1,200 should correspond to the price of housing or the living costs for an adult in the area or whatever the need is the fund is seeking to meet, she said.

“The objective will be difficult to meet if your transfer value is not connected to the reality of the people,” she said, adding the fund should consider if the local economy can respond to the influx of money and map out what other services people may need.

“If it’s feasible and appropriate, then cash is a very direct way for people to benefit and have agency,” Radice said.

The fund should also spend time communicating the parameters of the program clearly, she said, “so people understand who qualifies and why they qualify and making sure that there is some type of feedback mechanism where people can place grievances.”

About the Authors
By Thalia Beaty
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By The Associated Press
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

John Furner
SuccessCareers
Walmart CEO John Furner worked his way up from the garden center. After 30 years, he’s sharing the one trait that matters most in his job
By Preston ForeJune 4, 2026
5 hours ago
Isolated Gen Z worker in office
SuccessGen Z
Gen Zers are more disconnected and distrustful of coworkers than their older colleagues—and they’re so lonely they’re taking days off work
By Emma BurleighJune 4, 2026
5 hours ago
jd
BankingBubbles
Jamie Dimon sees ‘gung-ho’ attitude and ‘exuberance’ in markets—just like 1972, 1986, 2000 and 2007. Uh Oh.
By Nick LichtenbergJune 4, 2026
7 hours ago
gg
Environmentprotests
Albanian protesters are furious about a giant development on a virgin beach that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump discovered on vacation
By Zana Cimili and The Associated PressJune 4, 2026
7 hours ago
60
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
‘My first response is, it started in 1968 — not a bad run’: Some see the death of 60 Minutes after Pelley’s firing, ‘murder’ comments
By Jocelyn Noveck and The Associated PressJune 4, 2026
8 hours ago
The SpaceX logo is displayed on the screen of a smartphone placed on a reflective surface onto which a stock market chart is projected.
NewslettersCFO Daily
Why SpaceX is breaking the IPO playbook with a $75 billion fixed-price offering
By Sheryl EstradaJune 4, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
Cybersecurity
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
By Sasha RogelbergJune 3, 2026
1 day ago
CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it
Success
CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 4, 2026
14 hours ago
A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history
Startups & Venture
A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history
By Shawn TullyJune 4, 2026
14 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 3, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 3, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 3, 2026
1 day ago
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
Environment
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 1, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of gold as of June 3, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 3, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 3, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.