Nonprofit Serving Homeless Gets Grant

Family Life Center News Release

Family Life Center, Inc., a nonprofit organization serving the homeless population on the islands of Maui, Molokai and Kauai, has been selected to receive a $2.5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund—the largest grant in Family Life Center’s history. This is the second consecutive year that the organization has received a donation from the Day 1 Families Fund. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos, the Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families.

“Family Life Center is incredibly grateful for the Day 1 Families Fund, which has so generously supported our organization for the second year in a row,” said Family Life Center Executive Director Maude Cumming. “Our 2020 Day 1 Families Fund grant enabled us to expand our reach beyond Maui and Kauai to reach Molokai as well. This year’s donation will allow us to enhance and expand the services we are offering on all three islands.”

This one-time grant will allow Family Life Center to continue to expand its services on the islands of Kauai and Molokai, where the homeless population is very underserved. The organization also plans to develop an adaptive shelter model for families, replicating an approach it pioneered during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Family Life Center was selected as a Day 1 Families Fund grant recipient by an independent advisory board comprised of homelessness experts with experience in policy, advocacy, racial equity, child welfare and housing and service delivery, as well as firsthand experience in homelessness.

This year, the Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $96.2 million in grants to 32 organizations across the country. 

“Without Family Life Center’s support, my family and I might still be living in our car,” said a former Family Life Center client. “I am so grateful to have a home for our son. We will never be homeless again.”

The Bezos Day One Fund made a $2 billion commitment to focus on making meaningful and lasting impacts in two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families. Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has issued 130 grants totaling more than $398 million to organizations around the country working to combat homelessness and help families gain housing support and stability. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside. For more information, visit BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.