Community philanthropy responds to Ukraine crisis

GFCF partners are actively responding to the crisis in Ukraine and its effects on the wider region as millions have fled to safety in neighbouring countries. The GFCF has launched a series of rapid grants to community philanthropy partners in Ukraine and surrounding countries to support their relief efforts. We will be reporting more on the amazing organizing and relief work that is being done by our partners in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in due course, but activities have so far ranged from providing direct relief to arrivals from Ukraine in the form of food and accommodation, to organizing psycho-social support addressing the trauma and impacts of the war, to arranging transportation for Africans and other foreigners to other countries, to launching local fundraising campaigns.

So far, we have awarded US $536,130 in grants to the following organizations, most of which have also set up their own fundraising campaigns (see links below):

• Bari Community Foundation (Ukraine)
• Berezan Community Foundation (Ukraine)
• Boyarka Community Foundation (Ukraine)
• Brasov Community Foundation (Romania)
• Bucharest Community Foundation (Romania)
• Bulgarian Fund for Women (Bulgaria)
• Carpathian Foundation (Slovakia)
• Charitable Foundation “Podilska Hromada” (Ukraine)
• Community Foundation of the City of Dubno, “Dobrobut” (Ukraine)
• Făgăraș County Community Foundation (Romania)
• FemFund (Poland) reallocation of existing grant funds
• Ferencváros Community Foundation (Hungary)
• Foundation for Community Development (Ukraine)
• Galati Community Foundation (Romania)
• Healthy City Community Foundation (Slovakia)
• Iași Community Foundation (Romania)
• Kakhovka Community Development Fund (Ukraine)
• Kherson Community Fund ‘Zahyst’ (Ukraine)
• Moloda Gromada (Ukraine)
• National Network of Local Philanthropy Development (Ukraine)
• Oradea Community Foundation (Romania)
• Princes-Benefactors Ostrozky Foundation (Ukraine)
• Ridnya Community Foundation (Ukraine)
• Roots and Wings Foundation (Hungary)
• Stara Zagora Community Foundation (Bulgaria)
• Timişoara Community Foundation (Romania)
• Voznesensk Community Foundation (Ukraine)
• Zhytomyr Community Foundation (Ukraine)

In addition, the GFCF has set up a JustGiving campaign to support a long-term GFCF partner and ally Moloda Gromada (“Young Community”), which is based in Odesa, Ukraine. In the immediate term, all funds raised via JustGiving will be directed to Moloda Gromada. We are making transfers in batches, on a rolling basis. Moloda Gromada was established in 2004 to bring people together around local issues, and to provide a platform for citizens to address the challenges and priorities that they identify as being most pressing. The organization has been particularly innovative in using technology to facilitate citizen participation, and has gained national attention and support for its work in this regard (specifically its “SOS-Protocol” App – though this is presently disabled due to security concerns). Moloda Gromada works with an extensive network of partners and volunteers, and is very much embedded in the local civil society sector.