Notes from the field: from kick-off in Warsaw to crossroads in Ukraine

Following the Foundations for Ukraine (F4U) kick-off event in Warsaw on March 28-29, a small group of F4U initiators got on the train in Warsaw for the 17-hour journey to Kyiv: Markus Lux and Julia Teek from the Robert Bosch Foundation, Nick Deychakiwsky from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and Anna Solovei from Razom for Ukraine (Oksana from Global Giving – also an F4U initiator – made her own way home to Kyiv). We were joined in the two compartments by researcher Olga Andrienko-Bentz (who had done a study on Ukrainian community foundations in time of war for the Global Fund for Community Foundations) and Anthony Richter (formerly of Open Society Foundations). A lot of good discussions took place on the train, not only about the meetings which just happened in Warsaw, but our own philanthropic journeys, connections with Ukraine, and the current geopolitical perspectives vis-à-vis Ukraine from our respective vantage points.

A major event that Markus, Julia, Anna, and Nick participated in was called Vision of Resilience 2.0: The Human Dimension. Hosted by the International Renaissance (IRF) and East Europe (EEF) foundations with support from the Norwegian and Swedish development agencies, the three-hour session was attended by around 100 Ukrainian civil society leaders. The event revolved around a draft document, of the same name, which was meant to serve as a blueprint for Ukrainian civil society’s participation in the upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference that will take place in July in Rome. The principles espoused in the document are human-centered recovery and community. Experts presented during three separate panels on various aspects of recovery that must be addressed with civil society participation. A lot of really good information, data and insights were presented about the current state of affairs and anticipated future needs for Ukrainian society, which can be useful for foundations. Notable statements made during the panels included that civil society in Ukraine needs a platform to disseminate knowledge, but also to present its concerns with a united voice. It was also emphasized that the development of a common cultural code for Ukrainian society is necessary.

That evening, IRF hosted a dinner for the F4U members that were in Kyiv and some Ukrainian philanthropists – representatives of a family office, a huge agribusiness with a CSR program, and a newly-created family foundation working on implementing an education program. EEF also participated. This was the beginning of establishing relationships between external F4U members and Ukrainian philanthropic actors – who often have different methods and perspectives that need to be learned by outside stakeholders.

For a time in Kyiv on Monday morning, Tuesday and part of Wednesday, F4U members went their own ways. Anna (Razom for Ukraine) and Oksana (Global Giving) attended to their own offices in Ukraine, while Markus and Julia (Bosch) and Nick (Mott) split up to have meetings with their own direct grantees or other organizations of specific interest.

Markus and Julia took the opportunity to visit existing and potential partner organizations from civil society in Kyiv. One example is the NGO Divchata, with its charismatic CEO Yuliya Sporish, which has also established partnerships with other F4U members and is particularly active in the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence and the empowerment of women-led organizations. The development of the Rokada Foundation, which was founded in 2003 to better integrate refugees in Ukraine and now has a nationwide network of branches dedicated to the integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and vulnerable groups, is also impressive. As Bosch, Fondation de France, and other foundations are planning to initiate a pooled fund for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in Ukraine, it was very important to establish contact with the key player in this area, the initiative launched by First Lady Olena Zelenska, “How are you?”, and to continue this dialogue in the future.

Markus and Julia were deeply moved by their first visit to Bucha and the surrounding area and their meeting with local partners from the Institute for Sustainable Development of Communities and Dialogue in Action. Infrastructure reconstruction is ongoing, but the social recovery process will require a great deal of effort, for which social participation in planning processes is just as important as dialogue between different societal groups, such as religions. And during these meetings, the question arose again: does Ukraine need a new social contract?

Photo: Markus Lux, Robert Bosch Foundation

Nick visited several organizations by Mott that are working on access to justice – specifically ones involved with non-governmental legal advice centers and paralegals (Legal Development Network, Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Ukrainian Paralegals Association). Although several were negatively affected by USAID’s funding cuts (either they or their constituent members), the organizations are determined to provide services to people who often don’t have the information on who to turn to in order to begin addressing their justice concerns. Especially in wartime these frequently include IDPs, veterans and their families, and those whose property has been damaged. These networks are often able to refer people to the Ministry of Justice’s Free Legal Aid Centers, and they also serve as a source for innovation, adjustment, and policy recommendations in order to improve the overall system.

Nick also visited the office of the National Network for Local Philanthropy Development, whose members are community foundations and YouthBank initiatives. The organization is led by a team of bright, young and committed people and is an excellent channel of support to various communities around Ukraine. It receives support, among others, from several F4U core members. Nick also met with a couple other organizations that had approached the Mott Foundation for contacts, including the organization Sensemaking for Ukraine, Greenpeace Ukraine, and MINZMIN. In the case of the latter, the connection was made through a virtual workshop of the Civil Society Leadership Programme for Ukraine a few weeks ago run by the Erste Foundation (an F4U initiator) and the Vienna School of Economics and Business. MINZMIN is doing fantastic work regarding digital literacy and security for children, families, schools and civil society organizations.

On Wednesday morning April 1, Nick, Markus and Julia had a meeting with the German Development Agency GIZ, which is one of the most important international actors in Ukraine, with more than 40 offices throughout the country. GIZ is very interested in working with international donors, including philanthropies, and has signaled a willingness to provide support to F4U in the form of personnel, funding, data, and expertise. Later, Julia and Markus met with Olexi Pasyuk, executive director of Ekodia and discussed the challenges of sustainable land use by local farmers in light of the large agricultural companies in the country.

At noon Markus, Julia and Nick made a 4-hour trip by private car to Rivne. In the late afternoon they were met by the Rivne oblast representative of the Ombudsman of Ukraine, at the behest of the youth organization Et Cetera. Its dynamic young director, Anna Shcherba, had also participated in the afore-mentioned Civil Society Leadership Program for Ukraine. The Ombudsman’s representative told us a fair amount about his office’s rights protection work in the Rivne oblast (he sees his responsibility for all people whose freedom is restricted), while Anna described Et Cetera’s work to provide education in schools about children’s rights and related mental health issues, mainly through gamification. Afterwards we visited the office of Ecoclub with its director Andriy Martynyuk, a sophisticated organization that has several lawyers and environmentalists on staff. They are involved in advocacy for sustainable energy, primarily on the municipal level. One big project they are involved in concerns solar energy for hospitals and recreation centers that have been damaged by missile and drone strikes. Ecoclub is looking to reform environmental assessment law and promote district heating as a way to more efficiently move away from carbon-based heating technologies, but also it notes the lack of political support. Ecoclub also helps recruit participants for the Partnership for Sustainable Recovery of Ukraine, a program of the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation (CEPF) which is supported by F4U members Mott and Porticus, among others.

On Thursday morning Markus, Julia and Nick visited a child-friendly space run by local staff of the national NGO “Girls” (Divchata). The club offers various services to children from 6-18 who’ve lost a parent in the war, IDPs, or otherwise needing special support: psychological counseling, social rehabilitation, arts and crafts therapy, sports, sex education, critical thinking development, and case management for the children and families of those who the psychologists identify as needing special attention. The young women who work there are very special, visibly working very well with the children.

Photo: Julia Teek, Robert Bosch Foundation

The group then drove on to the small city of Dubno to meet with the community foundation Dobrobut. Mykola Mandzuk and a colleague showed us around the very impressive Dubno Castle, which is a museum and national historical site. Dobrobut is a young community foundation, founded in 2020, but does significant work to promote active citizenship, especially among youth, and supports measures for IDPs and local residents to overcome cultural cleavages. It also implements the Harvest Way program, a National Network for Local Philanthropy Development program funded by Bosch and Fondation de France which supports IDPs, local smaller farmers and veterans in growing food and establishing small agricultural businesses. Initially intended for self-sufficiency, consideration is now being given to how more veterans can be employed and how the products can be made marketable. Closer cooperation between the individual grantees would be necessary for this, and the term “hromadative” was immediately coined to describe this. The group’s time was capped with a visit to the Great Synagogue of Dubno. Built in the late 18th century, it was one of the most significant centers of rabbinical law in Eastern Europe. While it is currently not in use and in a state of disrepair, its vaulted roof still stands, and it is an architectural wonder.

That afternoon Markus and Julia dropped Nick off in Lviv, continuing on to Poland inasmuch as they needed to be back home in Germany on Friday. Nick remained in Lviv for a couple of days, visiting several social service organizations. One was led by another participant in the earlier mentioned Civil Society Leadership Program. Halyna Shtohryn leads Dream Workshop, an organization which supports the socialization of young people with psychological disabilities. Another, Oselya, helps restore dignity to homeless people and is associated with the Emmaus network. In addition, Nick spent time with CEPF’s Ukraine Specialist Lucie Rehorikova, who was in Lviv to monitor and support some environmental and cultural exchange programs and to gather the next cohort of Ukrainian interns for their week-long visit to Czechia. The day included a visit to Superhumans, a very impressive modern facility which in the past two years provided prosthetics to 1,000 wounded soldiers, as well as a meeting with Lviv City Mayor Andriy Sadovyi. The mayor has a great interest in a community nature space, Rozsadnyk (which is modelled after a similar space next to CEPF’s building in Brno), as well as in cultural exchanges with the City of Brno.

Photo: Press Service of the Lviv City Council

This first F4U visit to Ukraine was small but we anticipate that it will grow to more participants as the security situation will hopefully improve. It was valuable to get a closer sense of the societal context first-hand, even when visiting organizations that were not direct partners or that operate outside of the programmatic priorities of the participants’ foundations. There was a very strong sense that although Ukrainians are exhausted, frustrated, traumatized and frequently disappointed by what they sense is not enough support from the West, they are not giving in and are showing true resilience as they defend their land and work towards a better future. Therefore, they deserve not only our deepest respect, but above all our ongoing support – especially financially!