Strengthening Ukrainian NGOs: The Power of Philanthropy in Building Organisational and Digital Resilience

Last month, Lightful hosted the ‘Strengthening Ukrainian NGOs’ webinar which brought together over 50 passionate global funders and Ukrainian nonprofit leaders in a powerful conversation about the challenges and resilience of Ukrainian civil society as well as how funders can help.

As the war approaches its third year, the need for sustained philanthropic support is critical now more than ever. Locally-led organisations are at the forefront of response and recovery in Ukraine, raising awareness and delivering essential services to communities in need, yet they face the ongoing challenge of building their organisational and digital capacity to sustain their impact.

According to Philanthropy in Ukraine’s recent report, training is one of the most relevant needs expressed from local NGOs including digital and effective fundraising skills. As philanthropic support and media attention wane, our expert panellists made an inspiring call to action: to stand with local changemakers and commit to long-term capacity-building investments that will fuel a resilient, empowered civil society as they shape the future of Ukraine.

Scroll on to view the webinar recording and to learn more about the expert panellists and their key takeaways for funders looking to grow their support of small, impactful Ukrainian NGOs. They highlighted many interesting topics but some key areas included:

• the role of philanthropy in supporting local NGOs and their leaders’ mental health
• the critical need for building capacity to ensure long-term sustainability
• the importance of fostering digital resilience and combating donor fatigue.

Meet the Speakers

Svitlana Bakhshaliieva, Digital Communication Coach - Lightful

Based in Kyiv, Svitlana brings extensive experience from the Ukrainian nonprofit sector. In her role at Lightful, she supports NGOs in enhancing their digital communication strategies and building resilience during the ongoing conflict. Before joining Lightful, Svitlana gained experience in fundraising, partnerships, and communications, working in several foundations and charities in Ukraine.

Oleksandra Kirtoka, Program/Project Manager - Alliance of Ukrainian Civil Society Organizations

Program Manager at the Alliance of Ukrainian Civil Society Organisation with previous experience as a Business Development Manager and Operations Manager at non-profit Spend With Ukraine and PR Specialist at Public Kitchen Agency.

Cédrine Gisin, Program Director, Health and Emergency Response - UBS Optimus Foundation

Cédrine’s work supports children and families in crisis-affected areas, focusing on recovery and resilience. She oversees grants, investments, and outcomes-based financing for health and emergency response. UBS Optimus Foundation is a grantmaking foundation established by UBS the global wealth management firm, responding to the immediate crisis as well as the longer-term recovery and transition back to development, often working with our existing, trusted partners.

Victoria Vrana, CEO - GlobalGiving

Victoria Vrana is a senior leader in innovation and philanthropy at the helm of GlobalGiving. Victoria joined GlobalGiving from the Gates Foundation, where she served as Deputy Director of Philanthropic Partnerships. GlobalGiving is a nonprofit that supports local nonprofits around the world by connecting them to donors and companies. Since 2002, the GlobalGiving community has raised nearly $1 billion from 1.9 million donors in support of tens of thousands of local nonprofit organisations.

Yanina Lomaka, International Partnerships Manager - Life Quality FundOriginally from Donbas, experienced firsthand the impacts of conflict, having been displaced twice due to war—first in 2014 and again during the full-scale invasion in 2022. These experiences shaped her path as a translator and humanitarian worker. Since 2022, she has channelled her skills and passion into a more formal role. She is a translator, facilitator, and International Partnership Manager for NGO “Life Quality,” bridging language gaps and fostering international collaborations to support those affected by conflict.

Key Themes and Takeaways from the Strengthening Ukrainian NGOs Webinar

1. The Role of Philanthropy in Supporting Local NGOs

Oleksandra Kirtoka noted that since 2022, about 9,000 CSOs and charitable foundations have been created and need support. Rather than being seen as working on different sides, funders and Ukrainian organisations should work together and both groups should be accepted into the larger system of being considered humanitarians. Our panellists also emphasised that international funders must continue to play an important and ongoing role in supporting local Ukrainian NGOs beyond just emergency relief. Funders should focus on flexible funding and long-term capacity building initiatives to support sustainability and build resilience.

2. Mental Health

The webinar coincided with World Mental Health Day, bringing attention to the profound toll the war has taken on the mental health of Ukrainians and their NGO leaders, and the panel highlighted the importance of continuing to recognise the mental health needs of grantees. Cédrine Gisin shared that supporting mental health services, especially for children and families, was highlighted as a top priority as funders should protect the human capital needed to rebuild Ukraine. Due to prolonged trauma and uncertainty in Ukraine, the team at UBS Optimus Foundation encourages funders to equip families and community leaders with the tools to cope with current and future crises.

3. Building Capacity for Local Organisations for Long-Term Sustainability

Speakers stressed that balancing immediate needs and long-term capacity-building for Ukrainian NGOs is essential for sustainability. Many organisations have been founded by individuals without formal humanitarian backgrounds, making skills building and training vital. Funders should collaborate with trusted training partners to provide capacity-building programmes tailored to the specific needs of these local NGOs. Victoria Vrana highlighted that local organisations, deeply rooted in their communities, are best positioned to understand and respond to needs on the ground so funders should be guided by them, for example, GlobalGiving focuses on giving trust-based resources for Ukrainian NGOs.

4. The Importance of Digital Resilience

Digital resilience has become a key factor in enabling Ukrainian NGOs to tell their stories, raise funds, and deliver services. The ability to leverage digital tools allows these NGOs to maintain visibility and secure the resources they need in a global humanitarian landscape where funding for Ukrainian NGOs is waning. Yanina Lomaka spoke about the challenge of moving from crisis to strategic planning,the importance of training tools and courses in Ukrainian, and how peer-to-peer learning is incredibly useful. Yanina spoke about her positive experience recently participating in Lightful’s digital skills programme, which Svitlana Bakhshaliieva highlighted as a valuable capacity building tool, enhancing digital, AI and fundraising skills among Ukrainian NGOs.

5. Combating Donor Fatigue and Sustaining Support

As the war continues into 2024, Ukrainian NGOs face the challenge of donor fatigue, with funders’ attention shifting to other global crises. All speakers agreed that funders should support Ukrainian NGOs to effectively share their impact, using both data and stories, to engage donors and sustain support over time. For NGOs, the advice was to ask and keep on asking, and if NGOs get a ‘no’ they should be curious for feedback and undertake a period of research to better understand the constraints that funders have.

To finish the webinar, we asked the speakers to leave us with one suggestion for international donors to support local Ukrainian NGOs in building their organisational capacity. Our speakers shared that funders should:

• Remain flexible and listen to the needs of NGOs in terms of capacity building and funding
• Think about what can be done beyond dollars, for example, pro bono, supporting NGOs to gain more visibility and introducing them to other funders
• Build relationships with Ukrainian NGOs as trust goes both ways, learn together and shift the perspective of a power dynamic

Lightful’s programmes to support digital capacity building in Ukrainian NGOs

Since 2022, Lightful has worked with over 300 Ukrainian NGOs, delivering essential digital, AI, and fundraising tools, skills, and support. Lightful’s BRIDGE (Building Resilience in Digital Growth and Engagement) programmes have been co-created with Ukrainian stakeholders and were launched thanks to the support of UBS Optimus Foundation, GlobalGiving, and The Zagoriy Foundation.

“The BRIDGE programme was exceptional…and even one person getting enough knowledge can benefit the team. I would like to say that the programme is very structured and there is lots of comprehensive information. I was very very blessed, so to speak, by the courses and lessons...” Yanina Lomaka, Life Quality Fund

Yanina highlighted on the panel that the practical information, live sessions, expert speakers, real-time discussions and the opportunity to hear peers sharing their life experiences so passionately was particularly helpful during the Lightful BRIDGE programme.

Lightful will be launching more Ukrainian digital skills BRIDGE programmes over the coming years, thanks to the support of The UBS Optimus Foundation and our other fantastic funding partners. We are keen to connect with more NGOs and funders who are interested in supporting their grantees to build their digital capacity. For funders interested in learning more please contact Nikhila Dega, Partnerships Manager, at partnerships@lightful.com. For Ukrainian NGOs interested in taking part please contact Svitlana Bakhshaliieva, Digital Communications Coach, at support@lightful.com.