Since 2019, ISAR Ednannia has been a strategic partner of the European Union. In 2021 Ednannia implemented the project EU4Civil Society Sustainability in Ukraine, within the European Union program Strategic Partnerships for Capacity Development of Civil Society Organisations in the Eastern Partnership.
In 2022, ISAR Ednannia continued to support civil society organizations (CSOs) and improve the legal enabling environment for civil society. Because of ISAR Ednannia's flexibility and ability to respond quickly to different situations, it was able to announce the call for Proposals “Emergency Support of the Capacities of Ukrainian Civil Society to Act in Emergency Situations” on February 26, 2022, to help the civil society sector quickly respond to emerging challenges, reorient their activity and support those who found themselves in critical situations because of the war.
EU project focuses on strengthening CSOs’ capacities to adapt and respond to the community and citizens’ needs effectively in times of emergency and warfare, and provide humanitarian and other assistance to the communities they operate in and where it is needed the most.
Key components in the framework of the project:
- Grant Component - emergency grants, institutional support grants, war crimes documentation grants, grants to counteract disinformation.
- International Fundraising component development capacities of ISAR Ednannia.
- Coordination/Partnership/Capacity Development Component - NGO Studio, coordination events for CSOs.
1. Grant support
- 208 grants were provided to counteract the consequences of war.
- About 3 million people who suffered from the consequences of war have been supported by CSOs provided with grants all over Ukraine.
- More than 10,000 CSOs’ representatives received services and opportunities that strengthened their capacities to adapt to the emergencies of wartime, coordinate with other actors, and scale up.
Types of Grant support provided to 3 mln people due to grant support for CSOs:
⮚ Rapid support to CSOs to act in emergencies - 100 organizations from 22 oblasts of Ukraine received sub-grants for a total of UAH 36,000.000 or EUR 900.000. These costs were used to provide help to 150,000 persons, who felt the negative impact of the war and to adapt the work of organizations to the new conditions and needs.
⮚ Institutional support of CSOs for scaling up their activities. This unique competition conducted in the conditions of a full-scale war has been helping CSOs to continue their activity under harsh circumstances and to scale up their services. 15 organizations have received institutional support and they will in turn support 1.300.000 people in Ukraine. The total sum of the grant support is UAH 18.000.000 or EUR 450.000.
⮚ Strengthening of CSO capacities in documenting war crimes. Within this grant competition, 22 organizations received support for UAH 11.000.000 or EUR 275.000. Since the beginning of the project implementation in February 2022, more than 700 war crimes have been documented.
⮚ Support to CSOs to strengthen their counteraction of propaganda and disinformation. 17 projects of civil society organizations will cover one million people on the territory of Ukraine and beyond (Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic). Projects of different formats - video, articles, exhibitions – will unveil facts and news about the current war, as well as historical events that were distorted by Russian propaganda.
The sub-awards were provided for:
• Support operation of humanitarian hubs and coordination initiatives to provide humanitarian assistance, as also to displaced persons, vulnerable groups, and people in communities affected by hostilities, including Kharkiv, Kherson, Melitopol, and others (in cases when humanitarian assistance was difficult to obtain from other sources).
• Arrangement of temporary and long-term accommodation for displaced persons (including for people with disabilities and the elderly) with services to people with disabilities, creating special spaces for children, etc.
• Psychological, legal, and informational support for displaced persons and vulnerable groups and centers where such assistance is provided in communities, as well as the launching of a mass online course "Psychological First Aid".
• Interactive methods of rehabilitation of displaced children (activities with elements of psychological support) to provide psychological support and organize children's leisure in humanitarian centers and shelters for displaced persons.
• Creation of digital solutions (chatbots) for quick search of information in communities both for locals and displaced persons.
• First medical assistance training, including such training for the hearing impaired.
• Procurement of medicines for hospitals in places of complete isolation of hospitals from the usual supply chains (in communities occupied by Russians).
• Procurement of generators to protect communities from water outages.
• Core support for CSOs engaged in international communications and international advocacy to counteract the threats to Ukraine in war times and communicate effective areas of support for Ukraine by the world.
• Supporting volunteers with operational repairs of vehicles to ensure their smooth operation.
• Documentation and communication of war crimes.
• Monitoring and recording of the damage to cultural objects.
• Support relocation for CSOs.
• War crimes documentation.
• Disinformation counteraction.
2. International fundraising component development capacities – attracting funds from international organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals, interested in targeted and trustworthy support.
The fundraising campaign started on February 25, 2024, via https://sos.ednannia.ua./
Among donators: Ch. S. Mott Foundation, Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society, NY, Berks County Community Foundation. European fundraising: Community Foundations, MAECENATA, private fundraisers.
Total collected: 290,000 Euros.
• 25 donations from organizations.
• 155 private donations.
Distribution of funds raised. Separate Call 4Proposals launched since May 2022: People 4 people: WORLD SAVES UKRAINIAN COMMUNITIES
The main idea is to address requests of community-based organizations that most efficiently represent the needs of the communities where they operate.
• 294 proposals received.
• 60 projects supported.
Main priorities:
• Restoration of critical social infrastructure/providing equipment that will contribute to improving the quality of life of people in communities.
• Sustainable solutions to increase food and economic security for groups of people/communities.
• Activities or decisions aimed at permanently improving the quality of life:
- residents of the community;
- forcibly resettled persons to other communities;
- specific vulnerable groups of people (children, large families, orphans, people with disabilities, children with disabilities, and others) who were forcibly resettled in communities.
• Evacuation from communities under threat of occupation.
• Targeted assistance to people or groups of people, if it lays the foundations for sustainable improvement of the quality of life for a long time.
3. Coordination/Partnership/Capacity Development Component
EVENTS to strengthen capacities In WARTIME
5 events for CSOs to coordinate and plan further activities, and develop partnerships conducted – 1000 representatives of CSO participated offline, 10.000 joined online.
1. Conference: War aftermath: Reconsidering the Future of Civil Society. 162 participants took part off-line in the Conference in Warsaw and 19 in Lviv(side event), 106 speakers –both online and live, 28 sessions, 11 706 visits to website Conference, 5 100 views of streams on the website, YouTube and FB.
2. Coordination of Volunteering Movement for Addressing Humanitarian Challenges in Ukraine During the War. 180 participants, 90 speakers – both online and live 12 sessions.
3. Civil Society Side event in Lugano Paving the Way to a Successful and Inclusive Recovery Process of Ukraine. 200 participants, 18 speakers, 3 sessions.
4. Two Forums for Civil Society were conducted.
Capacity development/Digital Component
NGO.Studio continued its work within the framework of the project. This is a media platform for the discussion of topics of interest to civil society, and the exchange of ideas, experiences, and knowledge.
NGO.Studio relaunched addressing the challenges of wartime
82.000 users benefited from the content of NGO.Studio on civil society sector good practices and challenges - covered by NGO.Studio products (website, FB, and YouTube)
New thematic blocks integrated:
- Volunteers and humanitarian support.
- War crimes documentation and human rights.
- Recovery of Ukraine.
We also provide studio space for other CSOs to record or broadcast their events.
Studio events are broadcasted through ISAR Ednannia’s FB and YouTube Channels and are accessible through https://studio.ednannia.ua/.
Legal and financial consultations on CSOs operation (legal challenges for CSOs in wartime)
Ednannia developed and launched the landing page https://podatok.ednannia.ua/
Permanently we collected requests and provided consultations, made regular updates on legislation changes.
6 webinars were conducted on issues of humanitarian aid, cooperation with volunteer service providers, and general tax changes in wartime.
300 CSOs participated via Zoom.
150 people watched a live FB stream and asked questions via FB.
3500 views in the record.
