I’ve been looking around for a good charity. James has mentioned United Help Ukraine and that looks a like a reasonable one.
There’s so many though - Facebook pages, GoFundMe and more.
Any thoughts on a good one with minimal overhead/admin costs?
I’m really looking for something that will fund critical needs right now - food, water, batteries, medical supplies.
All tips appreciated.
We always support Save The Children and their relief programs. Donations will help support families at this time of crisis : Save the Children’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund will supply food, water, hygiene needs to families.
Google for link to make online donations.
The Home Town Newspaper has this under Here's how you can help the people of Ukraine...
They provide a list of organizations, with descriptions of each and a link, including:
I also saw a story on BBC News today about an effort to solicit donations of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They've apparently raised over $3.3 million in the first 4 hours since going live (most donations were under $100, but they did point to one anonymous donor who gave over $3 million -- I swear, it wasn't me). They noted that while most NGOs do not provide funding for military aid, their goal is to provide a way for people to do exactly that. (No comment...)
There are many large charities that take your money and distribute to multiple locations. I would donate to funds specifically dedicated to the people of Ukraine.
There’s so many though - Facebook pages, GoFundMe and more.
I suspect many, if not the majority, on those platforms are scams.
Exercise care in selecting an organization
Slavic Gospel Association
https://www.sga.org/
Thank you all. I went with United Help Ukraine.
I donated through the CNN Impact Your World link which donates to a number of nonprofits (whose names are listed) which are helping the Ukrainians.
https://action.publicgood.com/campaign/13ac7e1b-4de6-4f7c-b128-4346f73b9832?title=How%20to%20provide%20aid%20to%20those%20in%20Ukraine&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fcms3-mobile-preview.api.cnn.io&utm_medium=button&utm_source=cnn
Ive been donating to United Help Ukraine to support the soldiers in repelling Russia since 2016. They have been excellent in demonstrating that money was well invested.
Thank you Valerie and James, i just donated to United Help Ukraine. I also posted on my FB page asking my friends to donate to them as well. Everyone i know wants to help and this is how we can.
We'll send ours to the International Committee of the Red Cross as we know someone in Ukraine working for them (and whom I'm very worried about.) But James' reco is right up there too.
Editing to add: a list of recommended organizations from a local news source, including United Help Ukraine and the ICRC.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/nation-world/ukraine/10-ways-to-help-the-people-of-ukraine-right-now/75-02015546-054d-4928-b6ef-c95d778abf37
I donated to the International Red Cross, the LA Times also listed many of the charities mentioned here.
Thank you, Valerie, for you initial post and also thanks to all who replied with great recommendations.
World Central kitchen with Jose Andres gets a 100% rating from Charity Navigator. https://wck.org/donate Working at a 24-hour pedestrian border crossing in southern Poland, WCK began serving hot, nourishing meals on Friday evening.
In addition to providing meals for families in Poland, WCK has a team on their way to Romania to support Ukrainians arriving there. We also have teams headed to Moldova, Slovakia, and Hungary to see where we can best be of support. Beginning on Sunday, we started working with restaurants in Odessa and Lviv, two cities in Ukraine, to support families who have remained in the country. As the situation continues to evolve, WCK remains ready to expand our support for families in need.
Aside from the ones mentioned, I also looked at Airlink (see in Charity Navigator) to help core donate getting supplies to areas with refugees.
I give regularly and gave extra to World Vision. They have been on the ground in E. Europe now. They are providing for the refugee children and their mothers and families.
Oh and yes! Chef Andres with World Kitchen is truly amazing!! God bless him!
I wanted to add one more charity called Shelter Box. It's one I learned about on a Rick Steves tour from one of their Rotary Club ambassadors. If you are not familiar with their system, they have a set up of a big box filled with a tent, cooking essentials, solar lights, other stuff depending on the disaster and the location.
And today I sent some money with PayPal and they had a link on the site for donations......
Another vote for World Central Kitchen. They are feeding refugees on both sides of the Poland/Ukraine border and incidentally feeding folks in other parts of the world-Brazil during the flooding, US during natural disasters. etc.
Good to know about it. Forwarding it to my friends circle.
I donated to International Rescue Committee, an organization founded by Albert Einstein (who was himself a refugee) that is helping Ukrainian refugees (as well as other refugees globally).
I asked a Ukrainian woman what organization she recommends, and she said she contributed to Come Back Alive , so I did the same. The contribution field was in the Ukrainian currency of UAH, so I had to use Google to figure out my dollar amount.
Come Back Alive has been in the news recently for Patreon taking down the account due to funds being used for equipment for Ukrainian fighters. My calculation was that if this person in Ukraine (whom I reached out to inquire; she did not initiate the conversation) says that's the most useful, that's a good enough justification for me.
holliebt; the organization has a good reputation in Ukraine. You choose well.
Hi, it's been brought up that this thread should be considered for removal. We do expect forum members (you) to take responsibility for their own actions as it relates to any links shared in our forum (aka we're not liable per our forum guidelines, etc etc). Even though this thread isn't squarely focused on travel, our company mission states that "we value travel as a powerful way to better understand and contribute to the world in which we live." Thank you to those who are literally contributing to our world. I see no need to remove this thread as long as our guidelines are followed and politics are avoided. I appreciate that so many are trying to do right by what's happening in Ukraine. Just be careful. Thanks everyone.
Thank you, Webmaster. Your reply makes me feel good about being part of this forum community.
Thanks Webmaster!
From this website
Today is a profoundly sad day. Russia’s aggressive action is heartbreaking for the death, suffering, and economic turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at least, beyond. Here at Rick Steves’ Europe, we hope that a diplomatic solution can be found and peace will return to that fragile and long-suffering part of our world.
Our mission at RSE is to help Americans better know and understand our neighbors through travel. But when we bring travelers to another country, we also bring their dollars — dollars that would support Putin’s aggression. Therefore, as of today, we have canceled all 2022 tours that include a stop in Russia.
Among the thousands (literally) of companies to cut ties with Russia are: Disney Warner Bros. Canada Goose Expedia Adidas ExxonMobil Harley-Davidson General Motors Shell BP Apple, and on and on and on. .......
Many of which have on their website links to their own or someone else Ukraine support organization. Not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. That's corporate responsibility at its best.
Here is a list from 2014 that has been updated: https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/02/27/verified-ways-to-help-the-ukrainian-army/
Just to tag on to James’ post somewhere about corporate donations, a notification just popped up on my phone that Uber is matching donations to IRC up to $1,000,000. (I have already sent money to 4 other worthy organizations so won’t take them up on it. But thought it was great.)
Glad to see others mention the International Rescue Committee. We are regular donors to IRC—- we have a friend on the board here in Seattle, have attended their fundraisers, and we are impressed with their track record in refugee relief. That is where our donation went. (And now I see it will be doubled by an Uber match.)
@ Lola, I suspect you have to donate through the Uber portal for their match to kick in, but either way, I figure it’s all good. :)
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières has had teams in Ukraine for many years. They are focusing now on providing emergency medical supplies and staff in country… latest shipment arrived in Kyiv yesterday. Worth considering.
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/news-stories/story/ukraine-how-msf-trying-access-areas-most-affected-fighting
I just read an article in The Points Guy which explains how to donate airline and hotel points to aid groups in Ukraine: https://thepointsguy.com/news/points-help-ukraine/
The leading 15 UK charitys.
Think it's over £100 million raised in two days
Vanguard Charitable, a US donor-advised fund, just reported that in the last few days they have grated over $16 million in relief to organizations assisting in Ukraine relief, with the top 3 recipients being World Central Kitchen, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres, and International Rescue Committee ( this one is among the UK DEC beneficiaries in the list above).
Not necessarily advocating for this, but I've heard of a movement to "buy" nights at Ukrainian Airbnb's to help support individuals who cannot (for obvious reasons) host people in their homes right now. Last I heard, upwards of 60,000 nights had been purchased, mainly by Americans, Canadians and Brits. From everything I've read, the Airbnb hosts are getting the money, even if the purchaser doesn't intend to actually stay at the place they booked. An interesting grass-roots form of financial support, I guess?
I donated to the International Red Cross and to the French organisation, "Doctors without Borders." I see it as my moral and historical obligation, the least I can do.
biyap56; there are a number of people here that get nervous with blind links. So if you can, please post the full link.
For what ever reason, I couldn't get that site to load. I belive these are the same people, just the US site: https://unitedhelpukraine.org/ I have given to this group for years. I trust them.
Samaritan’s Purse
Nothing wrong with that. Opening one's house to those in need is another. Or going to the relief office in the towns you travel and turning over cash is another.
Here is another option. You can do this individually or you can do this as a group. Seems pretty straight forward which surprises me for a government program. If anyone would be interested in sponsoring I might be able to assist in finding beneficiaries
https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/uniting-for-ukraine
If you don't feel comfortable with this, you could do something similar by negotiating a 2 or 3 month deal with an airbnb in a neighboring country and providing direct financial support for cost of living. From my experience that would cost in the neighborhood of $1500 a month per family saved. If you did it as a group of 3 or 4 (say, you knitting club) it can be affordable for most. When you see the pictures of the children its hard not to; and you can see and touch the results of your efforts and make friends and learn along the way.
I would be happy to help with that as well.
