A November 2022 report on local humanitarian action in Ukraine (a study commissioned by DEC) found that less than 1% of humanitarian contributions were directly transferred to local and national NGOs in Ukraine. DEC members, many of whom are members of the Start Network, decided to promote the creation of a new pooled fund in Ukraine. It will facilitate better access for local and national organizations and conduct due diligence.
The main goal of this fund is to increase humanitarian funding for local and national organizations so that more humanitarian aid can be delivered to the people who need it, at the local level.
History and stages of fund
On January 17-19, 2024, an offline working meeting was held to create the conditions for the operation of a flexible financing fund for humanitarian and recovery programs for Ukraine. The event was attended by 25 participants representing various local and national non-profit organizations from all over Ukraine. The current purpose of the fund for non-profit organizations, as well as the format and system of the grant program were developed. Additional data was added at an online meeting on January 22. It was attended by 55 organizations. A focus group discussion on January 26, which included 10 participants from the working groups, confirmed the materials developed and allowed us to finalize the development of the fund's system. An important outcome of these discussions was the development of two parallel mechanisms for distributing the Fund's resources.
a. Rapid Response Mechanism: Funding is provided promptly after or before an emergency to implement a 30-day response project.
b. Regular funding mechanism: Funds are allocated monthly on a specific day to fund applications submitted within a 14-day period.
These funds will finance 90-day response projects addressing recovery and humanitarian needs.
Conditions for joining the fund
Ukrainian local and national non-governmental organizations will have the opportunity to apply for participation in the fund, which will be reviewed by the committee. After a due diligence process, the selected organizations will be granted access to the fund. Initially, a small number of organizations will be selected, and over time, more will be able to join the fund. Details on the application form, selection criteria and deadline will be published in mid-February on the social media of the National Network for the Development of Local Philanthropy:
https://www.instagram.com/philanthropy.com.ua?igsh...
https://www.facebook.com/filantropy.ua