Civil society organizations working to support veterans and their families will be able to receive up to UAH 2.5 million in financial support as part of a new competition called “#Varto: Ednannia”.
At a press conference held on October 31th at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center, all the features and opportunities of the competition were discussed in detail.
Ruslana Velychko-Tryfoniuk, acting Executive Director of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, noted:
“The competition “#Varto: Ednannia” provides for a wide range of expenses that can be financed. The UVF, as a state institution, has limitations in supporting some expenses. For example, we cannot finance the organizational development of NGOs, administrative expenses, etc. But thanks to co-financing from ISAR Ednannia, this is now possible. In the new funding competition, the UVF will support certain projects, and ISAR will provide funds for organizational development within the project.
The requirement of 2 years of experience in the field of NGO activity has been reduced to 1 year, which expands opportunities for NGOs that have been established recently. It is important for us that those who work on reintegration and adaptation of veterans can finance all the necessary expenses. After all, NGOs directly provide a helping hand, lend a shoulder to veterans on their way to reintegration into civilian life.
We already have case studies of many successful NGO projects. For example, there are organizations that mentor veteran businesses. This is very relevant in light of the support programs offered to veteran businesses. It is a normal practice for NGOs to work on the topic of veterans’ reintegration. For example, in the United States, most NGOs provide certain social services for veterans at the expense of public and private individuals. That’s why these competitive programs that exist now, they work and intercept each other, and this is a good trend for the development of the same system in Ukraine.”
Co-financing of civil society organizations’ initiatives significantly strengthens their capacities and allows them to scale projects.
The principle of co-financing is that the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs selects projects of civil society organizations on a competitive basis and undertakes to finance their implementation. At the same time, ISAR Ednannia, within the framework of the USAID Civil Society Sectoral Support Initiative project, co-funds the administrative costs of the NGO that are provided for during the implementation of the selected project. In this way, NGOs and unions will be able to strengthen their teams, improve their technical equipment, and receive funds for the organizational development of their organization.
The uniqueness of this cooperation is that budget funds will be targeted to support veterans and their families, while the public sector will provide these services and strengthen its organizational capacity.
Volodymyr Sheyhus, Executive Director of ISAR Ednannia, comments on the horizons of cooperation:
“ISAR Ednannia, as a granting organization, comprehensively supports projects with proper management, reporting, payroll and procurement for effective work. For me, the UVF competition is exactly that. Our role is to cover additional costs so that a comprehensive idea can be realized. However, we do not limit ourselves to financial participation, but will also provide support to the NGOs that will be selected for funding to help them develop.
After all, what is a civil society organization? These are people united to achieve certain goals because they are in need of something. They make commitments to the audiences they work for. To achieve results, they have to invest in their own development, learn how to retain people, set the agenda, be able to develop and implement projects, communicate about themselves, and study the needs of their target audiences. If there is no experience, someone has to teach or support the development of such an NGO. ISAR Ednannia does this work. Accordingly, we implement certain training, consulting, networking, or funding programs. Transparency and accountability are the principles we follow.”
The goal of the co-financing program “Varto: Ednannia” program is to reintegrate and support veterans and their families through the services of public associations, which in turn will strengthen their capacity and quality of services in the field of protection of rights and freedoms, satisfaction of public, economic, social, cultural and other interests of veterans and their families.
What veterans and their families will receive as part of the competition:
- mentoring and counseling of veteran entrepreneurs from start-up to development;
- social support for veterans, their families and family members of the deceased;
- social support for children of veterans and children of the fallen;
- support in reintegrating veterans and their families into active social life
Oleksiy Tarabukin, Communications Advisor to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, supported the new competition and the format of cooperation in supporting veterans:
“The new contest “Varto: Ednannia” is a perfect example of a public-private partnership. When the state creates opportunities, and public organizations take them up and scale them. We invest resources in civic initiatives that help us achieve our ultimate goal of creating a comfortable life for our veterans. We cooperate with public organizations in all forms of support for veterans. The key to our cooperation is to create opportunities for NGOs to develop a certain ecosystem of the veteran environment in Ukraine. It is important for organizations to focus on clear needs of a narrow target audience. Keep the focus on needs, not on areas.”
You can read the current research on the needs and problems of veterans as of April 2023 in the targeted study of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation. Read more about civil society organizations working in the veterans’ sphere in the analytical report of ISAR Ednannia.
All the details of the new contest “Varto: Ednannia” will be published in the relevant Guidelines, which can be found on the website of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation in the “Competitions” section.
The program of contests “Varto: Ednannia” is funded by the state budget through the Ukrainian Veterans Fund of the Ministry of Veterans. Additional funding is provided with the support of ISAR Ednannia within the framework of the Civil Society Sectoral Support Initiative project implemented by ISAR Ednannia in consortium with the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research and the Center for Democracy and Rule of Law thanks to the heartfelt support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
