UWC establishes Community Development and Advocacy Fund

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In a historical first, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) has established the Community Development and Advocacy Fund to support Ukrainian NGOs in the Diaspora.

The fund was launched in 2022 with an initial donation of $50,000 CAD from UWC President Paul Grod.

“Making our communities around the world stronger is one of the UWC’s strategic priorities. Together, we are building Ukrainian institutions, a real Ukrainian world, from cradle to grave,” said UWC President Paul Grod in a news release.

The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

“Failure to support Ukraine now or force it to submit Moscow’s demands will have dire ramifications for all of Central and Eastern Europe. It will embolden authoritarian regimes to redraw borders or impose spheres of influence over sovereign countries through force,” said UWC President Paul Grod in a news release. “Ukraine has chosen its Euro-Atlantic democratic future. We must not allow the Kremlin to take it away or force Ukraine to capitulate to its oppressive demands.”

The objective of the Fund is to support community development and institutional capacity, as well as initiatives that inform the international community about Ukraine and Ukrainian nation, and strengthen advocacy for Ukraine.

“With this newly established fund, the UWC will be able to provide strong support to local community initiatives that advocate for Ukrainian issues and help NGOs in new parts of the world. We’re building communities together,” Grod said.

The Fund will provide co-financing for Ukrainian community organizations from UWC network (or to their members) for local, regional or international projects that align with UWC purposes and objects. The Fund will provide co-financing for projects that aim to:

develop communities and/or support community leadership development;
promote truthful image of Ukraine and/or Ukrainian people;
inform about Ukraine’s history, culture or today’s situation;
foster Ukrainian schooling in the diaspora;
foster Ukrainian female leadership and Ukrainian female civic movement in the diaspora;
engage youth in Ukrainian communities and promote Ukrainian youth community leadership.

Applications will be accepted from February to May 1, 2022, with review results to be announced in June 2022. In exceptional cases, urgent applications may be reviewed earlier. Projects approved for funding must be completed by June 1, 2023. All projects approved for funding will be asked to provide a report to UWC within one month from project completion.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

The Fund provides co-financing to projects with a budget of up to CAD 3000 that have a confirmed co-funding of at least 30 per cent from other sources (sponsorship, ticket sales etc). All projects must be aligned with UWC purposes and objects, as well as Fund objectives. All projects must have a national, regional or international reach to broad and diverse audiences, and must be of high quality.

This article is written under the Local Journalism Initiative agreement

Kateryna Bandura for New Pathway – Ukrainian News

Follow me on social media!