A protracted military conflict depletes not only economic resources but also the psychological capital of civil society. At the UNIAN press center, leaders of the largest charitable foundations and business representatives gathered to discuss the critical state of the volunteer movement. The main problem lies in the changing structure of donations and a natural decline in enthusiasm, which was the driving force in the first months of the full-scale invasion.
The changing landscape of donations and personal priorities
The era of emotional, impulsive donations is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Serhiy Prytula notes a significant slowdown in fundraising, attributing it to a shift in public focus. He candidly states:
“Fundraising campaigns that used to close in a few days are now difficult to close even within a month. And it’s getting harder and harder to find donors for various initiatives. The honest truth is that it will get even worse.”
Now, financial contributions from private individuals are mostly targeted, as people prefer to help specific units where their loved ones serve. According to the foundation’s founder,
“In the context of modern volunteering, donations follow the mobilized,” says Prytula
This forces organizations to seek new arguments for raising funds for strategic projects.
Activists’ psychological limits and the legal vacuum
The burnout among activists poses yet another challenge to the stability of the home front. Serhiy Soshynskyi, president of the International Charitable Foundation “Health of the Ukrainian People,” emphasizes that after two years of intense work, people’s reserves are objectively running low. In his view,
“Enthusiasm really does run out. It’s running out; all studies indicate that enthusiasm lasts no more than two years.”
The issue of legalizing activities is particularly acute. Soshyński cited striking statistics: only 11,792 volunteers are officially registered with the tax authorities, while 136,000 people are collecting donations through 169,000 collection boxes.
This poses risks to the reputation of the entire movement. Soshyński notes:
“Publicly, we are currently seeing a strong trend of portraying philanthropists and volunteers as a kind of enemy. We must fight criminals vigorously and seriously, but a little more quietly, because this casts a huge shadow over the entire social sector.”
Without trust, there will be no donations, although currently about 1.8 million Ukrainians are raising significant funds daily for the military and healthcare.
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Bureaucratic Barriers and Digital Reporting Tools
Public policy requires solutions that do not place an excessive burden on people. Lyudmyla Khlan views volunteers as “saints” who work selflessly. She emphasizes their resilience:
“No matter who tries to hinder their work, no matter how much their wings are clipped, they will grow them back. They will sprout through the asphalt.”
The implementation of digital platforms for interaction between volunteers and the government is a necessary condition for maintaining transparency. Serhiy Prytula adds that “the caravan moves at the speed of the slowest camel,” so public reporting standards must be feasible for small organizations with only a few employees.
The economic foundation and the threat of losing human capital
The viability of volunteering depends on the state of business, which remains the primary financial donor. Serhiy Prokhorov, First Vice President of the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, notes:
“Business can operate and be a donor only when it has a source of funds. Because in the economy, money cannot come from nowhere.”
Mass migration poses a threat to the future restoration of the country’s identity. Prokhorov points to an alarming trend:
“If a child has attended school abroad twice, the likelihood of the family returning home is already down to 2–3%.”
Anna Varibrusova, a member of the supervisory board of InterProInvest LLC, adds that “we need to bring women back to Ukraine,” because they are the driving force that supports the domestic economy through consumption.
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A New Paradigm: From Chaos to Systematic Management
Daryna Zharikova of the Ukrainian Red Cross proposes changing the strategic direction of the movement’s development. She emphasizes the importance of a “gradual transition from military volunteering to systematic and civilian volunteering,” as the need for social support, environmental protection, and community engagement will only grow after the war. According to her, volunteering should not be merely a reaction to a crisis; it should become part of a culture throughout a person’s entire life—from teenagers, for whom lowering the age limit for participation is proposed, to retirees in “active longevity clubs.”
Zharikova is convinced that managing large groups of people requires professionalization. This entails a shift from intuitive management to systematic training of coordinators, which includes proper task setting and burnout prevention. The National Information and Analytical Platform and the state program for the development of volunteering for 2026–2030 are set to become key tools in this transformation. Additionally, the creation of regional volunteer councils will enable the analysis of regional needs and the effective reallocation of resources.
Social Responsibility and Responsibility to the Future
Anna Yermolaeva emphasizes the scale of the need: “Right now, we have 16,000 children in our foundation… and every day, on average, 20 to 30 children are added to our list—just imagine, every single day.” Kateryna Blagodarova draws attention to the ethical issues surrounding status: “A 13-, 14-, or 15-year-old child shouldn’t have to argue or prove to anyone that they’ve suffered from the war. That’s a child.” At the conclusion of the discussion, participants emphasized that volunteering is driven by internal motivation and the recognition of each person’s contribution, which is critical for the nation’s survival.
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