Over a third of Ukrainians have donated to country’s army since invasion

More than a third of Ukrainians have donated money to the country’s armed forces since Russia’s invasion began, and many more have supported the army in other ways, new data shows.

The study by Kyiv-based Zagoriy Foundation also demonstrated that charities have become more prominent and more trusted since Russia began hostilities on 24 February.

Charity in times of war is based on a survey of a random sample of 1,605 adults in Ukraine in late June and early July. It shows a massive rise in the visibility of charities, especially among younger and more affluent audiences.

According to the survey, 74% of Ukrainians have done something to help their country’s army, whether making a monetary donation or providing food, clothing or voluntary services. The most popular way is by transferring money to the bank account of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, something which 37% of respondents said they had done.

Confidence in charities has improved in the past year, with respondents giving a score out of five for how much they trusted different types of nonprofit. The average score was highest for international charitable foundations (4.15), followed by volunteer initiatives (4.02), Ukrainian national-level charitable foundations (3.98) and then local charitable foundations (3.73). Those scores had all increased by at least one point since Zagoriy ran the same research in 2021, with the exception of volunteer initiatives, which were not included last year.

“Although Ukrainians trust international foundations the most, they would rather give their money and effort to local foundations,” the report notes. Overall, 42% of respondents said that their first preference would be to give money or volunteer with a local charity, followed by 27% for national-level charities and 8% of respondents preferring an international NGO. There is also a preference to support volunteer initiatives rather than charities.

Writing on LinkedIn, Zagoriy Foundation CEO Eugenia Mazurenko says:

“We have been researching charitable giving since 2019, and it has always shown positive dynamics, although not as active as we would like.

“February 24 changed everything, including the dynamics of charity development. My colleagues and I understood that radical changes had taken place, but only now when we have the study results, do we have an evidence base for further analysis and planning.”

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