Ukraine Relief: Q&A with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP)

The one-year mark of the conflict in Ukraine has now passed and the humanitarian needs remain dire. More than 17 million people, equaling close to 40% of Ukraine’s population, require urgent humanitarian aid. About 8 million Ukrainians have fled their home country, seeking refuge in bordering nations. In Ukraine itself, more than 5 million people are facing internal displacement amid the destruction of critical infrastructure. The death tolls continue to rise — confirmed U.N. figures place the death toll of civilians at more than 7,000 but the actual number exceeds this. Amid the war, more than 650 humanitarian organizations are working to provide critical assistance across Ukraine’s 24 oblasts. In an interview with The Borgen Project, Alex Gray, the director of international funds at the Washington D.C.-based Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), offers insight into the organization’s efforts to provide crucial assistance to Ukrainians as the conflict rages on.

When was the organization founded and what does it aim to achieve?
Since 2010, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy has been helping individuals, foundations and corporations increase the effectiveness of their philanthropic response to disasters and humanitarian crises.

When did the organization begin helping refugees and displaced Ukrainians?
We have been in discussions with Ukrainian organizations monitoring the conflict since 2021, before the full-scale Russian invasion and escalation in the conflict. Given that our focus is on long-term recovery and resilience solutions, and we know that donor interest wanes as the crisis continues and the media headlines have moved on, we distributed our first round of funding to support displaced Ukrainians in December 2022.

What programs did the Center for Disaster Philanthropy primarily focus on at the onset of the war?
The goal of the CDP Ukraine Crisis Recovery Fund is to minimize the long-term negative impact of the war and create opportunities for community-led solutions that look forward to the future. Consequently, the fund focuses on medium- and long-term recovery solutions, restoring and ensuring continued access to basic services and strengthening the protection and resilience of those most affected.

The overarching intent of the first round of funding was to support multiple efforts that help lay the foundation for a longer-term response and recovery. We prioritized programs that:

• Offer longer-term and durable solutions that support the most vulnerable populations to build resilience, assimilate/integrate and support a pathway to recovery for their futures.
• Strengthen local capacities, including local humanitarian actors, organizations, infrastructure, leaders and systems.
• Ensure better and more inclusive humanitarian action for marginalized and at-risk groups, such as through advocacy and coordination within the international response.
• Include innovative approaches, including funding for research, evidence generation and pilot programs, or scaling up proven models/approaches.

CDP prioritizes investments in local organizations because we believe that they will be the ones that remain in Ukraine for the duration of the crisis and for the reconstruction of the country afterward. However, these organizations are mostly under-resourced and underfunded for core running costs as other donors are largely only willing to fund direct program activities.

A significant number of our initial programs focus on strengthening the institutional capacity and leadership development of local Ukrainian civil society actors who find themselves operating at a much larger scale and delivering humanitarian response programs for the first time. This includes funding for additional staff, training, equipment, mental health and psychosocial support, mentoring schemes, organizational development and capacity-strengthening plans.

After extensive discussions with partners on the ground, we identified key populations that face high levels of unmet needs, significant marginalization and vulnerabilities along with the greatest inequities: Displaced populations, older persons, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ populations, third-country nationals, such as refugees and asylum seekers, children and youth as well as other minority groups, such as the Roma.

The top three program areas we have funded so far are:

1. Mental health and psychosocial support.
2. Technical and vocational education and training for displaced, marginalized groups to help re-establish their livelihoods and enable greater self-sufficiency and empowerment.
3. Development and dissemination of information and resources.

How have the humanitarian needs changed one year on and what resources are needed in order for the work to continue?
In many ways, the same needs exist one year into the crisis, but there has been some evolution in the specifics within those needs. For example:

• Partners on the ground consistently tell us that organizational development and institutional support, including technical support and staff training, is still a priority as programs continue to scale up to meet the immense needs.
• Access to basic services, such as health, education, livelihood opportunities, water and food is still challenging. Local markets are largely functioning and so cash-based assistance is a primary need to enable people to purchase the goods and services they require.
• Helping displaced and returnee children into schools and education facilities.
• Mental health and psychosocial support for frontline workers and the general population dealing with over a year of living in a conflict-riddled environment. We are seeing people returning to their homes (especially in liberated areas) from other locations in Ukraine and refugee-hosting countries. Funding is needed for programs that help returnees reintegrate into their communities and recover from the negative impacts of the war and subsequent displacement. This includes funding for livelihood recovery and education programs, such as accelerated learning programs.

What are the best examples you’ve seen of the organization’s work making a difference?

• Local Ukrainian organizations have reported an increased capacity to reach a greater number of vulnerable affected people with higher-quality programs and services.
• Our partners have equipped 15 kindergartens, reaching 2,250 young children, and provided training to 750 parents/caregivers and 150 teachers on early childhood development tools and approaches. The program uses Sesame Workshop resources so conflict-affected children can access safe, quality and inclusive learning and play.
• Helped a number of previously unemployed displaced people acquire new skills and start new businesses or other employment to become self-sufficient and provide for themselves and their families.
• Many partners have provided psychotherapy sessions to help people overcome war trauma, anxiety, despair and positively affect the psycho-emotional state of frontline workers and communities alike.
• Establishment of advisory bodies that are involved in the decision-making and resolution of issues related to the implementation of state policy regarding protecting the rights of internally displaced people (IDP). IDP councils are made up of local leaders in many parts of the country.
• Organizations have increased their funding because of their increased capacity, reaching more people with lifesaving goods and services.

What message would you like to send to advocates in the U.S. and U.K. who are passionate about supporting humanitarian work like yours in Ukraine?

• Give cash, not “stuff.” This is now generally accepted and proven to be the quickest, most effective and most efficient modality of humanitarian assistance, where markets are functioning. Donating cash will help on-the-ground organizations deploy resources quickly where it is most needed while also supporting the economic recovery of local markets and small businesses because the cash is invested and stays in the local community. Cash is also easier to manage than physical donations, which almost always require extra effort and expensive logistical support such as storage and transportation.
• Prioritize investments in local organizations. Strive to grant to locally-led entities as much as possible. Because they are closer to communities that are disproportionately affected by the conflict, they will have a better sense of the evolving needs and challenges. Investing in local organizations during this current crisis also increases their long-term capacity to respond to any additional disasters in the future.
• Give flexible, long-term funding and trust those on the ground. Local organizations need sustainable funding to cover operational costs that directly affect their abilities to keep the lights on, pay staff and continue to help communities meet changing needs on the long road to recovery.
• Ask the experts. If you need help identifying organizations to support, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and InterAction can provide resources and guidance about organizations working in and with affected communities.

Photos: Courtesy of Tom Remp