Three years on: Investing in Ukraine’s long-term recovery

As we mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the world’s attention may waver, but the needs on the ground remain urgent and evolving. While emergency aid provided crucial relief in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, sustainable recovery requires long-term investment. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) remains committed to this vision, supporting organizations that help rebuild Ukraine’s communities, institutions and social structures.

Our commitment to long-term recovery is demonstrated in our recent round of grants from the CDP Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Recovery Fund, reinforcing our dedication to fostering resilience and recovery among Ukraine’s most vulnerable populations. These grants focus on capacity-building, mental health support, social integration and economic empowerment—ensuring that Ukrainians have the resources and opportunities to shape their own future.

Why long-term investment still matters

Three years after the invasion, Ukraine’s humanitarian needs have shifted from emergency response to rebuilding a future rooted in stability, inclusion and resilience. The communities affected by war—displaced families, marginalized populations, veterans and civil society leaders—need sustained support to reclaim their lives and drive the country’s recovery.

CDP’s investments include programs that target older people, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ populations, third-country nationals, such as refugees and asylum seekers, other minority groups, such as Roma populations, and children and youth. The grants also prioritize programs that focus on:

• Offering longer-term and durable solutions that support the most vulnerable and at-risk populations to build resilience, assimilate/integrate and support a pathway to recovery for their futures.
• Strengthening local capacities including local communities, humanitarian actors, organizations, infrastructure, leaders and systems.
• Ensuring better and more inclusive humanitarian action for marginalized and at-risk groups, including through investing in advocacy and improving coordination.

By investing in long-term solutions, we help ensure that Ukrainian communities don’t just survive but thrive. Strengthening local organizations and amplifying the voices of those most affected is essential to creating a future where Ukraine is not just rebuilt but transformed into a stronger, more equitable society.

Your continued support makes this possible. Join us in standing with Ukraine—not just in moments of crisis, but for the long road to recovery ahead. The work is far from over. Every contribution helps strengthen the resilience of communities and builds a sustainable future for Ukraine. To learn more or to donate, visit the CDP Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Recovery Fund.

Recent round of grants from the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Recovery Fund

We are pleased to announce the following grants to 12 organizations for a total of nearly $3 million:

• Pomagaem received $40,000 to enhance its organizational capacity to ensure response, recovery and resilience programs are inclusive, effective, efficient and appropriate, in accordance with humanitarian standards, and focus on key vulnerable groups, such as older adults and people with disabilities.
• Alliance Global received $287,510 to support sustainable recovery and rehabilitation by improving the mental health of LGBTIQ+ people who found themselves in difficult circumstances due to the war in Ukraine, as well as to strengthen the leadership and organizational capacity of Alliance Global during and after the conflict.
• Voice of Romni received an additional $250,000 grant in 2024 to increase the social and civic activity of the Roma community in Ukraine and its significance in Ukrainian civil society, and to strengthen the capacity of Roma activists as part of civil society, with a special focus on Roma women and girls. This will contribute to the visibility of Roma organizations, improve their organizational capacity and raise funds for their activities.
• Martynka Help received $250,000 to provide holistic support, including information, legal advice, case management and safeguarding, for the Ukrainian refugee community in Poland, particularly women and LGBTQIA+ people who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances.
• Association Jududoro received $250,000 to provide long-term support and integration for 400 Roma refugees and marginalized host communities in Poland through education, vocational activation and psychosocial support, to help them build a sustainable and resilient future.
• HelpAge Moldova received $45,000 in 2024 to improve its capacity to help older people affected by crises, including refugees from Ukraine, through the formalized, rigorous, and organizationally-tailored and directed SHAPE model, a preferred capacity-strengthening approach. This work will be supported by HelpAge International and is part of a multi-country investment into strengthening local organizational capacities and leadership to ensure voices and needs of older people are included in response and recovery plans.
• Fight for Right received $256,340 to support the reintegration and empowerment of women veterans with disabilities by providing them with the necessary resources, training and advocacy tools to become active participants in local and national decision-making processes.
• NGO Girls received $350,000 to provide long-term recovery and resilience-oriented solutions, including capacity strengthening, mental health and resiliency support, for local social actors (police, social workers, educators etc.), war-affected populations and national women-led CSOs.
• Zustricz Foundation received $200,000 to provide long-term recovery and resilience-building activities among refugees from Ukraine, supporting their adaptation and integration in Poland, and increasing the independence and self-determination of refugees from Ukraine residing in Krakow and the surrounding region (Malopolska Voivodeship).
• Ptaha received $46,000 to enhance Ptaha’s organizational capacity and ability to ensure a more inclusive, effective, efficient and appropriate response and recovery, according to humanitarian standards, and with a special focus on the most vulnerable groups in Ukraine, such as older adults and people with disabilities.
• Rural Business Women’s Network received $400,000 to focus on long-term solutions to build up the resilience of rural initiative groups and communities via social consumer cooperatives during the humanitarian crisis and after-war recovery period. The initiative aims to enhance energy efficiency, foster energy independence, achieve self-sufficiency through social consumer services, and raise awareness of rural women’s pivotal role in humanitarian action, food safety and economic recovery.
• Outright received $598,900 for a two-year grant to accelerate and document the process of institutionalizing structural reform within Ukraine’s UN Coordination system to further strengthen LGBTIQ inclusion in humanitarian response and recovery; further strengthen Ukrainian LGBTIQ CSO capacity; and deepen collaboration with and further strengthen capacity of humanitarian and other actors working to expand rights to effectively incorporate LGBTIQ needs into Ukraine’s humanitarian assistance.