A special program launched by the Polish-American Freedom Foundation in response to the war in Ukraine is addressed to Polish NGOs helping the civilian population in Ukraine and war refugees coming to Poland. The program is managed by the Education for Democracy Foundation. The Polish-American Freedom Foundation’s Board of Directors has earmarked PLN 4 million for the “Support for Ukraine” Program.
The objective of the program is to support activities of Polish non-governmental organizations carried out in cooperation with their Ukrainian partners in Ukraine as well as those that are taking care of refugees from Ukraine in Poland. The grants can also be used for supporting coordination of Polish NGOs’ activities for Ukraine and refugees in Poland (also in cooperation with other institutions, primarily local governments).
Priority is given to those NGOs that have well-established cooperation with their partners in Ukraine, as well as those operating in Polish villages and small towns where Ukrainian people who are escaping the war are settling.
The program offers co-financing of initiatives such as:
- Intervention projects – grants of up to PLN 25,000 for activities related to securing life and health of the civilian population in Ukraine, including supporting evacuation, both internal and abroad; supplying medical products, medicines, and means of personal protection for civilians, relief workers, and journalists; equipping and adjusting sites to the war situation (e.g., purchase of camp beds, blankets, telecommunications equipment, generators, etc.) as well as activities supporting refugees in Poland, including securing accommodation, board, transportation, as well as psychological, legal and information assistance.
The call for intervention project proposals has already been closed (see information below).
- Longer-term projects – grants of up to PLN 50,000 for activities to be carried out over a longer period of time and/or of a systemic nature, aimed at supporting children’s and young people’s education in Poland, adapting war refugees from Ukraine to the conditions on the Polish job market, and counteracting discriminating practices against them.
An open call for long-term projects was announced at the end of April.
The “Support for Ukraine” Program is an extension of a special initiative launched as part of the “Region in Transition” (RITA) Program – a PAFF undertaking managed by the Education for Democracy Foundation. At the beginning of March 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the immediate relief actions by Polish NGOs, the fast intervention “Ukrainian path” was launched under the grant competition carried out within “Region in Transition”. The “RITA” Program organizational and financial resources available at that moment were earmarked for this new, extraordinary purpose. As soon as the separate “Support for Ukraine” Program was created, as previously announced, the “Ukrainian path” became a part of it. The call for proposals to the grant competition was closed on March 15. 422 intervention projects were submitted by NGOs. Following the project assessments by independent experts and the decisions made by the Grant Committee, 59 projects will be awarded grants.
