This special grant program was launched by the Polish-American Freedom Foundation in response to the war in Ukraine. It is aimed at assisting Polish non-governmental organizations which provide aid to civilians in Ukraine and refugees fleeing to Poland from the war. To date, PAFF has allocated more than PLN 13 million to the program, which enabled it to co-finance almost 217 projects.
Priority has been 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 war escapees were arriving and staying. Funding is also available for coordinating Polish NGOs’ activities for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees – including cooperation with other institutions and communities.
Under open grant competitions, “Support for Ukraine” provides funding for projects which provide Ukrainian children and youth with education and care during their stay in Poland, and support those staying in Ukraine; deliver legal, civic, professional and psychological aid to Ukrainian refugees in Poland, along with assistance in accessing public services; prevent acts of discrimination and hostility against Ukrainian refugees, counteract disinformation, and provide reliable information about the Ukrainian refugee community in Poland and the situation in Ukraine.
„Support for Ukraine” builds on a special initiative that was launched as part of the “RITA” program. At the beginning of March 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “RITA” opened an ad-hoc “Ukrainian pathway” in its grant competition. All organizational and financial RITA resources available at the time were redirected to the new path. Once “Support for Ukraine” was established, the “Ukrainian path” became part of the newly created, separate program.
In March 2022, 422 Polish NGOs presented their initiatives in the competition for grants for intervention projects. The Grant Committee selected 59 projects: 44 implemented in 14 Polish provinces, and 15 in Ukraine. Those projects were aimed at protecting the life and health of the civilian population in Ukraine.
Under the subsequent five rounds of grant competitions held from the fall of 2023 to the spring of 2024, 132 grants were awarded for projects, mainly those supporting Ukrainian children and young people both in Poland and Ukraine. The aid focused on improving their access to school and non-school education, as well as psychological, legal, and language support. Information activities, legal consulting, as well as campaign of counteracting discrimination and disinformation on Ukrainian refugee communities in Poland and events in Ukraine were also co-financed.
The program’s direct support benefitted 166,000 refugees staying in Poland, about half of which were children and young people under 18, as well as almost 166,000 people in Ukraine, including over 38,000 children and young people. More than 236,000 people received humanitarian aid, 20,000 got psychological support, and 15,000 – legal and citizen advice. The information campaign aimed at counteracting disinformation about refugees from Ukraine reached over 1.3 million people in Poland.
Alongside “Support for Ukraine,” Program Managers raised more than PLN 30 million for several domestic PAFF programs from such foreign organizations as Save the Children and PLAN International. These funds were used to assist Ukrainian refugees in Poland, chiefly children and youth integration, through the Library Development Program, “Learning Schools”, “School with Class”, and “Act Locally”.
PAFF has disbursed $3,089,001, including $532,991 for the current edition.
