From the day Russia invaded Ukraine, NCF givers began asking how they could help. The beauty of a Giving Fund (donor-advised fund) is that there’s typically money ready to mobilize for charities at any moment. And that’s what has happened. NCF givers have recommended 2,438 grants to 574 charities working in and around Ukraine, for a total of $21,479,097 so far.
But we witnessed something else too. What we had discovered in our research and written about last week was happening immediately in response to the crisis in Ukraine. Christian givers rallied. They collaborated to give to a fund for supporting a church near Kiev that became a center for humanitarian aid. They worked with our friends at TrustBridge Global to give with a generous international community and speed their gifts to Ukraine. And they worked directly with NCF local offices to make sure specific needs of charities were being met.
And not only did givers collaborate to help Ukraine, ministries did too.
They still are. The world is seeing the bright light of Christ in the midst of this darkness because of how well Christian ministries are working together on the ground. While tensions are high because of the situation, so is cooperation among charities. Some are raising funds collaboratively. Others are forming partnerships that allow each to use their expertise where it’s needed.
This week, Project C.U.R.E. was partnering with businesses to ship medical supplies to Ukraine when the opportunity arose to work with an orphanage. The supplies were flown to Warsaw for delivery to Ukraine. Then the return flight took 55 orphans and their caregivers to safety in Scotland.
Americares continues to ship medical supplies to Poland with the help of pharmaceutical, insurance, financial, and airline partners, while Medical Teams International is working with local governments and health centers. And the Samaritan’s Purse emergency field hospital in the city of Lviv is working cooperatively with another field hospital in the same city sent by the Nation of Israel.
While Convoy of Hope trucks huge shipments of food into Ukraine, in their warehouse in Poland refugee volunteers can become helpers rather than victims in the crisis. Meanwhile, Mercy Chefs is working with YWAM and local churches, while World Central Kitchen is partnering with Ukrainian restaurants, churches, and ministries, preparing meals for orphanages, shelters, and hospitals.
And this is just a tiny glimpse of the cooperation of the cooperation on behalf of Ukraine.
How you can still help
If you need more encouragement or want to learn how to pray for or give to Ukraine, below are some resources:
- Want to give financially? Discover 30+ charities working on the ground to bring hope.
- Find out what Scripture is helping Ukrainian church and ministry leaders remain strong.
- Learn how missionaries and pastors are coping with the crisis as they serve.
- Find out how Bible translation teams are protecting a people group in the crisis.
- Read the story about a missions organization working to save another people group endangered by the Russian invasion of 2014.
- Hear how God warned leaders of one of LifeSong for Orphans’ home so that they were able to evacuate everyone before bombing hit their farm.
- And read how Serving Orphans Worldwide evacuated five orphan homes and helped others.
- Listen to this message of hope from Peter Greer of Hope International on the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast.
For now, we give to meet immediate needs, but a time is coming when Ukraine will be rebuilt. Many ministries are already positioned and ready for when that time comes, while others are praying that God will hasten the arrival of that time.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed for and given to help Ukraine. May God bless all of the ministries working to help Ukrainians and all of you who are supporting them so faithfully!