Since the full-scale russian invasion, Ukrainian civil society rights organizations have faced extraordinary challenges and workload. They keep providing a range of vital services and help people who were affected by the war, particularly internally displaced people and other vulnerable people. Projects aimed at supporting internally displaced persons, developing psychological helplines, providing access to emergency shelters, and improving living conditions at temporary shelters, and so on – all these activities require substantial financial and organizational resources.

To support the work of these organizations and increase the efficiency of the projects they currently implement, East Europe Foundation is implementing the Capable and Resistant Program, with the financial support of Switzerland.

The program has two main components: grant support and institutional capacity building.

Between 2022 and 2024, during the first and second phases of the Program, 15,594 and 13,832 unique beneficiaries, respectively, received assistance through protection services (not including those reached via information campaigns or hotline support). During this period, the Program supported 39 (non-unique) organizations through grant agreements.

The first phase of the Program, which ran from September 2022 to June 2023, included organizations selected by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. These organizations worked across various fields, including addressing gender-based violence, defending women’s rights, supporting vulnerable groups and national minorities, and helping people affected by the full-scale invasion.

Grants were allocated to:

• implement new projects or co-finance existing ones,

• scale specific areas of activity,

• strengthen internal capacity, including technical upgrades and operational improvements.

Alongside financial support, the Program also aimed to build the institutional resilience of participating organizations. Each organization underwent a capacity assessment and developed a tailored organizational development roadmap. They also received access to a series of trainings and mentorship in areas such as financial management, project and team leadership, fundraising, volunteer engagement, communications, and more.

In July 2023, the Program launched its second phase and announced its first open grant competition for civil society organizations providing services to civilians affected by the full-scale invasion and supporting CSO development in wartime conditions. This phase also combined financial and training components.

One of the outcomes of the second phase of the Capable and Resistant Program, implemented by East Europe Foundation with support from Switzerland, was the launch of a new educational course for IDPs, teenagers, and civil society activists. The course, titled “If You Can’t Say It – Write It!”, was developed with writer Irena Karpa and hosted on the Zrozumilo! educational platform. It is an interactive course for teenagers that focuses on writing skills and creative thinking to foster emotional resilience in difficult circumstances.

In August 2024, a new grant competition for civil society organizations was announced, with applications accepted until September 16, 2024. For more information on this competition, please visit the Grants section. The preparation and implementation of this competition were part of the second phase, which concluded at the end of 2024.

The third phase of the Capable and Resistant Program began with the signing of an agreement between East Europe Foundation and the Embassy of Switzerland in January 2025. As a result, 24 civil society organizations received funding to deliver services to people affected by the full-scale invasion, support vulnerable populations and families of military personnel, counter gender-based violence, and enhance women’s economic resilience.

This phase also includes opportunities for the institutional development of grantee organizations, including updated capacity assessment, training programs based on assessment findings, and individual mentorship from invited experts, tailored to the needs of each organization. In addition, a new online educational course is being developed on Zrozumilo! platform, open not only to grantees but also to other CSO activists, IDPs, and families of military personnel.

To ensure effective project implementation and transparent performance tracking across all partner organizations, the Program has introduced the KoBo data collection system. This tool simplifies data gathering and provides clear visual infographics used by both the Foundation and grantees to evaluate the progress and outcomes of their projects.

For more information about past grant competitions and updates from the Program, please visit the Grants, Media Center, and Stories sections.