East Europe Foundation is thrilled to announce the first 10 winners of the third phase of the Capable and Resistant grant program, generously supported by Switzerland.

Civil society organizations will receive grants to provide services to people who suffered from the full-scale invasion, to support vulnerable populations, to conduct activities aimed at combating gender-based violence, and to increase women’s economic empowerment.

The first 10 civil society organizations received grants under the second and third lots.

Lot 2: Grants ranging from UAH 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 for CSOs with previous experience in implementing similar projects and the necessary professional capacity. Approximately 10 projects are planned to be supported under Lot 2.

Lot 3: Grants ranging from UAH 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 for CSOs with previous experience in implementing similar projects and the necessary professional capacity. Approximately 10 projects are planned to be supported under Lot 3.

We received over 500 applications from civil society organizations within the competition. We are excited to introduce 10 winners and provide a snapshot of the projects they are undertaking:

•  City of Goodness Charity Foundation with their Butterfly House project, Chernivtsi

The project objective is to improve the quality of life of children with severe diseases. These include orphans, IDP children, children of military, and distressed children. Within the project, they will be provided with qualified treatment in the new rehabilitation and palliative care department of the shelter’s medical center. In 6 months, the project will make a new rehabilitation and palliative care department operational and ensure training on the specific characteristics of palliative care for children for the involved staff (24 people).

•  Kharkiv Regional Charitable Foundation “Social Aid Service” with the project “Mobile Palliative Care in the City of Kharkiv”, Kharkiv

The project will ensure comprehensive care for palliative patients and support for their relatives in the city of Kharkiv. Within the project, 60 palliative patients will receive related social services at home; the foundation will distribute 50 rehabilitation means for temporary use, and organize 700 consultations for relatives of palliative patients on the issues of palliative and home care provision.

• Veterans HUB Odesa Civil Society Organization with the project “Life After War: Supporting Veterans and Their Families”, Odesa Oblast

The project objective is to provide comprehensive support and aid to veterans, their family members, and families of those killed and reported M.I.A. as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Within the project, the organizers will provide the listed persons with high-quality information and legal assistance, aid to improve their mental health, and reduce stress and anxiety levels. The project is also aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the Veterans Hub Odesa SCO by conducting a five-day training retreat for a team of 10 people and improving the material and technical resources of the organization.

• Charitable Organization “Charitable Foundation ‘Frida’” with the project “Restoring mental health of healthcare professionals from Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts”, Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts

The project objective is to provide psychological support and promote the mental health of healthcare professionals experiencing high levels of stress and burnout due to working in extreme war conditions. Within the project, the organizers will provide individual psychological counseling for 80 healthcare professionals and ensure five-day recreational and rehabilitation activities for 40 healthcare professionals.

• Civil Society Organization “League of Modern Women” with the project “Workshop of Occupations – a tool for efficient social and economic integration of women”, Sumy, Lebedyn, and Romny communities of Sumy Oblast

The project objective is to promote social and economic integration, as well as contribute to improving the psychological and emotional state of women (IDPs and locals) in selected communities of Sumy Oblast via individual psychological counseling and group activities. Within the project, the organizers will help improve the economic empowerment of women in the listed communities via training in digital and financial literacy and entrepreneurship. They will organize training courses in manicure and tailoring, as well as motivational evenings in the TED (Technology Entertainment Design) format involving well-known women leaders and entrepreneurs in the region, whose life and work examples have encouraged and inspired other women to change and develop.

• Charitable Organization “Charitable Foundation ‘Mission Kharkiv’” with the project “Psychological support for cancer patients: we are by your side!”, Kharkiv

The project objective is to provide psychological support to cancer patients and their relatives via individual and group therapy sessions. Within the project, the organizers will develop a psychological support program for group online sessions with a psychologist for cancer patients and their relatives, purchase a laptop with software for conducting group sessions, and create a separate project page on the organization’s website with related information content.

• Civil Society Organization “Association of Women of Ukraine ‘Diia’” with the project “Resilience and Protection: Counteracting Violence and Helping Victims of War”, Odesa Oblast

The project objective is to provide comprehensive support and promote resilience among vulnerable populations who suffered from the war: IDPs, women who experienced GBV, and the elderly. Within the project, organizers plan individual counseling and group sessions with a psychologist, as well as legal consultations and seminars. The Civil Society Organization also plans to take participants on a tour around the Young Spectator Theater and conduct a master class in acting, hold a Forum on Combating GBV “United Against Violence: Protecting Rights and Dignity in Conflict,” as well as training on the issues of preventing GBV and improving economic capacity. As part of its institutional support, CSO plans individual counseling for team members and training to prevent professional burnout.

• Civil Society Organization “ZMIST Poltava” with the project of “Center for Adaptation of Internally Displaced Persons Zmist”, Poltava Oblast

The project objective is to enhance the economic adaptation and social integration of internally displaced persons in the Poltava Oblast. Within the project, the organization plans training courses in three areas: IT, manicure, and eyebrow art. They will also offer individual counseling with a psychologist. As part of its institutional support, the organization will acquire equipment for renovation.

• Civil Society Organization “MainStream” with the project “DIM – Perfect Ideas for the Future”, Zaporizhzhia

The project objective is to improve the economic integration and financial capacity of internally displaced persons, namely, their competitiveness in the labor market and the opportunities to start their businesses. There will be training events, workshops on employment, and productive opportunity search. Participants will create their resume and/or portfolio. The CSO also organizes training on the issues of developing personal qualities and skills of social and professional interaction, English courses for advanced training, a job fair involving employer companies, master classes, training on financial literacy and business education; study visits (tours) to enterprises; individual advice on starting one’s business (online and offline) and designing business models; one business idea hackathon. As part of its institutional support, CSO will acquire the equipment.

• Civil Society Organization “Public Movement ‘Women’s Power of Ukraine’” with the project “Crisis assistance based on the ‘Psychosocial support service for military families’ platform”, Kyiv

The project objective is to prevent psychotraumatic consequences and facilitate the ability to overcome challenges caused by long-time hostilities in the families of veterans and military personnel by ensuring accessible crisis assistance. The hotline will process applications during six months. Within the project, the organizers will ensure access to psychological assistance for people living in settlements where relevant services are not available or limited. They will also provide individual online consultations for callers requiring comprehensive assistance to stabilize in crisis. The Binotel CRM system will be implemented to manage all requests and integrate information from various communication channels (hotline, messengers, website). Detailed analytics on the number of calls, types of issues, and integration of telephone call and text inquiries via Binotel CRM, which will help to improve support processes in the future.