Recently, Vira Nedzvedska, Vice-President for Strategic Partnerships at East Europe Foundation, took part in the PRO Hromady Project, a platform where leaders and experts working for community development share their relevant experience.

Vira Nedzvedska spoke about how the full-scale war changed the focus of East Europe Foundation’s activities and what experience the Foundation has gained during this time.

East Europe Foundation is involved in digitalization projects, jointly with partners implements projects and develops solutions that are already used by over 20 million Ukrainians, supports the development of civil society and business, and implements humanitarian initiatives.

“We are always delighted to see organizations that we once gave their first grant receive further funding from major donors, get on their feet, and develop,” says Vira Nedzvedska.

Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the Foundation, like many other organizations, has been involved in humanitarian work. Since then, we have been able to provide aid to dozens of shelters for internally displaced persons and set up shelters in schools and kindergartens.

One area where East Europe Foundation can share its experience is in building long-term partnerships that do not remain merely on paper. Vira believes that everything starts with honesty—towards oneself and towards partners. True partnership is possible when all parties share common interests and work to achieve mutually beneficial results. These can be both public and private sector organizations. The Foundation’s task is to maintain this communication and translate it into new initiatives.

“Of course, we work a lot with communities and local organizations in all regions of Ukraine without exception. These are long-standing partnerships that continue from project to project. We understand that every project has an end date. Projects end, but people remain, organizations remain, and stories remain. And our task is to maintain this communication and carry it forward into future projects,” summarized Vira Nedzvedska.

Vira Nedzvedska, Vice-President for Strategic Partnerships at East Europe Foundation, also provided advice on how to minimize risks and continue activities when donor support, particularly from USAID, decreases:

“At the beginning of 2025, East Europe Foundation had 16 active programs, three of which were funded by USAID. These programs are now closed, and funding has been discontinued, but we still have 13 other programs funded by the European Union, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and other donors. Therefore, the recipe is quite universal—diversify sources of funding, work with different donors, and constantly strive to expand your circle of partners. This strategy is always a beneficial way to minimize risks. Unfortunately, similar situations can arise with different donors.”

The full version of the podcast is available at: https://youtu.be/Uen-dKqU6lI?si=QmZc6P00PqEdSfh6