Charity Survey in Ukraine 2024: in numbers, insights and conclusions

The Zagoriy Foundation together with Info Sapiens conducted an annual survey of the Ukrainian charity sector. The purpose: to study charitable practices, their prevalence, trends and challenges for civil society. The study surveyed 2,400 Ukrainians over the age of 18 and 400 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and also conducted 20 in-depth interviews with representatives of the public sector.

 This year’s research is a return to basics – to the practice of large-scale research that provides a comprehensive view of the sector. In previous years, the situation was changing too dynamically, so the traditional annual research in 2022 and 2023 often broke down into operational stages. Now it’s time for the Zagoriy Foundation and Info Sapiens to “collect stones”.

Why this research is important

 The study allows us to see and compare the vision of charity as seen by those who provide assistance, those who receive it, and the professional assessments of those working in the sector. Sometimes their visions coincide, sometimes they are diametrically opposed. This contradiction and subjectivity of perception is a characteristic of the sector. What is important in the survey?

 86% of Ukrainians are involved in charity

The percentage of Ukrainians who gave to charity during the year remains high. However, the perception of the prevalence of charitable giving in society has changed: Ukrainians believe that it is less widespread than in previous years. However, the Charitable Giving Index decreased by only 1 point compared to 2022: from 7.7 to 6.7 on a 10-point scale. This is higher than in 2021, when the index was 4.5.

Is donating a habit?

Monetary donations remain the main form of charitable giving. Compared to 2022, the share of cash donations has increased (from 76% to 85%), while the share of other forms of giving has decreased: donations of food, clothing and medicine (53%) and volunteering (50%).

On average, Ukrainians donate UAH 840 per month to charity. However, people who say they are involved in charitable activities donate more – an average of 2907 UAH per month.

 For most, the average donation is made up of one-time gifts. Only 14% of respondents prefer regular deductions (subscriptions) to one-time donations. Thus, we can say that charity is becoming the norm, but it is strongly influenced by situational decisions.

The main motivations of philanthropists are compassion, patriotism and duty to society. Barriers include lack of resources, health conditions, and low awareness of in-kind support.

What is the Role of Volunteers in Charity?

Half of the Ukrainians who participated in charitable activities over the past year were involved in volunteering. This figure has increased from 39% in 2022 to 43% in 2024. The highest engagement in volunteering is seen among young people, rural communities, and public sector employees.

Volunteer movement becomes stronger and more institutionalized

Half of Ukrainians who were involved in charitable giving last year were volunteers. This figure will increase from 39% in 2022 to 43% in 2024. Young people, rural residents, and public sector employees are most involved in volunteering.

Volunteers are becoming the backbone of nonprofit organizations. Organizations interact with them almost as much as with Ukrainian society and other organizations in the sector. This is most pronounced in organizations that support the Ukrainian Armed Forces or work with humanitarian aid: 67% and 70%, respectively, interact with volunteers on a regular basis.

Although not all organizations are able, willing, or need to engage volunteers, trust in volunteers makes the volunteer movement a subjective, influential force in the sector. According to the study, 70% of those willing to support the public sector want to support volunteer initiatives rather than charitable foundations. This underscores the tendency to donate as directly as possible, with as few intermediaries as possible between the donor and the person in need. From this point of view, a volunteer is a specific person in whom it is easier to build trust than in an organization.

Do non-profit organizations work effectively?

At the current level – yes, but at the strategic level – rather no.

Organizations interact extensively and fruitfully with each other to share information and knowledge, develop professionally, create joint projects, and coordinate meetings and forums. The majority of organizations consider this cooperation and joint projects in particular (62%) as effective and note an increase in the efficiency of their work over the past few years.

Beneficiaries also tend to believe that the organizations are working effectively, with 75% satisfied with the assistance provided. However, there is no consensus on strategic issues such as advocacy and anticipating beneficiary needs. About ⅔ of the organizations are guided by the current needs of their beneficiaries and do not look to the future. This may be due to a lack of financial sustainability: 42% of charity and civic leaders surveyed cited this challenge.  

Interaction with business

 In 2024, as part of Giving Tuesday, we researched corporate social responsibility to gather best practices and create a guide to caring. We found that communication and interaction between business and the public sector is complicated. The Annual Philanthropy Survey has seen changes in this area.

Currently, 54% of organizations surveyed interact with business on a regular or occasional basis. The highest number of such contacts is found among organizations working in the field of support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (31%), humanitarian aid (30%), and education (21%).

In addition, the vast majority of organizations (88%) consider their interaction with business to be effective, and 34% believe that its effectiveness has increased in the two years since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Growth areas

The public sector in Ukraine faces multi-faceted and complex challenges, from limited funding to emotional burnout among the team.

The study can highlight areas of potential growth for them. For example, the need for broad strategic cooperation within the sector to lobby for changes in the legal framework, communication with donors and the media to synchronize their priorities with the real needs of the sector. In addition, the study can point to stakeholders in the sector with whom communication has not been very successful, including business and central government. As we can see, there is already a shift in this regard.

We hope that the annual survey of the charitable sector will provide answers to questions and help in decision-making.

You can download the full version here.