In 2022, donations from Ukrainians were so large that allowed the Serhiy Prytula Foundation to purchase a satelliteThis year, however, the trend is the opposite and indicates «thriftiness» citizens concerned about economic problems and war fatigue.
«To raise the same amount of donations, we will have to work three times harder than in previous years», Prytula said in a commentary Bloomberg.
Serhiy Leshchenko, an advisor in President Zelensky’s office, believes that charity will be affected by Donald Trump’s victory, as «many Ukrainians will feel the end of the war even faster». He himself also collects donations during YouTube broadcasts and says that since March, revenues have dropped by two-thirds and this month amounted to about 10,000 hryvnias.
«Trump’s shaky promises to quickly end the war and possibly bring peace are reducing people’s willingness to donate», Leshchenko says.
The Shelter Fund reports a drop in donations of about 5 times (this year’s collections amounted to $1.4 billion), while «Come Back Alive» reports a decrease in contributions of about 15% and Reactive Post — by 40%. «Army SOS», which raises funds for defense software for military units, recorded a tenfold decrease in donations compared to last year
Mr. Prytula says the reason for the decline in donations is the difficult economic situation, along with the power outage:
«This summer, during the power outages, the need for donations competed with the need to buy a generator».
According to an August poll conducted by the Kyiv-based Ilko Kucheriv Foundation and the Razumkov Center, more than half of Ukrainians said they continue to donate to the army, while one-third have cut their donations since last year.
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