Therapeutic gardens and rehabilitation spaces for veterans, resource rooms, cinema spaces and hubs for young people, and the necessary medical equipment for hospitals. As part of the contest "Time to Act, Ukraine!" Charitable Foundation will support 150 projects totaling more than UAH 14 million, UNN reports.
The organizers of the Time to Act, Ukraine social initiative competition have announced the winners who will receive up to UAH 100,000 to implement their projects. The grants will support local initiatives aimed at solving important social problems in communities. This year, a record number of 912 applications were submitted to the competition.
"This competition is the embodiment of our mission to help communities organize to solve their social, economic, and environmental problems. Every year, the projects become more interesting and reflect the trends that are taking place in the communities. So, while in 2016 the projects were about replacing windows and repairing roads, today - we are talking about veterans' spaces, shelters that can serve as educational spaces, youth hubs for informal meetings and communication, for example,", said Tetiana Volochai, Chair of the Community Development Council of MHP-Community.
The total budget of this year's winning projects reached UAH 40.8 million. Of these, the amount of grants to be provided by the MHP-Community Charitable Foundation is UAH 14 million, and the amount of co-financing is UAH 26.76 million. This is a record amount of co-financing that the winners of the competition plan to attract to implement their own projects in the communities.
"I would like to note the quality of the projects and budgets. It is noticeable that the participants are learning and improving their knowledge of project activities. We also see a willingness and interest in co-financing, as the participants' contribution to the project exceeded 50% of the total budget. We hope that this competition will be a huge impetus for the development of communities in the field of project-oriented approach," said Volodymyr Panchenko, Head of the National Projects Department at MHP for Communities .
Areas of projects supported within the competition:
Energy security - 2 projects
Preservation of traditions and cultural heritage - 15 projects
Reintegration and rehabilitation of veterans - 35 projects
Development of public spaces - 26 projects
Systemic projects in education, medicine, and infrastructure - 72 projects.
"There is a noticeable trend that the quality of projects is growing every year. Their elaboration is becoming more detailed. There were some interesting cultural projects aimed at preserving the memory of the large-scale offensive and the war in general", - said Artem Kostiuchenko, Head of the National Partnerships Department at the Ukrainian Educational Platform.
The expert committee that determined the winners included: Nataliia Kryvda, PhD, Head of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation; Kostiantyn Tatarkin, Technical Advisor, IREX Veterans Reintegration Program; Artem Kostiuchenko, Head of the National Partnerships Department, Ukrainian Educational Platform; Maksym Cherkashyn, Head of the Educational and Analytical Center for Community Development; Iryna Moryak, Project Manager, "Zmistovno", Nova Ukraine; Ivanna Stets, Senior Partnerships Manager, Veteran Hub; Anastasia Rudnytska, Grant Manager, VeteranHub.
The full list of winners is published on the website of the contest "Time to Act, Ukraine!". Information about the contest
The All-Ukrainian Social Initiatives Contest "Time to Act, Ukraine!" has been held for the ninth year in a row and is organized by the MHP-Community Foundation, whose mission is to make communities where people want to live.
The main goal of the contest "Time to Act, Ukraine!" is to help solve important social problems of communities by providing financial support for local social initiatives as a response to the challenges of war: from veterans' hubs to inclusive spaces, from creating shelters to launching rehabilitation programs. Projects can be submitted by local governments, municipalities, enterprises, organizations, medical and educational institutions, non-governmental organizations and public associations.