Winners of the "PROgrowth" competition: 281 participants to receive grants for development and training

The MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation, together with the MHP company, announced the winners of the "PROzrostannya" grant competition, which supports the professional development and training of residents of small villages and towns. In 2025, the competition budget increased almost tenfold, to UAH 4.3 million, UNN reports.

This year, the organizers received 453 applications from residents of 17 communities in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Khmelnytsky, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Lviv regions. This indicates people's desire to invest time and resources in their education to become a driving force for the development of their communities.

"The 'PROzrostannya' grant competition continues to support local leaders who work for the recovery and development of communities. Thanks to the scaling of the program this year, even more participants will receive grants to realize their potential through training, procurement of necessary equipment for work, and the development of important social initiatives," said Volodymyr Zabela, head of MHP's regional development group.

This year, the expert commission of the competition was headed by:

• Liudmyla Tobolina — semi-finalist of the Global Teacher Prize 2023, member of the EdEra Educational Council, trainer of the "MriyDiy" Educational Foundation;
• Volodymyr Zabela — head of MHP's regional development group;
• Rostyslav Semka — chairman of the board of the Public Organization "Education 360", member of the Youth Leadership Council at the Global Fund for Children, fellow of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Fellowship Program;
• Oleksandr Pakholiuk — director of the MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation;

After the project pitching sessions held in the communities, the competition commission selected 281 winners who will receive up to UAH 15,000 to improve their qualifications, develop skills, and implement innovations in the socio-humanitarian, medical, and cultural-historical spheres.

Distribution of winners by communities: Bobrytska — 10 winners, Kaharlytska — 20 winners, Kanivska — 20 winners, Korsun-Shevchenkivska — 20 winners, Lipliavska — 10 winners, Myronivska — 20 winners, Petrykivska — 16 winners, Stepanetska — 10 winners, Baryshivska — 20 winners, Borodyanska — 16 winners, Voronkivska — 10 winners, Makarivska — 20 winners, Romenska — 20 winners, Bilohirska — 17 winners, Horodenkivska — 20 winners, Rudkivska — 20 winners, Teofipolska — 12 winners. The full list of winners can be found on the Foundation's website.

Half of the projects are focused on training and professional development. The other part is on the acquisition of necessary equipment for training and the implementation of social, educational, and cultural projects.

It should be recalled that "PROzrostannya" is an innovative grant project aimed at developing human potential in communities through supporting individual professional growth and training. The initiative was launched by the MHP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation in August 2024. The program provides grants from UAH 5,000 to UAH 15,000 for training, book publishing, participation in conferences and forums for experience exchange. The competition was first implemented in two pilot communities — Myronivska and Kanivska. At that time, 40 projects were supported, of which 33 concerned training, 6 — equipment procurement, and one — event organization.