About us

Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum (UPF) - Ukraine's first professional association of charitable foundations and organizations. Forum was established in 2004 at the initiative of seven international and domestic foundations. Forum is a member of DAFNE - The Donors and Foundations' Networks in Europe; WINGS - Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support network, and a signatory of the UN Global Compact Ukrainian network.

Forum promotes responsible, transparent and accountable philanthropy.
We believe: Ukraine will flourish when charity embraces each life, organization, company.
Our potential lies in bringing together the strength and possibilites of Forum members.
Forum is an engine of benefactors’ movement partnership development in Ukraine.

Members of Forum are registered Ukrainian and international charitable foundations and organizations that stipulated charitable assistance as the basic form of their activity. Recently Forum has also opened membership opportunities to other types of nonprofit organizations, business companies that support charitable programs in Ukraine, and for institutions which activities are connected with philanthropy. There are two types of membership in Forum: full and associate. Currently, it unites 21 organizations.

Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum regularly provides its members and partners, philanthropists and charitable institutions, charitable assistance recipients, government representatives, business and mass media with information, skills and working knowledge, expertise and communication within Forum regular programs.

Forum created and maintain a strong information channel in the area of philanthropy. These are the first web-portal on philanthropy in Ukraine, weekly electronic digest "Chronicles of Philanthropy" and monthly newsletter "Philanthroscop". "Charity ABC" UPF Publishing initiative - translation and publication of foreign literature dealing with the philanthropy development issues; literature of Ukrainian authors on charity topics. Forum surveys are aimed at public opinion study on the importance and opportunities of philanthropy activity. Research is dedicated to explore public opinion on the key focus areas of philanthropists community; to find out more about philanthropy tools, key players in the sector and so on. By conducting research we employ a network of international and regional experts-practitioners.

"Na Vchis’!" («На ВЧИСЬ!») Forum educational program - monthly workshops, trainings, peer learning events; seminars, training seminars, - members of which get information on the best practices in philanthropy, share experience on initiatives/projects/programs aimed at achieving sustainable positive change in Ukrainian society; and develop partnership.

"Hard Talks on Philanthropy" program («Відверті розмови про благодійність») - a discussion platform for representatives of national charity sector and stakeholders, where they can discuss current issues on means of philanthropy sector interaction with other sectors of Ukrainian society. Every year six "Hard Talks on Philanthropy" are held. Topics for discussion can be suggested by the Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum members.

Forum also works in open discussion format, business parties, seminars within the program "The Starting Point for Philanthropy" and invites sector researchers and practitioners to the Information Resource Center on philanthropy issues.

Creation of the Forum in 2004 was the first page of the Ukrainian organized philanthropy chronicle. Group of experienced and respected charitable organizations merged in the Forum on the principle of “one for all and all for one”. The creation of the Forum showed that philanthropists realized themselves as a sector of economic and social life that has common goals and obstacles on the way of their achievement.

2004 - Initiative Center to Support Social Action (ISAR "Ednannia") and "Renaissance" International Foundation with the support of Ukrainian and foreign donors established the Ukrainian Grantmakers Forum (UGF) - independent association of grantmaking organizations that finance community important initiatives on the basis of well-planned grant projects.

2005 can be considered as an official establishment of the Forum: Mykola Deychakiwskiy (Charles Stewart Mott Foundation) was the first chairman elected and the UFG received a certificate of state registration. In October, Forum sponsored the European Foundation Centre Eastern Grantmakers Group ІХ International Meeting in Kiev - the world's most influential donor organizations in Central and Eastern Europe and CIS countries.

2006 - Forum consists of 16 donor organizations. UFG is a member of the European Network of Grantmakers Associations and WINGS (Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support) network.

2007 – In autumn UFG members general conference decided to change organization name: the Ukrainian Grantmakers Forum was re-registered as the Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum. Also this year under the Forum auspices "Philanthropy in Ukraine: pathway to European standards" conference was held and the “Charitable institutions of Ukraine: Current State and Prospects" first national research in philanthropy sector was conducted.

2008 - Forum held its first international conference - "European Dimension of Ukrainian Philanthropy". As a result of painstaking analytical work and numerous discussions, at the end of a year the Forum members conference adopted the first strategy of the association for 2009-2012.

2009 - An important innovation of the year was the launch of "Charity ABC" publishing series. The first edition of the series was manual "Corporate philanthropy: beneficial for you – effective for others." "Na Vchis’!" («На ВЧИСЬ!») Forum educational program was also set up this year.

2010 - Forum organized the "Philanthropy and crisis: from consumption to action" II International Conference and conducted a study -"The charity practice of business companies in Ukraine: current experience". Forum launched creative initiative: “Philanthropy in Focus” photo contest; and a new program - "Hard Talks on Philanthropy”. At the end of the year during the Forum members’ conference was decided to expand Forum membership opportunities: open the door for a wider range of organizations. Now not only non-profit organizations can join the Forum, but also business that support charitable programs, and institutions which activities are connected with the philanthropy sector.

World-class experts annually become members of Forum international conferences, roundtables and work-shops.Among them: Sarah Impens, European Foundation Centre (Belgium) Senior Programme Manager; John Francis Tefft (U.S.), U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine; Nick Deychakiwsky, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (USA) Program Officer; Tomas Kreyci, Head of Czech association of community foundations (Czech Republic); Irina Menshenina, Charity Solution LLC (Russia) Founder and General Director; Boris Tsyryulnikov, Chairman of Russian Community Foundations Partnership (Russia); Natalia Kaminarskaya, Director of Russian Donors Forum; Axel Halling, German Foundations Association Project Manager on community foundations development; Lenka Ilanovska, Slovak Donors Forum Executive Director; Sheila Slemp, US Peace Corps volunteer.

Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum is always glad to meet international experts of organized philanthropy and everyone who has experience and ideas for the development of philanthropy sector. To receive more information write to info@ufb.org.ua.