With the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, the development of a culture of charity and volunteering, which began in 2014, has become even more active and comprehensive. Ukrainians are joining various formats of social assistance, many volunteer and charitable initiatives and organizations are emerging, and this area is attracting high public attention.

In particular, the first All-Ukrainian Forum Social Camp 2023 Odesa, held on 22 July, was dedicated to the issues of the most pressing importance for the volunteer community. Gradus Research conducted a special study for the event to find out how citizens feel about charity and volunteering in the middle of the second year of the full-scale war in Ukraine, whether and how they are actively involved in helping.

Steady growth in the number of people helping

The results of the survey show a steady increase in the number of citizens helping the state and society. Over the past year, the number of people who help through volunteering, advocacy and assistance to the frontline has doubled. This growth is primarily due to those who wanted to join – a year ago, there were 36% of such respondents, and now there are 26%, and they also have the potential to be among the citizens involved in helping.

It is noteworthy that the majority of respondents (53%) join the aid on their own. 49% do it through relatives, friends, or acquaintances, 39% - using volunteer organizations and another 30% - through charitable foundations. In other words, in most cases, citizens choose whom to help on their own. That is why the struggle for the attention of those who vote with their hryvnia wallets is intensifying. Along with the growth in the number of volunteer organizations and charitable foundations, this will structure the market and make the activities of these organizations more streamlined, understandable, and transparent.

Most charitable contributions go to the military

Gradus Research has also studied the areas of charitable contributions and donations. Military purposes are the most popular, with 61% of respondents donating to them, and this figure has increased by 14% over the past six months. Humanitarian needs are in second place with a noticeable difference - 31%. The significant rate of direct assistance to the military is obviously related to the high level of trust Ukrainians have in the Armed Forces, which is consistently demonstrated by Gradus research on social trends during the war. In particular, as of April 2023, this figure was 69%, which is the highest compared to other state institutions. Given this, it is quite difficult for foundations to compete with the Armed Forces.

"Every day we see how actively citizens are investing in helping the military, society, and the state to win the war and eliminate its consequences. A lot of important collections are made through personal initiatives of relatives and friends of the military. The data we have obtained in this study confirm that more and more Ukrainians are joining charity and volunteering, they focus on it, are motivated to be useful and are looking for ways to do so. However, amid the economic crisis, the average amount of one contribution has decreased," comments Evgeniya Bliznyuk, sociologist, founder, and director of Gradus Research.

The survey was conducted by Gradus Research using a self-administered questionnaire in the Gradus mobile application. Audience of the survey: 1,097 respondents (men and women aged 18-60 living in cities with a population of more than 50 thousand). The sample reflects the structure of the target group by age, gender, macro-regions, and settlement size, except for the temporarily occupied territories and territories where military operations are underway. The survey was conducted on 17-18 July 2023.