Investing in resilience: 20 veteran organisations received resources for institutional capacity

For six months, twenty veteran organisations from ten regions of Ukraine worked with experts and mentors to improve their institutional capacity. This resource was provided by the project “Social Cohesion and Reintegration of Veterans in Ukraine”, implemented by the Rokada Charitable Foundation with the support of the International Organization for Migration and funded by the European Union. As a result, each organisation now has the opportunity to structure its work, implement effective projects and initiatives and provide quality services to veterans and their families.

Our team had the opportunity to undergo intensive training with specialists we would hardly have been able to engage otherwise. We had gaps – in some areas we are stronger, but we never managed to raise funds and do fundraising. Thanks to the support, we developed a programme and a clear action plan that allow us to work fully

Now the NGOs, charitable foundations and associations that took part in the project are also receiving material and technical support for their development. This includes help with equipping veteran hubs, computers and household appliances, sports and rehabilitation equipment, and furniture. The equipment will expand the organisations’ capabilities and improve services on the ground.

Thanks to the support of IOM and the Rokada Foundation, our organisation received modern office equipment, an interactive whiteboard and a powerful charging station… This will allow us to run professional trainings and work effectively even during power outages. This is very important in today’s conditions! We are also expecting an illuminated sensory sandbox soon – it is a long-held dream. It will become an important tool for art therapy and rehabilitation sessions. We sincerely thank you for this important support, which creates a space of opportunities, development and strengthening for local veteran organisations.

The project also provided financial support for the organisations’ initiatives to engage additional local specialists, including psychologists, trainers, lawyers, art therapists and others.

Our task is comprehensive support for veteran organisations. For six months we worked with them, providing expert and educational assistance to strengthen their work as institutions. We now see the result: the organisations’ capacity grew by 28% on average. We also worked on strengthening local community capacity to ensure a sustainable mechanism for supporting veterans on the ground. Today we can confidently say that, thanks to cooperation and thanks to the project, the organisations have received the resources they need for veteran support to be high-quality, sustainable and accessible in every community.

In total, within the project we provided 257 consultations, held more than fifty trainings, and more than ten experts in fundraising, strategic planning, organisational development, communications, conflict management and more worked with the participants.