The answer for Ukraine is to do both. Donate to a Ukrainian large fund, United24, and then donate to several small organisations, like 1Team1Fight, Wild Hornets, SOLI Ukraine, NAFO convoys, etc - there are dozens to choose from.
Donations empower organisations. Small is beautiful and for your donation to actually hit the frontline, you are most likely to achieve that with a smaller organisation. If you just want to generally help and support Ukraine, then United24 is the way to go. If you want to actually save a Ukrainian life and end a Russian one (and I most certainly do), then donating to a small group supporting frontline units is the way to go.
I guess spreading donations around works if you have sufficient money for it. Those little organisations often emphasize how much difference just $/£5 can make.
It is difficult and unpleasant to reveal such activities of large international organizations, but it is beneficial for understanding. Large foundations have long been noticed spending money on their own maintenance - a form of existence that appeared together with grant aid and collection of charitable funds for a specific project. A vivid example is the children's hospital in Kyiv on the initiative of President Yushchenko's wife: all the money was eaten up by organizational costs, the hospital was never built, and no investigation was conducted (or I don't know).
We have long known that you can trust your contributions only to those you know personally and further down the chain. Our colleague has been collecting sniper rifles and cartridges since the beginning of the invasion, regularly providing photo and financial reports. Several more volunteers whom I know personally act in this way. Thank you for writing the truth about the difference between the Red Cross and others of the sort and real aid.
I didn't know about the children's hospital story. That's pretty terrible. People do expect corruption from government figures and those associated with them, though. Not aid agencies. Hopefully I've helped a few people to find out!
I was beginning to have some suspicions, but this account of yours consolidates them and makes me feel incredibly frustrated. I give regular monthly contributions to a number of big NGOs (not UNICEF or Red Cross, however) and now I wonder whether it's worth anything at the end of the day. The problem is, giving directly opens the problem of whom to trust... I trust you and I trust those you trust for Ukraine, but what about Palestine, what about Sudan, where I know no-one?
I will probably rethink my tithing funds administration for 2025...
I think there's more chance that big agencies are genuinely doing good in Palestine and Sudan, at least in one aspect of the crisis: food during a famine is as close as it's possible to get to a one-size-fits-all need. However, I don't actually know anything about it. One large NGO I do actually hear good things about (coming up in Part 2/3) is World Central Kitchen. They have a reputation for actually going where they are needed, even when it's dangerous. However, I just looked at their website and it doesn't seem possible to channel funds to a specific part of the world, just to their overall work.
The answer for Ukraine is to do both. Donate to a Ukrainian large fund, United24, and then donate to several small organisations, like 1Team1Fight, Wild Hornets, SOLI Ukraine, NAFO convoys, etc - there are dozens to choose from.
Donations empower organisations. Small is beautiful and for your donation to actually hit the frontline, you are most likely to achieve that with a smaller organisation. If you just want to generally help and support Ukraine, then United24 is the way to go. If you want to actually save a Ukrainian life and end a Russian one (and I most certainly do), then donating to a small group supporting frontline units is the way to go.
I guess spreading donations around works if you have sufficient money for it. Those little organisations often emphasize how much difference just $/£5 can make.
I donate 2% of my net annual income (everybody can afford that) and I spread it over several organisations and individuals. And it is tax deductible.
It is difficult and unpleasant to reveal such activities of large international organizations, but it is beneficial for understanding. Large foundations have long been noticed spending money on their own maintenance - a form of existence that appeared together with grant aid and collection of charitable funds for a specific project. A vivid example is the children's hospital in Kyiv on the initiative of President Yushchenko's wife: all the money was eaten up by organizational costs, the hospital was never built, and no investigation was conducted (or I don't know).
We have long known that you can trust your contributions only to those you know personally and further down the chain. Our colleague has been collecting sniper rifles and cartridges since the beginning of the invasion, regularly providing photo and financial reports. Several more volunteers whom I know personally act in this way. Thank you for writing the truth about the difference between the Red Cross and others of the sort and real aid.
I didn't know about the children's hospital story. That's pretty terrible. People do expect corruption from government figures and those associated with them, though. Not aid agencies. Hopefully I've helped a few people to find out!
I was beginning to have some suspicions, but this account of yours consolidates them and makes me feel incredibly frustrated. I give regular monthly contributions to a number of big NGOs (not UNICEF or Red Cross, however) and now I wonder whether it's worth anything at the end of the day. The problem is, giving directly opens the problem of whom to trust... I trust you and I trust those you trust for Ukraine, but what about Palestine, what about Sudan, where I know no-one?
I will probably rethink my tithing funds administration for 2025...
I think there's more chance that big agencies are genuinely doing good in Palestine and Sudan, at least in one aspect of the crisis: food during a famine is as close as it's possible to get to a one-size-fits-all need. However, I don't actually know anything about it. One large NGO I do actually hear good things about (coming up in Part 2/3) is World Central Kitchen. They have a reputation for actually going where they are needed, even when it's dangerous. However, I just looked at their website and it doesn't seem possible to channel funds to a specific part of the world, just to their overall work.