5 Ways You Can Help Ukraine Right Now

The People of Ukraine need us right now. You can help.

As of the time of this writing, over two million Ukrainian refugees have fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soon, that number is expected to rise to more than five million people.

Ukraine suburbs are being bombed with explosive mortar shells. City buildings are being targeted by Russian missiles. Towns and cities are being invaded and occupied by thousands of Russian troops. Innocent civilians — women and children, teenagers, elderly citizens — are being bombed as they form convoy lines to try to reach safe border crossings on foot.

All over the world, countries, organizations, and people are rising up to help, and so can you. You have the power to make a difference in someone’s life today.

Imagine if the basic necessities we take for granted every day suddenly disappeared. You cannot go to the store for food; it doesn’t exist anymore. There is no pharmacy. There is no place to work, no way to earn money. There is no place to meet for a second date. There are no more hospitals to treat your emergency needs. There are no schools left, no universities, no books.

Two weeks ago, the people of Ukraine had social lives, jobs, doctor appointments, homework, shopping lists, dinner plans, coffee dates — they had hopes and dreams. Their families were at home, together. Tomorrow, they have no idea if they will eat, or where they can sleep, or if they will ever be reunited with their missing loved ones.

Innocent people are being murdered halfway around the world, and millions of war-torn refugees are waking up in a foreign country today because they have nowhere else to go. What can the average American do to help?

Turns out, you and I can do a lot.

Ukrainian refugees need a hot meal, they need clean water, they need urgent medical care for injuries sustained while fleeing the war, they need access to the same kind of prescription medicines you and I take every day, they need a safe place to sleep, they need safe places to use the bathroom and take a shower. They need dignity. They need hope.

To keep it simple, we have researched reputable charities and have narrowed that list down to five nonprofit organizations that you can donate to right now to help someone in need whom you will likely never meet. Such is the beauty of our humanity when it meets technology for good.

These nonprofits are experienced and well-established around the world, and are already helping refugees who are fleeing to parts of Poland, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania. These charities allocate most of every dollar donated straight to the cause for which they are raising money, and all donations are tax-deductible.

Even a donation of $5 or $10 can feed people, clothe someone who left with nothing, provide medicine to the sick, or help keep someone safe tonight.

For added transparency, we have included the Charity Navigator ratings for all five organizations below so you can see exactly how much of each dollar is spent for a charity’s programs and services to help people.

Charity Navigator is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 and has become the world’s largest and most trusted nonprofit evaluator. Charity Navigator gives a rating of up to Four Stars, and labels quality charities with a “Give With Confidence” rating.

Each charity is also given a Program Expense Ratio, which is basically the percentage of their yearly budget that was directly given to their causes, averaged over three years of IRS reporting.

They determine their Program Expense Ratio by “Program Expenses divided by Total Expense as determined by an average of each charity’s most recent three IRS Form 990s. This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity’s average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage.”

You can find more information on their important work at https://www.charitynavigator.org.

UNICEF

Per the UNICEF website:

“Founded in New York City in 1946, UNICEF now works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. UNICEF supports health, nutrition, HIV prevention, education, safe drinking water, sanitation, and protection for children and families caught in the conflict in Ukraine.

“The conflict in Ukraine poses an immediate and growing threat to the lives and well-being of the country’s 7.5 million children. Humanitarian needs are multiplying by the hour as fighting intensifies. Children have been killed. Children have been wounded. More than a million refugees have been forced to flee Ukraine seeking safety and protection. Hundreds of thousands of them are children.

“Homes, schools, orphanages, and hospitals have all come under attack. Civilian infrastructure like water and sanitation facilities have been hit, leaving millions without access to safe water. UNICEF is working with partners to provide vital humanitarian supplies, and to reach vulnerable children and families with essential services, including health, education, protection, water, and sanitation.”

UNICEF USA is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1949, and donations are tax-deductible.

Charity Navigator ratings for UNICEF:

• Rating: Give With Confidence
• Score: 89.18 out of 100
• Good: 3 out of 4 Stars
• Program Expense Ratio: 88.0%

The full Charity Navigator profile on UNICEF can be found right here.

CLICK HERE to help UNICEF bring aid to Ukrainians right now.

CARE

Per the CARE website:

“Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. Our mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources, and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility.

“We facilitate lasting change by strengthening capacity for self-help, providing economic opportunity, deliver relief in emergencies, influencing policy decisions at all levels, and addressing discrimination in all its forms.

“CARE’s community-based efforts are to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity, protect natural resources, and deliver emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and help people rebuild their lives.”

CARE is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1993, and donations are tax-deductible.

Fun Fact: CARE’s food relief packages in the wake of World War II were named “C.A.R.E. Packages®” which is where we get the phrase that is still in use today.

Charity Navigator ratings for CARE:

• Rating: Give With Confidence
• Score: 92.64 out of 100
• 4 out of 4 Stars: Exceptional
• Program Expense Ratio: 91.1%

The full Charity Navigator profile on CARE can be found right here.

CLICK HERE to help CARE bring aid to Ukrainians right now.

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS

Per the Doctors Without Borders website:

“Doctors Without Borders, USA (Médecins Sans Frontières) was founded in 1990 in New York City to raise funds, create awareness, recruit field staff, and advocate with the United Nations and US government on humanitarian concerns.

“Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters.

“On February 24, Russia launched a large-scale military operation in Ukraine. This rapidly escalated into a war across most of the country. As the conflict escalates, Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières is stepping up its medical humanitarian response to the deepening humanitarian crisis, both in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, where more than two million people have fled as of March 8.”

Doctors Without Borders, USA is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1989, and donations are tax-deductible.

Charity Navigator ratings for Doctors Without Borders:

• Rating: Give With Confidence
• Score: 92.25 out of 100
• 4 out of 4 Stars: Exceptional
• Program Expense Ratio: 87.4%

The full Charity Navigator profile on Doctors Without Borders can be found right here.

CLICK HERE to help Doctors Without Borders bring aid to Ukrainians right now.

PROJECT HOPE

Per the Project HOPE website:

“Since 1958, we have confronted the world’s greatest health challenges and daunting emergencies. We have responded to hurricanes and earthquakes and the humanitarian consequences of civil war. We were on the frontlines of an Ebola outbreak in Africa and rebuilt creaking public health networks in the Soviet bloc during the Cold War and after the Iron Curtain fell. When deadly tsunamis hit Japan and Southeast Asia, Project HOPE was quick to deploy and stayed for months.

“We have built health systems from the ground up and repaired others in the developing world, building a legacy of functioning health infrastructure that will endure for generations. Two million trained health care workers around the world and many hospitals, from Asia to Africa and Central America to Eastern Europe, bear witness to HOPE’s legacy of care.

“What was already a severe humanitarian crisis before has become exponentially worse. More than a million children and families have already fled Ukraine to neighboring countries — this number could quickly grow to 5 million.

“In Poland, Romania, Moldova and within Ukraine, Project HOPE emergency teams are delivering essential medicines like insulin and other relief for refugees and the displaced.”

Project HOPE is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1999, and donations are tax-deductible.

Charity Navigator ratings for Project HOPE:

• Rating: Give With Confidence
• Score: 82.09 out of 100
• 3 out of 4 Stars: Good
• Program Expense Ratio: 85.6%

The full Charity Navigator profile on Project HOPE can be found right here.

CLICK HERE to help Project HOPE bring aid to Ukrainians right now.

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE

Per the International Rescue Committee website:

“The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises—including the climate crisis—to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. Founded at the call of Albert Einstein in 1933, the IRC is now at work in over 40 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout Europe and the Americas.

“We deliver lasting impact by providing health care, helping children learn, and empowering individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always seeking to address the inequalities facing women and girls.

“The International Rescue Committee helps people to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives. We serve people whose lives have been upended by war, conflict, and natural disasters. We work in countries where people don’t have the support they need to recover from crisis. We respond within 72 hours, staying to help countries stabilize and people rebuild their lives. We resettle refugees welcomed by the United States, helping them to succeed and thrive.”

International Rescue Committee is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1955, and donations are tax-deductible.

Charity Navigator ratings for International Rescue Committee: 

• Score: 86.92 out of 100
• Rating: Give With Confidence
• 3 out of 4 Stars: Good
• Program Expense Ratio: 87.8%

The full Charity Navigator profile on International Rescue Committee can be found right here.

CLICK HERE to help International Rescue Committee bring aid to Ukrainians right now.

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