About trust, a UAH 19 billion donation, and team scaling: Come Back Alive Foundation Director on the Forbes cover

In January, Ukrainian Forbes published an in-depth feature about Come Back Alive Foundation. In the article, the Foundation’s Director, Taras Chmut, answered questions about the largest donation in the organization’s history, while partners and colleagues from the sector shared their experience of working with the Foundation.

The article is available in the print edition of the magazine or via the link, with a paid subscription required.

Come Back Alive Foundation ranks first in Ukraine in terms of funds raised. Since 2014, the Foundation has attracted UAH 42 billion, which is now strengthening the Armed Forces. Of this amount, UAH 26 billion was raised over the past year alone. A significant portion of this sum came from a donation by a European country that will remain anonymous for now. In his interview with Forbes, Taras Chmut spoke about the work that preceded this donation and how the organization prepared to process it.

The Forbes feature also analyzes how the Foundation’s operations evolved over the years, how the organization changed under the leadership of its current Director, Taras Chmut, and how the team scaled during a full-scale war.

“Over three and a half years, the Foundation has transformed from a volunteer community, where much depended on personal responsibility, into a hierarchical organization with automated processes,” the article notes.

Part of the feature is dedicated to the Foundation’s work with partners — how Come Back Alive Foundation succeeded in building a culture of corporate fundraising and, for the first time, engaging state-owned companies in its projects. It also covers how the Foundation became the first in Ukraine to obtain the right to purchase lethal weapons. The article further highlights a principle introduced from the very beginning of the organization’s work: fundraising for administrative expenses separately and not taking a single hryvnia from donations intended for the military.

Read more about the Foundation’s work in Forbes.