The National Charity Ukraine Competition is an annual nationwide competition that recognizes the best philanthropists, volunteers, businesses, and most effective charitable initiatives in Ukraine. The competition began in 2007 under the name "Philanthropist of the Year" and has been held under the auspices of the Ukrainian Philanthropists Association in its current format since 2012.
This year marks the 19th National Charity Ukraine 2025 competition. For the fourth time, it will be held under the motto "Charity in Defense of Ukraine." For almost four years, we have been living in a state of full-scale war, and all Ukrainian—from different regions and abroad—have come together to help each other. This competition is our way of saying thank you to the heroes on the home front!
The aim of the competition is to support the development of the charitable and volunteer movement in Ukraine and to promote a culture of charity, partnership, and social responsibility.
The competition aims to:
demonstrate effective cooperation between civil society, business, and government in addressing pressing social issues;
- promote corporate social responsibility and corporate philanthropy;
- strengthen trust and communication between donors and recipients of aid;
- inspire citizens to actively participate in charitable and volunteer initiatives;
- highlight successful examples, projects, and cases of philanthropy that bring real benefits to Ukrainian society.
The mission of the competition is to unite the community of philanthropists and create an environment in which kindness, responsibility, and mutual support become the social norm. The competition aims to shape a positive image of philanthropy, uphold transparent standards of activity, and promote philanthropy as a driving force for social change and national unity.
WHAT IS THIS COMPETITION ABOUT?
In 2025, the 19th National Competition "Charitable Ukraine" will take place, and for the fourth time it will be held under the motto "Charity in Defense of Ukraine." For almost four years, Ukraine has been living in a state of full-scale war, and charity has become a real front of support — from the rear to the front lines, from the regions to Ukrainians abroad.
National Competition
Over the years of the competition in the format of "Charitable Ukraine," 11,094 applications have been submitted, 827 winners have been awarded, and 254 nominations have been announced. Every year, regional stages of the competition are held in different regions, which means approximately 930 winners in regional and international competitions. Among the winners of the competition in different years were the following organizations: ICF "Come Back Alive," ICF "Caritas Ukraine," ICF "Ukrainian Charity Exchange," BO "Ukrainian Educational Platform," Nova Poshta LLC, SoftServe, MKP-Hromadi Charitable Foundation, Tvoia Opora Charitable Foundation, Razom for Ukraine Charitable Foundation, Zdorovi Charitable Foundation, Astarta Kyiv Agro-Industrial Holding, Ukrainian Youth Association, and others.
WHO IS THIS CONTEST FOR?
For anyone involved in charitable activities, as we have as many as 28 contest categories. The competition is open to philanthropists/volunteers, volunteer, charitable, and public organizations, youth associations, media representatives, socially responsible businesses, any non-governmental organizations, and individuals—anyone who provided charitable or volunteer assistance to address pressing social issues between January 1 and December 31, 2025. Exceptions: state authorities, local self-government bodies, and political parties. The latter are not eligible to apply for the competition, but they can be nominators, i.e., submit their nominees.
WHY SHOULD YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION?
- Recognition: promote your initiatives at the national level.
- Promotion: inspire others with your own example.
- Reputation: highlight the social responsibility of your organization or company.
- Partnerships: find new like-minded people.
- Development: discover new opportunities for scaling initiatives.
- Inspiration: feel the unity of a community of good people.
The National Charity Ukraine Competition is not just a competition, it is an opportunity to become part of a large charitable ecosystem, showcase your achievements, and be inspired by the achievements of others.
Recognition of your achievements. Participating in the competition is a great opportunity to showcase your initiatives, share your good deeds, and receive well-deserved recognition at the national level.
Promoting charity. Your example will inspire others to do good deeds. Together, we are creating a wave of change that is sweeping across the country.
Strengthening your reputation. For organizations and companies, participating in the competition is an opportunity to emphasize their social responsibility and strengthen trust in their brand.
Establishing partnerships. The competition brings together active citizens, businesses, volunteers, and other organizations. You will find new partners and like-minded people to implement future projects.
Opportunity for scaling. Participation in the competition opens up new horizons for the development of your initiatives and attracting additional support.
Inspiration for further action. Each participant receives a powerful boost of energy from a community that strives to change the country for the better.
Winning an award. The competition is not only about participation, but also about winning. Your work can receive a well-deserved award that will become a symbol of your dedication to the cause.
HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST?
To enter the contest, you need to download and fill out the contest application form: CONTEST APPLICATION FORM. Before filling out the application, you must read the EXCERPT FROM THE REGULATIONS "ON COMPETITION NOMINATIONS." This will allow you to correctly select the nominations that correspond to your activities, as we have 28 competition nominations (you can select several nominations, but no more than 4). You can also attach photos (no more than 5) and links to information about the contestant's charitable or volunteer activities posted on the Internet: publications, reviews, recommendations, financial reports, etc. For charitable foundations, organizations, and public organizations, an annual financial report is a prerequisite for participation in the competition (you can attach the report to the letter along with the application, or provide a link to the report on your website). Applications for participation in the competition can be submitted directly by the benefactors themselves or by the recipients of charitable assistance.
THE COMPLETED APPLICATION MUST BE SENT TO THE COMPETITION EMAIL: [email protected] BY APRIL 29, 2026 (INCLUSIVE).
COMPETITION NOMINATIONS
Applications for the competition are accepted in 28 competition nominations: 22 collective, 3 individual, and 3 special:
Collective nominations of the National Competition "Charitable Ukraine-2025":
- Charity of big business;
- Charity of medium and small businesses;
- Charity of international businesses;
- Corporate charity;
- Collective volunteering;
- All-Ukrainian charity;
- Regional charity;
- Local charity;
- Charity in healthcare;
- Charity in education and science;
- Charity in culture and art;
- Charity in the social sphere;
- Charity in ecology and environmental protection;
- Charity in the defense of Ukraine;
- Charity in the non-governmental sector;
- Goodness begins with you;
- Charity in the field of child protection and assistance;
- Youth charity initiatives;
- Charity campaign of the year;
- Platform of good;
- Synergy of good: effective partnership;
- Innovations in charity work.
Individual nominations for the National Competition "Charitable Ukraine-2025":
Philanthropist of the Year;
Volunteer of the Year;
Manager of the Year in the Field of Charity (a separate application must be completed for this nomination – follow the link).
Special nominations for the National Competition "Charitable Ukraine-2025":
People's Benefactor (the only competition nomination where the winner is determined by online voting);
Media and Charity;
Foreign Aid.
In case of inconsistency of the selected nominations, the organizing committee of the competition reserves the right to independently transfer your application from one nomination to another. Participation in the competition is free of charge.
COMPETITION AWARD
Participants who take 1st place in each of the nominations will be awarded a unique ceramic angel statuette – "Angel of Goodness" – which has already become a symbol of charity and a "charity Oscar." They will also receive a winner's diploma. Participants who take 2nd and 3rd place will be awarded special diplomas.
The "Angel of Goodness" is a unique ceramic angel statuette, decorated with rich national ornamentation and adorned with amber. The original amber Angel of Goodness is a joint development of the Ukrainian Amber World Association and Ukrainian craftsmen.
The award ceremony for the winners of the National Charity Ukraine-2025 competition will take place in June 2026 in Kyiv.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING APPLICATIONS
Applications are evaluated by the National Expert Council. Expert groups are formed by the secretary of the National Expert Council based on the similarity of nominations, from among the members of the National Expert Council and external experts with relevant qualifications and experience in the field of philanthropy. The Business Council is an expert group that evaluates the following nominations: "Charity of Large Businesses," "Charity of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses," "Charity of International Businesses," and "Corporate Charity." The Media Council is an expert group that evaluates the nomination "Media and Charity."
When evaluating a competition application, the members of the expert group are guided by the following criteria:
- the amount of assistance provided, including: the amount of resources involved; the number of partner organizations, patrons, and volunteers involved;
- the social significance (social weight) of solving a specific problem;
- the scale of charitable assistance provided – the number of individuals and organizations that received assistance;
- qualitative (fundamental, tangible) changes that occurred as a result of the assistance provided;
- the long-term nature of the results obtained as a result of the charitable assistance provided;
- the innovativeness of the forms, methods, and technologies used, and the creativity of organizational solutions.
Based on the ratings of competition entries in each category received from expert groups, members of the National Expert Council vote on each individual category to determine the winner and laureates of the National Competition "Charitable Ukraine."
STAGES OF THE COMPETITION
The main stages of the National Competition "Charitable Ukraine-2025" are as follows:
1) organization, preparation, and distribution of materials about the competition, announcement of the competition (October-November 2025);
2) acceptance of applications (from October 20, 2025, to April 29, 2026);
3) evaluation of applications by the National Expert Council (May 2026);
4) announcement of the competition laureates (June 2026);
5) awarding of the competition winners (June 2026).
In addition to the national competition, regional and international stages are announced each year. Currently, the organizing committee is negotiating with regional partners to organize regional competitions in the provinces. After the official signing of memoranda of cooperation with partners, we will announce regional and international competitions on the official website of the competition.
In addition to the national level, this year it is planned to hold several regional stages of the "Charitable Ukraine" competition, which are traditionally initiated in certain regions of Ukraine (Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpattia, Odesa). For the second time, full-fledged international stages of the competition are planned in several countries, including Germany, Poland, Spain, Moldova, etc. The decision to expand the format and launch international competitions was a response to the unprecedented international support for Ukraine in the context of the war.
CONTACTS
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us:
Tel.: 067-164-04-11 (on working days and during working hours);
E-mail: [email protected];
Contest website: http://blagoukraine.org/;
Facebook page.: https://www.facebook.com/BlagodijnaUkraina;
Join the contest, share your stories, because only together can we bring about positive change! Together we are stronger, and every good deed brings us closer to victory!