Ukrainian Women’s Fund: donor analysis 2026

In 2024 the Ukrainian Women’s Fund awarded 232 grants worth more than UAH 98 million and supported 160 women’s and feminist organisations across Ukraine. For a fund that has been working since 2000, that is not the result of one lucky call but its normal pace: dozens of announcements a year, from travel grants to multi-year core support.

What sets this donor apart is that it is itself a Ukrainian organisation. Money from the governments of Canada, the Netherlands and Norway, from the European Union and from private foundations reaches women’s NGOs through UWF, which runs its calls in Ukrainian, on Ukrainian timelines and pays out in hryvnias.

As of 6 November 2026 one UWF grant call is open: “Supporting the implementation of regional 1325 action plans”, with grants of up to EUR 15,000 and a deadline of 16 November. Alongside it, a selection of communities for the “From Challenges to Resilience” project runs until 30 November. Below we look at who funds the fund, which grant lines exist, what the amounts are and how to apply.

Who they are and why women’s NGOs should start here

The Ukrainian Women’s Fund (UWF, Український жіночий фонд) was founded in Kyiv in 2000. On its official website the fund describes itself as the only women’s fund in Ukraine: a charitable foundation dedicated to supporting women’s and feminist civil society organisations through grant-making, education and solidarity. Its 2024 annual report frames the mission as a strong, effective and inclusive women’s movement that defends rights and advances gender equality.

UWF is a member of Prospera, the international network of women’s funds. It has completed an extended due diligence by CAF International and in 2022 ranked 43rd in the “Top 100 Transparent Charities of Ukraine”. For international donors that is a selling point; for applicants it is a signal that financial reporting here is demanding.

Scale: the 2024 numbers

The latest published annual report covers 2024. Its headline figures:

• 232 grants totalling more than UAH 98 million;
• 160 women’s and feminist organisations supported;
• 2,767 women in capacity-building programmes: leadership academies, trainings and strategy sessions;
• 17 newly established women’s organisations, some of them led by displaced women or first-time activists;
• 5 new regional 1325 coalitions, which completed a network that now covers every region of Ukraine.

According to the same report, the fund’s total 2024 budget was UAH 214.5 million. More than half (54%) went to “collaboration, engagement and common solutions”, 15% to institutional development and new women’s NGOs, 11% to communications and values, 12% to personnel and 8% to other direct costs.

One more figure from the report shows that the fund measures more than grants. In 2017 only 7% of surveyed organisations described the women’s movement as mature; by 2024 that share had reached 40%. The self-assessment covered 171 organisations.

The fund does not publish a cumulative number of grants since 2000, so we do not quote one. We could not find a 2025 annual report at the time of writing, which is why all scale figures here refer to 2024.

Who gives the fund its money

UWF’s grant money comes from governments and private foundations for specific projects, and the project name determines which calls are announced, on what topics and in which currency the amount is set. So it pays to know the main donors.

Government of Canada: Women’s Voice and Leadership

The fund’s largest and longest-running project. The first phase, Women’s Voice and Leadership – Ukraine, ran from March 2019 to September 2024 with a maximum Canadian contribution of CAD 4,759,190, according to the Global Affairs Canada project browser. It supported the programming of 85 women’s rights organisations and 26 networks.

The second phase is already running. The Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership – Ukraine agreement, worth CAD 7,000,000, runs from 28 February 2025 to 31 March 2030. In Ukrainian the project is called “Women’s Voice and Leadership: New Strength”. According to the agreement description, it provides multi-year core funding and rapid response funding to women’s rights organisations, LBTQI+ groups and feminist networks. That is why some UWF calls set their amounts in Canadian dollars.

The Netherlands, Norway and the European Union

The 2026 calls point to three more public funding sources:

• The Government of the Netherlands, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, funds the “1325: Inclusive Security” project, which is behind the call open right now.
• The Government of Norway, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, funds GEN-Recovery, run by a consortium led by Norway’s FOKUS together with UWF and La Strada Ukraine.
• The European Union funds “From Challenges to Resilience: women’s leadership in comprehensive security”, which UWF implements with the Ukrainian Women’s Congress.

Private foundations

The UK-based Sigrid Rausing Trust has supported UWF since 2008. According to its grantee profile, the fund received an emergency grant of GBP 100,000 in March 2022 for women’s groups delivering humanitarian aid, and a GBP 900,000 grant has been running since August 2023.

The fund’s Donors and partners page also shows the logos of UN Women, the Oak Foundation, the Mott Foundation, Global Fund for Women, Filia Frauenstiftung, the Black Sea Trust, NDI, IREX and others. The page does not separate current from past partners, so treat it as a history of cooperation rather than a list of active grants.

The lines the money flows through

In its 2024 report the fund lists five types of support:

• short-term project grants;
• rapid response grants;
• multi-year and core funding;
• advocacy and thematic grants;
• travel grants.

Thematically, in 2024 the fund financed women’s leadership and participation in decision-making, the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the localisation of Ukraine’s 1325 National Action Plan, women’s economic empowerment, leadership of young women and girls, local models against gender-based and conflict-related sexual violence, policy advocacy and support for women human rights defenders.

2026 calls that have already closed

To get a feel for the amounts and the pace, here are the calls the fund ran in the second half of 2026 that are now closed:

The catalytic grants targeted women’s NGOs with at least three years of experience and funded scalable models: women’s economic empowerment, support for military and veteran families, women’s participation in reconstruction, climate justice. The analytics call focused on the gender impact of aligning Ukrainian law with the EU acquis, while GEN-Recovery research accepted applications from NGOs and think tanks, including consortia with universities.

Travel grants

The website also lists a travel grant call under Women’s Voice and Leadership: New Strength, offering up to CAD 4,000 for taking part in international events. Applications are rolling and must be submitted at least three weeks before the trip. Activists and women’s NGOs from all regions can apply. Before applying, it is worth confirming with grants@uwf.org.ua that the line is currently accepting applications.

What is open as of 6 November 2026

The Grant calls section currently lists two live opportunities, and only one of them is a grant call.

Supporting regional 1325 action plans: deadline 16 November 2026

The call was announced on 27 October 2026 under the “1325: Inclusive Security” project funded by the Government of the Netherlands. Key points from the call terms:

• Who: officially registered women’s or feminist NGOs that have worked for at least two years, are registered and active in one of the eligible regions, have women’s rights or gender equality in their statutes and are not linked to state institutions or political parties.
• Regions: Kyiv city and Kyiv oblast, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Zakarpattia and Lviv oblasts.
• Amount: up to EUR 15,000, paid in hryvnias at the National Bank of Ukraine rate on the application date. Up to 12 applications will be funded.
• Duration: 6 to 8 months.
• Mandatory condition: readiness to coordinate activities with the secretariat of the regional 1325 coalition. Membership is not required but earns extra points.
• Costs: organisational support (staff and travel) up to 20% of the budget, equipment up to EUR 1,000 in total, up to 10% of the grant for collective care and burnout prevention.
• Deadline: 16 November 2026, 23:59. The deadline for questions passed on 5 November; the fund said it would publish answers on 6 November.

Applications are scored out of 100: fit with priorities (20), effectiveness of the approach (20), alignment with the regional action plan (20), clarity of activities, results and monitoring (20), organisational capacity (10) and coalition membership (10). Priority goes to initiatives that are part of a regional 1325 action plan, involve cross-sector cooperation and address the needs of diverse women and girls, young people and vulnerable groups.

Community selection for “From Challenges to Resilience”: until 30 November 2026

This is not a grant call for NGOs. The selection is aimed at local self-government bodies of communities in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv and Chernivtsi oblasts. The project is funded by the EU and implemented by UWF and the Ukrainian Women’s Congress. A selected community signs a memorandum, forms a working group, takes part in training on comprehensive security, assesses risks together with the fund, drafts a comprehensive security plan and takes part in implementing grant projects. Applications close at 16:00 on 30 November 2026, online presentations are scheduled for 13 and 20 November, and questions are accepted until 17 November.

For a women’s NGO in these oblasts it is an early signal: if your community joins the project, later grant calls there will likely be tied to the community security plan.

When to expect the next calls

UWF has no fixed calendar. Calls are launched for specific projects: between August and November 2026 alone the fund ran at least four. The Canadian project runs until March 2030, so new Women’s Voice and Leadership: New Strength calls in 2027 are very likely, but the fund does not announce dates in advance.

How to work with this donor

A few takeaways from the 2026 call terms worth keeping in mind before you apply.

Check your statutes. Almost every call requires women’s rights or gender equality to be written into the organisation’s statutes. A general-purpose NGO with a “women’s” project formally does not qualify. The fund also requires that the NGO is not linked to state institutions or political parties.

Mind the track record. The 1325 call requires at least two years of operation, the catalytic grants three. A young initiative should watch for calls without a minimum age: in 2024 the fund helped 17 new organisations get on their feet.

Register in the system early. Applications go through UWF’s online grantee system. If it says an organisation with your EDRPOU code already exists, you will need to write to grants@uwf.org.ua, and that takes time. An application only counts once the automatic confirmation email arrives: no email, no application.

Build the budget by the call’s rules. Organisational costs up to 20%, equipment caps, amounts in euros or Canadian dollars paid in hryvnias at the National Bank rate on the application date. Breaking any cap lowers your score or leads to rejection.

Use the collective care line. The fund allows up to 10% of the grant for preventing team burnout. Few donors offer this, and in an application it reads as a sign of a mature organisation rather than an unnecessary cost.

Write to the regional logic. In the 1325 call one fifth of the score depends on alignment with the regional action plan, and coalition membership adds another 10 points. The fund advises agreeing the topic and format with the regional coalition in advance.

Set measurable results. For the catalytic grants the fund explicitly asked for a logical chain from problem to activities, results and long-term change, with first visible changes within 3–6 months.

If a decision seems unfair, the fund has a separate complaints channel: policyviolation@uwf.org.ua.