The Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation ranks among Ukraine’s TOP-50 largest foundations and TOP-5 private foundations according to Forbes
06.09.2024
Forbes Ukraine has introduced its first ranking of Ukraine’s charitable foundations. The Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation was named among the TOP-5 private foundations, alongside the Petro Poroshenko Foundation, Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, and Viktor Pinchuk Foundation.
Ukrainian philanthropy is maturing and becoming more systemic. Over the years of the war, the landscape of charity has significantly changed — as of July 1, 2024, 31,122 charitable organizations were registered (compared to 20,498 at the beginning of 2022). Forbes has taken a closer look at Ukraine’s charitable sector and compiled its own ranking.
The Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation was ranked among the leading foundations that Ukrainians trust, with a total of UAH 179 million raised.
The foundation was established at the beginning of the full-scale war by Ukrainian entrepreneur and philanthropist Ruslan Shostak, president of the TERWIN corporation, and founder and co-owner of the national retail chains EVA and VARUS. The main goal of the foundation is to ensure that every orphaned child finds a loving family. To achieve this, the foundation implements two large-scale projects — providing aid to orphans and to the military.
"Our foundation is among the 50 largest in the country and in the top five private ones. This achievement is even more significant when you consider that the foundation is just over two years old. This was made possible thanks only to our friends, partners, employees, and all Ukrainians who believe in us and the work we do every day. More than 300 foundations, volunteers, and partners have joined our team to turn plans into reality. I thank each of you for your work, support, and faith. This is what drives us forward!" shared Ruslan Shostak, founder of the Charitable Foundation.
The “Childhood Without War” project began with an agreement between the First Ladies of two countries, Olena Zelenska and Emine Erdoğan, to evacuate orphans from Ukraine to Turkey. It became the largest centralized private-public evacuation of orphans in modern Europe. Thanks to the efforts of the team, volunteers, and partners, at the beginning of the war, around 2,700 children, their guardians, and caregivers were saved. This effort required 9 planes, over 90 buses, and 24 train carriages. In the summer and autumn of 2023, the project organized rehabilitation for another 800 orphans and their guardians in Turkey. Nearly a thousand doctor visits, over 624 hours of English lessons, and 7,548 hours of art, sports, and developmental activities were arranged for the children. In addition, 9,557 pairs of shoes and sets of seasonal clothing were purchased. Three children have already been adopted, and work in this area continues.
“Childhood Without War” received international recognition, setting a record in the World Book of Records (WBR) for the largest evacuation of orphans during wartime since World War II. A short documentary about the children of the project, SAVE GENERATION UA, has won awards at prestigious international film festivals, including the Luleå International Film Festival, İstanbul International Spring Film Festival, and Washington West Film Festival in the USA, among many others.
For this project, Ruslan Shostak was awarded the Order of Merit III Class for significant personal achievements in strengthening interstate cooperation, supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and promoting the Ukrainian state globally. He has also received numerous accolades, including “Best Social Project of 2023” by the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs (SUP).
The foundation’s second large-scale project, “HeroCar”, is the only national platform for providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with vehicles. A comprehensive system has been built to supply vehicles from Europe at the lowest price, with the highest quality and in the shortest time. In agreement with the AFU command, HeroCar acquires, adapts, and maintains off-road vehicles used on the front lines for mobile group raids, reconnaissance, cargo delivery, and the evacuation of wounded soldiers. The project actively supports Ukrainian businesses: the EVA and VARUS retail chains, WOG gas stations, the Podorozhnyk pharmacy chain, and others have joined in raising funds for pickups. Since the war began, HeroCar has delivered over 400 powerful Ford and SsangYong vehicles to the military. The project's current goal is to provide 1,000 vehicles to the AFU.
Nearly 200 of the largest charitable organizations, based on declared income, were invited to participate in the ranking. Forbes formed a list of the 50 largest foundations by the amount of funds raised, using answers from questionnaires, official financial reporting data, and information from open sources. Forbes highlighted two types of foundations based on their dominant funding source: corporate (funded mainly by a company or group of companies) and private (funded primarily or entirely by a businessman or group of business partners). The remaining foundations were divided into military (focused on military support) and humanitarian (focused on humanitarian initiatives).