Kauffman Fellows Stands With Ukraine

The events that have transpired over the past week in Ukraine have left us with a range of deep emotions. Anger, sadness, frustration, bewilderment, pain, and fear, just to name a few. However, the courage and resilience of the people of Ukraine have also inspired us and filled us with a sense of hope.

As the world watches the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion, and the massive humanitarian crisis it’s creating, many are wondering what they can do to help the people of Ukraine. In times of crisis, the Kauffman Fellows community leans in. We take action. Our Fellows are joining the global entrepreneurial community in standing together to help on an unprecedented scale while also finding ways to use their respective skills and platform to help Ukrainians affected by the invasion.

On the ground in Europe, Maciej Małysz (Class 26) has connected a group of Polish and Ukrainian tech founders to transport medicine through the border to Lviv and Kyiv. Joseph Edgar (Class 19) is in Ukraine helping his team members and other citizens move to safety. Sujay Jaswa (Class 13) has donated $250,000 to help Ukrainian refugees. We’ve also heard of Fellows in Poland and other countries who have hosted refugees in their homes. And we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg for the good work that so many people across the globe are doing.

In times of crisis, we must have a bias towards action. From helping NGOs build digital solutions for the crisis to offering space in your home for Ukrainian refugees, we’ve compiled resources and ways in which anyone can act on NOW. While this is not an exhaustive list, it provides a place to start. We urge members of our community to stand with Ukraine in whatever way they can, leveraging their own unique capabilities and networks for good.

We express our deepest gratitude to every member of the KF family for coming together and strengthening each other during times of need. May our hearts be filled with love, compassion, and a desire for peace as we move forward and serve our global community.

With love and hope,

Jeff Harbach, CEO
Kauffman Fellows

General Aid & Support

• With the help of our Fellows, we’ve compiled an aggregated resource doc of organizations to support. We’ll be adding to this list and welcome any additional suggestions from the broader KF community.
• Over on Twitter, we’ll be sharing educational pieces, including articles like this one by Dima Kuzmin (Class 26) in which he urges “Economically disengage from Russian oppression, but do so thoughtfully”.
• Startup Wise Guys pulled together this Notion page detailing ways to donate and support Ukrainians in various European countries.
• Sifted created a startup and tech-specific guide, much of which is bulleted below.

Support Ukrainian Startups

• Ukrainian startups are looking for companies to partner with or to be acquired by so that they can continue to deliver work and retain their teams. This Telegram group is leading the initiative.
• Ukrainian founders have created this guide for businesses that want to “support Ukraine and help stop the war, without firing a bullet”.
• Ukrainian tech leaders to follow on Twitter: Sifted put together a list of people from Ukraine’s global tech community who are sharing their views and experiences from both inside the country and further afield.

What Tech Companies Can Do: Build Digital Solutions

• Tech companies can help NGOs build systems for resource distribution, payments and donations, secure messaging, and much more. Tech To The Rescue has launched a #TechforUkraine initiative, to help charities in the country digitize and scale up the impact they’re having.
• In the coming days, it’s planning to launch an internal database of humanitarian aid from various NGOs, a Ukrainian map of Poland with an API to connect and display various forms of support, and a chatbot in Ukrainian aggregating useful information from various sources. The organization is inviting companies with tech skills to register here.

What Individuals Can Do: Donate a Skill

• Similar to the #TechforUkraine initiative, but for individuals (rather than companies) with tech skills wanting to lend their help, Ukraine Global Taskforce was launched by Gustavo Iwanaga, a Google engineer based in Germany. Over 300 people in over 48 countries are working on projects, from managing the food chain to prepping first aid kits. Interested people can sign up using this form.
• Ukraine Tech Collective matches international software developers with job vacancies left by Ukrainian software engineers who are involved in the war effort. The initiative aims to make sure developers in Ukraine continue to get paid and small businesses can stay operational. For more information click on this link.

Hire Ukrainian Tech Workers Remotely

• Remote Ukraine is a new employment platform. It matches companies with highly trained tech talent who are looking for work as they try to escape violence in Ukraine. The work can be posted in the form of one-off tasks, short-term contracts, or full-time work.
• Lisbon-based real estate platform Casafari has also launched a Telegram group for Ukrainians looking for IT jobs in Portugal.

Host Ukrainians in Your Home

• Got a spare room? Sign up on We Help Ukraine if you’re able to host a Ukrainian who needs a place to stay. The service is also hoping to allow functionality to let people offer their services in the form of medical, legal, language, and psychological assistance in the near future. Register your interest here.