How small businesses can support Ukraine

As Vladamir Putin’s Russia attacks Ukraine, the Ukrainian population faces life-threatening struggles. 

This conflict has already led to more than 50,000 casualties. On top of this, 1.5 million Ukrainians are currently displaced, and that number grows each day. 

As a small business owner, you likely have a platform you can use to promote the greater good. So, if you’re worried about the situation and wonder how you might help, you’ve come to the right place.

This guide lists ways you could support Ukraine as a small business, including:

• Collect donations 
• Raise awareness 
• Offer incentives for donations 
• Hold an event
• Work with Ukrainian companies 

See also: Charitable giving: marketing for business.

As the conflict worsens, let’s go over a few ways you can work with your small business audience to support Ukraine.  

To help the people of Ukraine in need, you could collect donations through your small business. Let’s look at a few routes to take.

To start, consider donating a portion of your profits. Or, if you sell products that could help people in Ukraine, think about donating them directly. 

For example, say you run a shoe business. You might donate however many shoes you can spare to help refugees. 

Similarly, you might choose to sponsor a charity or event (see below). Doing so allows you to aid a cause that supports Ukraine while also promoting your business values. 

Consider setting up a channel for collecting donations. 

Then, ask your audience and customer base to contribute and enhance your impact. Add this link to your website, social media pages, and create a QR code to put in your shop.

To make it easier to collect donations, consider creating a GoFundMe page. Setting this up will save you time because you won’t have to differentiate your charitable donations from your business earnings. 

Plus, you can connect the GoFundMe directly to a charity, so the money goes straight to them. All you’ll need to do is pick which Ukrainian supporting cause best aligns with your business values. 

Here are some charities you could donate to: 

• UNICEF – supporting children and families in Ukraine by providing clean drinking water, food, and safe shelter.
• British Red Cross DEC Ukraine Appeal – providing disaster relief including shelter and medical aid.
• UN Refugee Agency – emergency response and refugee aid.
• SOS Children’s Villages – focusing on the care of children affected by the conflict.
• Razom – collecting and transporting essential medical supplies into Ukraine.
• Voices of Children – offering psychological support to children impacted by the conflict. 
• Revived Soldiers of Ukraine – providing medical aid and recovery to soldiers of Ukraine.

If you’re not sure which cause to choose, you could also write a list of great donation options and share them with your audience. This way, they can choose which source they want to give money to.

Another donation option is to set up a box in your shop to collect items that support refugees. For example, Ukrainians might need:

• Toiletries
• Towels
• Blankets
• Nappies
• First aid kits
• Non-perishable food 

From there, you’ll just need to find a drop-off point for your donations. You can find a list of places around the UK here.

To get more people to donate to the cause, consider marketing the campaign through your brand. 

When doing so, you can spread your donation link. Alternatively, you might use your platform to raise awareness rather than collect donations directly. 

Running a social media campaign is a great way to build awareness for this cause. 

You can post about it on your channels, create marketing visuals, and try to trend a relevant hashtag. You could also partner with other brands or charities and share or tag their social content.   

Look to design tools like Canva to create posts that stick in your audience’s mind.

On top of this, consider email marketing as a method of raising awareness to support Ukraine. You might send an email newsletter with a statement about your business’s stance on the conflict. 

Acknowledging the seriousness of the situation can help you connect with readers. Then, finish your email with a call to action directing people towards ways to help. 

To enhance your response to the situation, you may want to create a campaign that incentivises people to participate. 

For example, you could match each donation up to a certain amount. Or, offer people a discount if they donate an item. 

Asking customers to round up their purchase to the nearest pound is another great way to promote donations. People often don’t notice the difference, and the small bits can add up.

You may also want to hold an event in support of Ukraine to raise awareness of their struggle. 

For example, you could host a fundraising run or sports game and raise money for each player or donate the ticket proceeds to a relevant charity. 

See also: Event planning checklist for small business. 

Choosing to support Ukrainian businesses can help the country and its economy during these challenging times. For example, you could: 

• Purchase from Ukrainian suppliers  
• Partner or do business with local Ukrainian companies
• Promote Ukrainian brands to help increase their visibility

For example, Grammarly was founded in Ukraine. So, you might choose them for your editing needs and share your support. 

As Ukraine faces tragedy, we hope this article directs you towards charitable methods that can be successful and beneficial in helping them. There are plenty of ways that you can support, including:

• Donating or collecting donations through your business
• Raising awareness using your brand platform
• Providing an incentive to act
• Holding an event in support of the cause
• Choosing to work with Ukrainian businesses

With these methods, you’ll help to show Ukrainians that they’re not alone in this conflict. Every little bit matters, adding up to a substantial impact.