Individual donations to aid campaigns for Ukraine are down in Canada as the eastern country enters its sixth month of war with Russia, according to Canadian charities.
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“In the days, weeks and months following the February 24 invasion, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation has seen an avalanche of support across Canada, for which we are sincerely grateful,” Global News told Global News, Orest Sklierenko, President and CEO of the organization.
“Right now, the war shows no signs of abating, and the need for humanitarian assistance is immense, so CUF’s critical mission to provide humanitarian assistance is more important than ever,” he said. he adds.
On the CanadaHelps donation site, $24.7 million has been collected to date for 133 registered organizations, Shannon Craig, the site’s marketing manager, told the media.
The majority of these donations, nearly $18.3 million, were however collected between February 19 and March 31. But since then, the fall in donations would be “extreme”, according to Ms Craig, who pointed out that this decrease corresponds to that observed during other humanitarian crises.
“Crisis fundraising often follows the trends of the news cycle. When updates or milestones surface, so do increased donations,” she said.
However, the current needs in Ukraine remain “inevitably disproportionate”.
“As we continue to defend the interests of Ukrainians, we continue to encourage all Canadians to stay involved in the solution,” she said.