The Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund is being tapped to assist nearly 600 farmers amid a growing food shortage in Ukraine, according to the World Council of Credit Unions.
$100,000 from the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund will provide targeted aid to farmers faced with an increasing food security crisis brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The grant dollars will reimburse at least 585 farmers with 10% of their agricultural loan principal payments, averaging the U.S. equivalent of $1,700.
“In an ever-increasing global food crisis, WFCU is doing its part to support Ukraine’s credit union member farmers who are at ground zero, facing both economic hardship and resource constraints,” said Mike Reuter, executive director of WFCU.
This is the second disbursement from the Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund. WFCU in March awarded a $50,000 grant to the Podolian Agency for Regional Development (PARD), a Ukrainian non-governmental organization that is providing humanitarian assistance to hundreds of refugees from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Kherson, Melitopol and other cities who are seeking refuge in the Vinnytsia region of western Ukraine. PARD used part of the WFCU grant to assemble a temporary shelter, and is also working to purchase and deliver food, water, medicine, bedding and other supplies to internally displaced Ukrainians.
Other assistance programs that will utilize the Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund are currently in development to address specific credit union and member pain points caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.
Since WFCU created and deployed the Displacement Fund on Feb. 27, nearly $1.7 million has been raised from across the international credit union community to support the challenges Ukraine’s credit union system is facing, according to WFCU.
At EXCEL 22, the chair testimonial honoring past board chair Ann Hynes raised $20,000, which was donated to the Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund.
