Emotional and financial complications of fundraising during war

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2022

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, people across the country prepare for the possibility of a long, drawn out conflict.. Some, are determined to help their loved ones survive. But sending aid to a war zone isn't easy. Not just because access to cash locally is often hard to come by, but rules around fundraising are complicated.

Olia Hercules, cookbook author and chef, explains how, over the past two weeks, she’s rushed to fundraise and send protective gear to her brother fighting on the front lines in Kyiv. Like so many others, she ran into problems getting money where it needed to go. James Maloney, a partner at London-based law firm Farrer & Co. tells of the legal parameters charities can operate and fundraise for relief efforts. And, we hear from Mike Noyes, director of humanitarian aid at Action Aid UK who is leading the effort to help women and children fleeing the war at Ukraine’s border with Poland.

Photo: Victoria Craig/BBC Olia Hercules sits with her friends, showing them a video message from her brother after he received protective supplies she raised funds to procure and send him.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC.
0:04.8	I'm Victoria Craig.
0:06.1	Coming up, war in Ukraine has stretched into its third week.
0:09.9	As the fighting continues, people across the country prepare for the possibility of a long, drawn-out conflict with Russia.
0:16.9	Some, though, are determined to help their loved ones survive.
0:21.1	I've had really dark days when I didn't want to live.
0:25.7	And I had days when I felt the most powerful I've ever felt in my life.
0:31.5	But sending aid to a war zone is not easy.
0:34.7	Not just because access to cash locally is often hard to come by, but rules
0:38.9	around fundraising are complicated. Charities and charitable fundraising are quite tightly regulated.
0:45.2	So there's a bit of a web of laws and regulation that you need to work your way through,
0:49.2	particularly if a charity is involved. We're delving into the rules, regulations, and emotions of wartime fundraising
0:56.1	right here on Business Daily from the BBC.
1:06.8	This kitchen in East London, where a pot of tea is now being prepared, belongs to chef and
1:12.6	cookbook author Olia Hercules. It's seen at all. Recipe testing for award-winning cookbooks,
1:18.7	countless family meals, barbecues, and gatherings with friends. But two weeks ago, the cookware
1:24.8	was stowed away, and now only a forgotten pot of food lingers on the stove.
1:29.9	Papers have been piled up where cutting boards should lie, loaded with early spring produce.
1:35.2	A multitude of flowers from friends are collecting on the table, and despite the sunlight streaming through a wall of windows,
1:41.7	there is little joy to be found here.
1:44.7	The optimism, once plentiful in the chef's haven, has melted away,
1:49.3	because now, this kitchen is a war room.
	...

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