CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM: ESSENCE, FUNCTIONS AND MANAGEMENT SPECIFICS IN THE CONTEXT OF WARTIME AND POST-WAR TRANSFORMATIONS
Abstract
The article presents a comprehensive study of the economic nature of charitable organizations as systemic actors of the nonprofit sector and an essential component of a socially oriented economy under conditions of wartime and post-war transformations. It is substantiated that during the period of full-scale war the charitable sector in Ukraine has acquired the features of a system-forming element of the wartime economy, performing the functions of mobilization, accumulation, and redistribution of financial, material, and human resources, supporting national defense capacity, humanitarian response, and stabilization of the social environment. Modern scientific approaches to the interpretation of charitable organizations within the framework of third sector theory, resource-based theory, stakeholder theory, and social impact measurement approaches are summarized, which made it possible to systematize their functional characteristics and managerial specificities. Based on open analytical sources, the trends in the development of Ukraine’s charitable sector in 2022–2024 are analyzed, including institutional growth in the number of organizations, concentration of financial flows in large foundations and platform initiatives, as well as the role of digitalization in scaling donor activity. The key functions of charitable organizations in the economic system are identified, namely redistributive, stabilizing, socio-integrative, innovative, and partnership functions. The specifics of managing their activities under conditions of increased uncertainty and risks are outlined. It is proven that the effectiveness of charitable organizations depends on the professionalization of management, strategic planning, implementation of transparency and accountability systems, digital management tools, and performance evaluation based on social impact indicators. A structural model of the wartime charitable sector is proposed as an integrated multi-level system reflecting the interconnection between resource mobilization, accumulation, program management, and socio-economic outcomes. The obtained results may be used to improve management mechanisms of charitable organizations in the process of post-war recovery and the formation of a resilient socially oriented economy.
References
Кількість благодійних організацій зросла майже удвічі: 20 671 на початок грудня 2023 року // Opendatabot. 2023. URL: https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/non-profit-2023 (дата звернення: 14.02.2026).
Salamon L. M., Anheier H. K. The third world's third sector in comparative perspective: The Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies, 1997. 35 p. URL: https://ccss.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/09/CNP_WP24_1997.pdf (дата звернення: 14.02.2026).
Hansmann H. The Role of Nonprofit Enterprise. Yale Law Journal. 1980. Vol. 89. №. 5. P. 835-901. URL: https://scispace.com/pdf/the-role-of-nonprofit-enterprise-382rw2vdhq.pdf (дата звернення: 15.02.2026).
Ostrom E. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action . Land Economics. 1992. Vol. 68, № 3. Р. 354-357. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3146384 (дата звернення: 10.02.2026).
North D. C. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 82 p. URL: https://epistemh.pbworks.com/f/8.%20Institutions__Institutional_Change_and_Economic_Performance.pdf. (дата звернення: 10.02.2026).
Williamson O. E. The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. New York: Free Press, 1985. 450 p. URL: https://archive.org/details/economicinstitut0000will (дата звернення: 09.02.2026).
Bryson J. M. Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. 5th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2017. 544 p. URL: https://surl.li/zsscpc. (дата звернення: 02.02.2026).
Ebrahim A. Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2019. 320 p. https://www.amazon.com/Measuring-Social-Change-Performance-Accountability/dp/1503601404(дата звернення: 05.02.2026).
Matveieva O., Khutkyy D., Kolesnykov O. “Who, if not us?” Explaining the success of the biggest crisis-response fundraising campaigns in Ukraine. Social Sciences & Humanities Open. 2025. Vol. 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.102037. (дата звернення: 11.02.2026).
Melnyk V., Iermolenko O., Cordery C. Unfolding crowd-based accountability of a charity fund during the war. Financial Accountability & Management. 2025. Vol. 41. Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12410. (дата звернення: 13.02.2026).
Nesterenko H. I., Muzykin M. I., Bibik S. I., Strelko O. H., Aleksieieva A. O. Analysis of organizing the delivery of humanitarian aid in crisis situations. Systems and Technologies. 2024. Vol. 68 (2). P. 130–139. https://doi.org/10.32782/2521-6643-2024-2-68.15. (дата звернення: 15.02.2026).
Софієнко Н. Фонди зібрали рекордні 105,8 млрд грн пожертв на ЗСУ. Як і куди донатили українці у 2025 році // Forbes. 05.12.2025. URL: https://surl.li/xicmye (дата звернення: 15.02.2026).
Humanitarian Cluster System - Coordination mechanism for humanitarian response. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_Cluster_System (дата звернення: 20.02.2026).
Управління ООН з координації гуманітарних справ (OCHA). URL: https://hmh.news/1270/upravlinnya-oon-z-koordinacziyi-gumanitarnih-sprav-ocha-ukraine (дата звернення: 20.02.2026).
На 28% більше донатів зібрали 3 найбільші фонди у 2024 році // Opendatabot. 2025. URL: https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/donates-in-war-2024 (дата звернення: 21.02.2026).
Ukraine Humanitarian Response and Funding Snapshot 2024 // OCHA. 2024. URL: https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ukraine (дата звернення: 20.02.2026).
Ukraine: Humanitarian Response and Funding Snapshot and Year-End 2024 Analysis (January-December 2024) // OCHA. 2025. URL: https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-response-and-funding-snapshot-and-year-end-2024-analysis-january-december-2024-enuk (дата звернення: 21.02.2026).
In 2023 Ukrainians donated three times more via monobank than in 2022 // Ukrainska Pravda. 2023. URL: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/12/30/7435215/ (дата звернення: 25.02.2026).
28% more donations were collected by the three largest charitable foundations in 2024 // Opendatabot. 2025. URL: https://opendatabot.ua/en/analytics/donates-in-war-2024 (дата звернення: 25.02.2026).
UNITED24 - The initiative of the President of Ukraine. URL: https://u24.gov.ua/ (дата звернення: 21.02.2026).
UNITED24. Impact Report. URL: https://u24.gov.ua/reports (дата звернення: 22.02.2026).
Kilkist blahodiinykh orhanizatsii zrosla maizhe udvichi: 20 671 na pochatok hrudnia 2023 roku [The number of charitable organizations almost doubled: 20,671 as of early December 2023]. (2023). Opendatabot. Available at: https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/non-profit-2023 (accessed February 14, 2026). (in Ukrainian)
Salamon L. M., Anheier H. K. (1997) The third world's third sector in comparative perspective. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies. 35 p. Available at: https://ccss.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/09/CNP_WP24_1997.pdf (accessed February 14, 2026).
Hansmann H. (1980) The Role of Nonprofit Enterprise. Yale Law Journal, vol. 89, no. 5, pp. 835–901. Available at: https://scispace.com/pdf/the-role-of-nonprofit-enterprise-382rw2vdhq.pdf (accessed February 15, 2026).
Ostrom E. (1992) Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Land Economics, vol. 68, no. 3, pp. 354–357. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3146384 (accessed February 10, 2026).
North D. C. (1990) Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 82 p. Available at: https://epistemh.pbworks.com/f/8.%20Institutions__Institutional_Change_and_Economic_Performance.pdf (accessed February 10, 2026).
Williamson O. E. (1985) The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. New York: Free Press. 450 p. Available at: https://archive.org/details/economicinstitut0000will (accessed February 9, 2026).
Bryson J. M. (2017) Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. 5th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 544 p. Available at: https://surl.li/zsscpc (accessed February 2, 2026).
Ebrahim A. (2019) Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 320 p. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Measuring-Social-Change-Performance-Accountability/dp/1503601404 (accessed February 5, 2026).
Matveieva O., Khutkyy D., Kolesnykov O. (2025) “Who, if not us?” Explaining the success of the biggest crisis-response fundraising campaigns in Ukraine. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, vol. 12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.102037 (accessed February 11, 2026).
Melnyk V., Iermolenko O., Cordery C. (2025) Unfolding crowd-based accountability of a charity fund during the war. Financial Accountability & Management, vol. 41, issue 1. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12410 (accessed February 13, 2026).
Nesterenko H. I., Muzykin M. I., Bibik S. I., Strelko O. H., Aleksieieva A. O. (2024) Analysis of organizing the delivery of humanitarian aid in crisis situations. Systems and Technologies, vol. 68 (2), pp. 130–139. Available at: https://doi.org/10.32782/2521-6643-2024-2-68.15 (accessed February 15, 2026).
Sofiienko N. (2025) Fondy zibraly rekordni 105,8 mlrd hrn pozhertv na ZSU. Yak i kudy donatyly ukraintsi u 2025 rotsi [Funds collected a record UAH 105.8 billion in donations for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. How and where Ukrainians donated in 2025]. Forbes. Available at: https://surl.li/xicmye (accessed February 15, 2026). (in Ukrainian)
Humanitarian Cluster System – Coordination mechanism for humanitarian response. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_Cluster_System (accessed February 20, 2026).
Upravlinnia OON z koordynatsii humanitarnykh sprav (OCHA) [United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]. Available at: https://hmh.news/1270/upravlinnya-oon-z-koordinacziyi-gumanitarnih-sprav-ocha-ukraine (accessed February 20, 2026). (in Ukrainian)
Na 28% bilshe donativ zibraly 3 naibilshi fondy u 2024 rotsi [28% more donations were collected by the three largest foundations in 2024]. (2025). Opendatabot. Available at: https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/donates-in-war-2024 (accessed February 21, 2026). (in Ukrainian)
Ukraine Humanitarian Response and Funding Snapshot 2024. (2024). OCHA. Available at: https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ukraine (accessed February 20, 2026).
Ukraine: Humanitarian Response and Funding Snapshot and Year-End 2024 Analysis (January–December 2024). (2025). OCHA. Available at: https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-response-and-funding-snapshot-and-year-end-2024-analysis-january-december-2024-enuk (accessed February 21, 2026).
In 2023 Ukrainians donated three times more via monobank than in 2022. (2023). Ukrainska Pravda. Available at: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/12/30/7435215/ (accessed February 25, 2026).
28% more donations were collected by the three largest charitable foundations in 2024. (2025). Opendatabot. Available at: https://opendatabot.ua/en/analytics/donates-in-war-2024 (accessed February 25, 2026).
UNITED24 – The initiative of the President of Ukraine. Available at: https://u24.gov.ua/ (accessed February 21, 2026).
UNITED24. Impact Report. Available at: https://u24.gov.ua/reports (accessed February 22, 2026).
Copyright (c) 2026 Ярослав Лагута
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
