Mobilizing quickly

We set a goal of 640,000 CZK (25,000 EUR) and communicated that we would provide a 5x match for all funds donated up to that amount and a 1x match for all funds donated above that amount. In the end, the community raised over 1,500,000 CZK in disaster relief, and the Foundation donated a total of 4,124,385 (167,000 EUR) two weeks after the fundraiser was initiated. Nadace VIA, the beneficiary organization, in total collected over 500M CZK from individual and institutional donors. Working in partnership with local municipalities and other local aid organizations, they distributed the funds to affected individuals and families, first as cash aid to meet immediate needs, and then as additional grants to support rebuilding and intermediate-term support.

While we had considered from the beginning that the Foundation should be able to respond to disasters quickly and nimbly,this capacity was tested much earlier than we expected.Fortunately,we were able to rely on existing links and local knowledge to work immediately with a local,trusted and capable organization.

That capacity was tested again early this year on an even more devastating scale. In February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, our links to and understanding of the local capacities of aid organizations served us well. We made an immediate donation of $200,000 USD (190,000 EUR) to People in Need, a Czech humanitarian aid organization already working in the region, including Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, and Czech Republic. The Foundation worked closely with Avast to coordinate employee volunteer efforts and to stand up another matching fundraiser within the first days following the attack. We continue to monitor the situation and check in with organizations working to provide humanitarian and other aid to Ukrainian civil society and those who have fled and continue to flee.