Since the early hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the team at The Fix, which has deep roots in the country, has mobilised all possible resources to support our colleagues in the Ukrainian media industry.

We have been working with a coalition of organisations, including Are We Europe, Jnomics Media and the Media Development Foundation, a number of volunteers, and with the support of a wide range of publishers. For everyone involved it has been a lot of 18 hour days and sleepless nights.

One of our first actions was to set up a GoFundMe to help Ukrainian media relocate, set-up back offices and continue their operations from EU countries.

We were amazed and humbled by the support shown.

To date we have received over €1m in donations via GoFundMe and gathered another €2.5m+ in support from foundations, corporations and individuals. This does not include the €2m+ donated to Kyiv Independent, with whom we are also closely collaborating.

To provide maximum transparency (security concerns permitting), you can find an outline of the support delivered so far. We are acting with care, but urgency: in war conditions some critical decisions need to be made in a matter of hours, sometimes minutes.

This is a lot of money and we are treating the contributions with the utmost respect. But it is now going out as fast as it is coming in. Our main goal is to help save lives, first and foremost, and then safeguard Ukraine’s independent and ethical media – an important part of Ukraine’s social fabric at this terrible time.

In recent weeks, it has become clear that we need to take our efforts to the next level, both to secure more support and to make sure the money gets to where it needs to be as effectively as possible.

We also believe now is the time to look toward the continued success of Ukrainian media, so they can continue to play their important role in 6 months, in 3 years and beyond. This will require work on long-term viability and ensuring the broader health of the ecosystem they operate in.

To that end, we have set up The Fix Media Foundation, an ANBI (public benefit) foundation in the Netherlands. Its mission is to support free press and media in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, and to build a more resilient and connected European media community.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be publishing more about our plans, structure and support. If you are interested in contributing to the foundation financially, or in some other way, please contact us at partners@thefix.foundation

We are extremely grateful for the support so far.

The Fix Media Foundation Advisory Board:
Jakub Parusinski,
Sevhil Musaieva-Borovyk
Sabine Sile
Mick ter Reehorst
Olga Rudenko
Adam Thomas

Visit The Fix Media Foundation website

The Fix Media Foundation: an open letter

thefixteam

We are building a more resilient and connected European media community

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