The Legal Development Network Expands Legal Services to Meet the Needs of Vulnerable Groups with Support from GlobalGiving

Publication date: June 17, 2025

Author: Yuliia Bilyk, Communications Manager at the Legal Development Network

In May 2025, the Legal Development Network, with support from GlobalGiving, launched the project “Development of Legal Services to Meet the Needs of Vulnerable Groups.” As part of this initiative, the Network will provide high-quality free legal aid to people, including internally displaced people, veterans, and their family members. The Legal Development Network (LDN) will support the programmatic activities of its member organizations across Ukraine, the development of legal services, and the improvement of approaches to delivering legal and social assistance.

The Network and GlobalGiving

GlobalGiving is a globally recognized international crowdfunding platform that connects civil society organizations with donors around the world. For the Legal Development Network, cooperation with GlobalGiving began back in 2022. At that time, GlobalGiving was one of the first to offer support not only for the Network’s activities but also for the survival of its member organizations following the full-scale invasion.

“At that time, members of the teams within our member organizations themselves became internally displaced people. They experienced firsthand the challenges of continuing their work amidst constant danger and having to adapt to the hromadas they had relocated to,” recalls Iryna Chaika, Director of Organizational Development at the Legal Development Network.

“GlobalGiving placed great trust in our union. In 2022, it supported the first humanitarian initiatives of our member organizations, as well as the organizations within the ‘Solidarity and Justice’ coalition, which the Network established in response to the humanitarian challenges of the war,” says Olha Nastina, Executive Director of the Legal Development Network.

According to Oksana Plakhotniuk, Strategic Partnerships and Grants Consultant and GlobalGiving’s representative in Ukraine, in 2022, in response to the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, GlobalGiving launched the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund to support Ukrainian organizations working directly with hromadas and assisting the most vulnerable Ukrainians.

“Since then, we have managed to mobilize around 70 million US dollars in aid for Ukraine and have supported more than 180 organizations through our grant programs,” notes Oksana Plakhotniuk.

In 2023–2024, the partnership between the Legal Development Network and GlobalGiving evolved into supporting regional initiatives led by member and partner organizations. These initiatives targeted specific local humanitarian and social challenges: assistance with employment and retraining of internally displaced people, support for shelters, and help with resettlement, housing, job search, and integration into new hromadas.

“We are deeply convinced that local organizations best understand the needs of their communities. That is why our strategy is not just about financial support — it is about transferring leadership to our Ukrainian partners. We trust their expertise, adaptability, and understanding of the real context and strive to help them strengthen their capacity,” emphasizes Oksana Plakhotniuk.

Challenges Faced by Member Organizations

During the full-scale war, member organizations of the Network not only saw an increase in workload but also faced new barriers and challenges. In particular, after the suspension of all USAID external assistance programs, many organizations faced the threat of completely shutting down active support for internally displaced people, veterans, and their families.

“The Network regularly convenes meetings of its member organizations to exchange information and better understand the realities our colleagues are working in. We hear firsthand stories — one organization is relocating to a smaller space, another is cutting staff, and yet another is considering closing its office because they cannot afford to pay utility bills,” says Iryna Chaika.

The suspension of USAID programs, one of the largest grant providers in Ukraine, reduced the number of funding opportunities for the Ukrainian civil society sector, increased competition, and thus lowered the chances of obtaining flexible funding. Nevertheless, Network organizations continue their work. At the same time, the Legal Development Network constantly works to strengthen the capacity of these organizations to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the legal advice online chat, where lawyers provide consultations every day.

“We have proven ourselves to be a strong union of local human rights organizations capable of responding to today’s challenges and addressing legal needs that may not seem easy to resolve at first glance. Nevertheless, the Network is focused on handling requests that require non-standard solutions and advocating for change at the national level,” says Dariia Kovalchuk, Director of Legal Services Development at the LDN. 

Support for Member Organizations

Given the new challenges facing its member organizations, in 2025 the Network once again turned to its partners at GlobalGiving and secured their support to create new opportunities for the Union’s members.

“Supporting human rights organizations in Ukraine is a vital part of our people-centered response approach. We regularly see that access to legal and social assistance remains one of the most critical needs — many people do not know their rights or do not know where to turn for help. The partnership with the Legal Development Network helps us respond more effectively to these challenges. Thanks to their grassroots work and deep understanding of the situation, we are able to support projects that truly change people’s lives. This is about real impact and support where it is genuinely needed,” emphasizes Oksana Plakhotniuk.

Project Focus Areas

As part of the “Development of Legal Services to Meet the Needs of Vulnerable Groups” project, GlobalGiving is providing financial support to 12 active member organizations of the Network. These organizations continue to address the needs of internally displaced people in their hromadas, engage with authorities to solve the problems of displaced persons, develop targeted local budget programs for those affected by the war, and support the operation of internally displaced people assistance centers in their communities.

“The joint efforts of the Legal Development Network and GlobalGiving in 2025 aim to sustain member organizations and support their activities during this difficult period. We expect our colleagues to continue strengthening their teams and developing legal and social services in their hromadas. For Ukrainian civil society organizations, GlobalGiving is an opportunity to attract support from around the world and amplify their presence on the global philanthropic map,” emphasizes Olha Nastina.

Legal Development Network lawyers will travel to hromadas and conduct legal awareness events for internally displaced people, veterans, their families, and other socially vulnerable groups. The Network will also produce and distribute legal education materials and success stories to enhance the legal empowerment of its beneficiaries. People who face difficulties accessing legal aid will be able to receive consultations via the Network’s online chat. This service is delivered by qualified lawyers from member organizations. Thanks to GlobalGiving’s support, the Network has had a unique opportunity to develop and expand an upgraded integrated system for online consultations, including a request management and analytics system for legal assistance.

In addition, the Network will support the operation of resource centers for internally displaced people in Dnipropetrovska and Sumska Oblasts, as well as “Murashnyk” (in Khmilnyk, Vinnytska Oblast) and “Vulyk Zmistiv” (in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivska Oblast).

The Legal Development Network continues to support its member organizations and consolidate the achievements of past years in order to fulfill its mission — providing high-quality free legal aid to everyone in need, regardless of what challenges lie ahead for civil society or society as a whole.

This material was produced by the Legal Development Network, Public Union with the support of the international charitable platform GlobalGiving. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the Legal Development Network.

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