Joint support for a successful start: a paralegal and a lawyer help a newly formed NGO 

Publication date: February 12, 2024

With the legal and informational support of a paralegal and a lawyer from a member organization of the Legal Development Network, activists in Storozhynets, Chernivtsi oblast, not only established and registered a nongovernmental organization but also learned how to work with local authorities, resolve organizational issues, and draft legal documents.  

Members of the Storozhynets initiative group asked Nataliia Horvasiuk, a paralegal with the Ukrainian Paralegal Association, to help them establish an NGO.

– The activists include people with disabilities, internally displaced persons, and family members of military personnel. They wanted to legally formalize their activities to provide social, legal, judicial and cultural support to vulnerable groups, says Nataliia Horvasiuk. 

The activists noted that they already have experience in public work. Since 2017, they have been helping their compatriots by implementing various initiatives based on different local (and not only) organizations.

They first approached the head of the community with their proposal to establish an NGO, which supported the idea and promised support if all legal issues were formalized. Therefore, when contacting the paralegal, people were primarily interested in the algorithm of actions for establishing an NGO and gaining experience in cooperation with local governments.

At the request of Nataliia Horvasiuk, the head of the Vinnytsia-based NGO Podil Center for Human Rights, lawyer Mykhailo Bardyn joined the cooperation*. He provided legal support to the initiative group. First, he advised on the registration procedure for public associations and helped prepare documents to be submitted to the state registrar of NGOs.

– After submitting the package of documents, the activists successfully registered their NGO. Mykhailo Bardyn then recommended that they sign a memorandum of cooperation with the local community, draft an NGO development program and submit it to the local government for possible further support, the paralegal says. 

The extensive support for the activists did not end there. The paralegal continues to provide information support to the newly formed organization.

– We are lobbying to include an NGO representative in the local IDP Coordination Council. In addition, together with Mykhailo Bardyn, we are studying the legislation on the lease of municipal property and developing the relevant charter of the future organization that will help people in this matter, adds Nataliia Horvasiuk.   

* The material was created within the Regional Coordinators’ Initiative framework. The Initiative is released with the support of the international charitable platform GlobalGiving and Legal Empowerment Fund (a program of the Fund for Global Human Rights) and the Legal Development Network. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Legal Development Network and do not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

If you have notices an error on the web-site, please, highlight the text and press ctrl-enter.