Mission
Sunflower provides direct and targeted aid within Ukraine. This is made possible by the quality and the trust we have established with our contacts in Ukraine and abroad. Our network is strong enough that we felt compelled to put the word “network” in our name. This decentralized, informal “network” enables us to understand what and where the urgent needs are in real-time, and meet them.
We don’t want to solve yesterday’s problems; we’re targeting today and tomorrow. With your help and the help of everyone who refuses to remain indifferent, we can make sure that the people of Ukraine survive to see another day.
Our story
We formed Sunflower Network, a pending 501(c)(3) nonprofit, as a direct response to Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. While we spent the first days and weeks of the war on humanitarian work through individual effort, we soon realized that a formally constituted organization would help us scale our efforts, reach a wider variety of donors, and provide direct aid to our growing number of Ukrainian partners.
It’s that simple.
Sunflower Network helps save lives by (i) tightly collaborating with local Ukrainian partners, across the whole country, to understand the most critical needs, (ii) turning to our donors and others to source supplies from around the world, and (iii) delivering these supplies to Ukraine.
Sunflower Network does not employ anyone, has no overhead, and all proceeds go directly to support our mission. Our primary focus is addressing hyper-local needs, the types of needs that larger organizations may overlook or may come with bureaucratic burdens our partners in Ukraine can’t easily overcome.
But because we have and continue to build out a network of trusted partners, one of our key objectives is proper governance and vetting of each requesting group, each major donor, and each mode of delivery. Doing so ensures we avoid any potentially improper outcomes and helps minimize delays as well as losses.
What we have done already
Since the beginning of the Russian war against the people of Ukraine, Sunflower Network and its affiliates have undertaken eight in-person trips to Ukraine and have separately shipped several tons of supplies from around the world.
Sometimes it’s mundane the things we take for granted: deodorant, protein bars, and feminine hygiene products; small things that, under dire circumstances, acknowledge basic human dignity. It’s the tactical gloves for fighters who six months ago had office jobs; who never held a gun, and never wanted to. Or tourniquets that literally decide who lives and who dies.
But it’s also things like night vision, drones, and medical supplies (chest seals, hemostatic/Israeli bandages, IFAK first aid kits, etc.).
And with our partners from Ireland, we have most recently ensured the delivery of a fully equipped ambulance to a military unit in Ukraine and are now working on delivering an additional dozen 4x4 vehicles for the needs of our defenders.
We have seen firsthand the impact our donors' generous support has made and are forever grateful for their commitment. But we know our work is not done; in fact, it’s just beginning. When the world’s attention starts shifting is when we go into over-drive.