This money is not ours – and that’s why we treat it with such respect

The funds we receive are not ours. They are temporarily entrusted to us by people who believe we can create more impact than they could on their own. That’s why our mission is not to use them – but to multiply them.
When someone donates to 1 for Ukraine, something greater than a transaction takes place. It’s not a classic act of giving. It’s a transfer of trust. A quiet belief that you can do more than I can. That you know how to save more lives with the same amount. That you can turn empathy into impact.
And that’s why we must see every single euro as a loan. Not financially – but morally.
A loan that is repaid not in money, but in results. In lives saved. In surgeries performed where there used to be silence. In health systems that don’t collapse – but rise again.
This demands more than accountability. It demands character.
Stewardship is a stronger word than responsibility. It means asking ourselves every day:
Are we creating more value with these funds than anyone else could?

Our answer must be yes.

Not as a feeling – but as a calculation. A delivery. A report.

A proof of work.

When we buy a BOWA Lotus 4 surgical unit for a hospital in Kharkiv, we do it because we know it will save thousands of lives over the next decade.
When we deliver equipment through a system that tracks every step from order to the receiving hospital, we do it so that every donor can say:

“I gave my hope – and it was used with precision.”

This is our culture.

Not an organization asking for money – but a movement carrying trust.
Not a fund doing good – but a system maximizing impact per euro.
Not charity – but strategic humanitarianism.

So when someone asks: “Why are you asking for so much?”

The answer is:

“Because we don’t see it as a gift – we see it as a mandate.”

A mandate to act where others can’t.
A mandate to build lasting systems instead of short-term aid.
A mandate to be both surgeons and architects – saving lives in the now, and building for the long haul.

The most sophisticated donors I know don’t think in money – they think in impact per euro.

They don’t ask how much to give.

They ask how much good their resources can create.

And they look for organizations focused on one thing: leverage.

That’s where we come in.

We don’t exist because we’re kind.
We exist because we’re effective.
Because we’ve shown that €50,000 can save 600 lives in one year.
And because we can scale that to 600,000 – if we’re given the mandate.
That’s why we build an organization that doesn’t just deliver – but proves.

Where every purchase is documented.
Where every shipment is traceable.
Where every patient becomes part of a shared story of what’s possible – when resources are placed in the right hands.

We don’t want donations.
We want partners.

People, companies, and foundations who see what we see: that every euro has the potential to multiply – if managed with precision.

And that we owe our donors not just gratitude, but return on impact.
That’s why we are meticulous.
That’s why we sometimes say no to money we can’t stand behind.
And that’s why we keep going, even when it’s hard.
Because this isn’t about us.

It’s about the trust we carry – every single day.
So the next time someone asks:

“How much do you need?”

we answer: “Just enough to do more good than anyone else could with the same amount. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

That is our standard.
That is our ethic.

And if you feel that you don’t just want to give – but steward with us – you are welcome.
Because the money we receive is not ours.

It’s a responsibility.

A commitment.
A mission.

And we will treat it as if every euro is someone’s last chance.

Because sometimes – it is