УКР Vadim Geshel, President of the Leleka Foundation, recently appeared on the I’m Just Asking! podcast hosted by the Yellow Blue Business Platform.
In this engaging conversation, he shared insights into how Leleka Foundation operates in the United States, the strategies it uses to inspire donor support, and the key steps involved in registering and managing a charitable organization on American soil.
This episode offers a valuable look into the behind-the-scenes work that powers international humanitarian aid and highlights how Ukrainian-led initiatives are building bridges of support across borders.
Here are the key points from the discussion:
The foundation has been active since 2014, following the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Eastern Ukraine. In those early days, Ukraine’s armed forces began adopting NATO standards for tactical medicine, which required essential items like tourniquets and bandages that were often difficult to obtain in Ukraine. Many people in the diaspora, particularly in the U.S., were eager to help but faced obstacles in sending money or parcels to Ukraine. This led to the decision to register a charity directly in the United States.
Currently, there are two closely collaborating organizations: the American-based Leleka Foundation and the Ukrainian charitable fund Leleka Ukraine. It is crucial to be officially registered and recognized by the IRS to fundraise in the U.S. In Ukraine, the foundation works directly with military medics, which requires having a local team on the ground.
While registering a charity in the U.S. is not strictly necessary, it significantly simplifies the fundraising process. A Ukrainian organization or even an individual can reach out to American audiences for donations, and it is generally legal for Americans to send money to personal accounts or Ukrainian charitable foundations. However, this typically works best with individual donors. In contrast, businesses and institutions usually prefer to donate to organizations that are officially registered in the U.S., as this is easier from a legal standpoint.
Registration for a nonprofit organization occurs at the federal level and happens in two stages. First, you register simply as a corporation or business. Then, you file to have that legal entity recognized as a nonprofit. There’s a concept known as “501(c) (3) status”. This refers to a paragraph in the tax code that outlines the requirements for certain types of organizations. Incorporation depends on the state, but it’s a quick process. Getting recognized as a nonprofit took us a few months, but it’s retroactive — meaning if you apply on March 1 and receive approval on June 1, your activities starting from March 1 are also recognized.
Like in 2014, we continue to focus exclusively on tactical medicine. This involves providing first aid for military medics working on the front lines — directly saving the wounded on the battlefield, stabilizing them, and evacuating them to field hospitals. This clear mission simplifies the fundraising process, as we can quickly explain what we do.
Our primary product is the combat medic backpack, which is a specialized backpack that military medics carry, filled with first aid supplies such as tourniquets, needles, occlusive dressings, and bandages. We also prioritize evacuation vehicles and electronic warfare (EW) systems that protect these vehicles from drones, given that Russians deliberately target them. A fully equipped combat medic backpack costs about $1,000, while electronic warfare systems range from $7,000 to $10,000.
We use several platforms to collect donations — PayPal, Venmo, and others. Over the past three months, the average donation has been around $90. However, we also receive large contributions from high-net-worth individuals, private foundations, and occasionally from major corporate donors. Some of the donations have reached hundreds of thousands of dollars. In a few cases, the same large donors have come back more than once, giving $200,000–$300,000 each time.
Listen to the podcast with Vadim Geshel at:
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