One of the most pressing issues in Ukraine is that political parties receive donations from big private donors to finance their campaign activities instead of conducting fundraising. This may significantly undermine campaign finance transparency and increase the dependency of political parties on wealthy donors. Therefore, it is crucial to encourage political parties to use online fundraising tools to finance their campaign activities and raise their awareness of general fundraising techniques to ensure a level playing field and enhance the transparency of political finance in Ukraine.

So in October, IFES and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), organized two information sessions on online fundraising for political parties in Ukraine.

The initiative was designed to strengthen political party representatives’ knowledge of elements of the fundraising legal framework – particularly through online payment systems while building financial support networks. Fundraising issues have become prominent for political parties in Ukraine in light of recent legal changes allowing the receipt of donations through online banking.

During the training sessions, participants covered the following:

• Key aspects of the legal framework governing donations to political parties, including an overview of the law on political parties;
• Fundraising characteristics and myths in Ukraine, international practices and general fundraising techniques; and,
• Online payment systems for raising campaign funds.

IFES and NDI trained up to 80 representatives from nine political parties. Participants provided positive feedback on the content as well as on the interactive teaching methodology.

The fundraising training sessions are part of IFES’ ongoing efforts to support political parties to better comply with political finance rules in Ukraine. IFES will continue its cooperation with NDI and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention to strengthen the knowledge and skills of political parties related to the political finance legal framework.