The need for help and assistance in Ukraine is immense and constantly growing. In Finland, there is a strong sense of solidarity with Ukraine, and this manifests in a pronounced need to provide help to the Ukrainians who suffer and are in distress. There are many ways of providing help, and one way is to donate money to humanitarian relief work.
– In case of crises, the legal money collections entail, without exception, also dishonest operations. It is extremely deplorable that in situations where the majority of people genuinely want to help, there are also – almost always – actors who only seek personal financial gain, Team Lead Pauliina Päivinen of the Gambling Administration at the National Police Board comments on the phenomenon.
When you donate money, you can ensure the channelling and correct delivery of your financial assistance by primarily giving money to the parties and organisations who have a money collection permit. The quickest way to give financial assistance is to donate money to actors with an existing money collection permit. A legal collection is recognisable by the fact that the collecting actor gives the number of the money collection or a small-scale money collection when posting a request for donations. Moreover, the parties with a valid money collection permit are listed in the Police webpage www.poliisi.fi/rahankeraykset. The listing is updated on a monthly basis.
Currently and exceptionally, the National Police Board prioritises the money collection permits with the purpose of using the collected assets to help those suffering from the Ukrainian conflict situation. To ensure reliability of the money collections and to guarantee correct delivery of the assistance, the background data of the permit applicants continue to be verified. In examining the applications, the Police also assesses whether the collections are feasible, i.e., whether those with the permit are, in practice, able to deliver the assistance to its destination.
– Finland wants to help Ukraine and the Ukrainians. For our part, we want to ensure that the parties who are able to bring help to Ukraine can do so as quickly as possible. At the same time, we uphold the trustworthiness of the collecting actors in the eyes of the donators by checking the background of those applying for the permit. Momentarily, the prioritisation can delay the examining times of money collection permits of other applicants. We wish for comprehension in the current circumstances, Pauliina Päivinen adds.
