Digital Philanthropy
SMS-CHARITY
lifecell company actively facilitated changing of Ukrainian legislation in order to launch SMS-charity in Ukraine and make SMS-donations exempt from taxes.
lifecell is the member of Telecom Charity Working Group, founded in spring 2017 after the adoption of the draft laws, aiming to exempt SMS-donations from taxes, by Verkhovna Rada . Members of the working group are the representatives from charity sector and telecommunication industry. The key objective of the working group was to develop effective model of SMS-donations’ collection, controlling of donation transferring to the addressee, checking charity organization’s compliance with requirements of the current Ukrainian legislation.
In order to provide short numbers to all the charity organizations (there are hundreds of registered charity organizations in Ukraine) and ensure their service, technical and technological resources are needed. Operators have limited resources and can provide and maintain limited quantity of short numbers, being reserved for the charity.
The working group came to a conclusion that launch of a national telecom platform that would ensure equal access for all the charity organizations to SMS-charity tool, could become an efficient solution. The key challenge of such a platform establishment is the lack of resources. In addition, according the legislative mechanism of SMS charity functioning in Ukraine 100% of the raised funds must be transferred to the addressee; hence, it is impossible to get financing for the platform from SMS-donations.
That’s why the working group continues working out the solution for involving the investment and speeding up the lunch of the platform.
Mobile operators agreed on the temporary solution for collecting donations, which enabled the launch of SMS-charity in a pilot mode. The temporary solution will provide a possibility to use the obtained experience in order to expand the project. Ukraine is the only country in the world, where all the mobile operators defray the expenses for providing SMS-charity services in full scale.
Within this pilot project lifecell has already provided short numbers to several charity organizations, which had applied to the operator since the legislative changes came into force (20.03. 2018).
Starting form June 1, 2018, donations can be made via SMS sent to short numbers in lifecell network:
Charity organization |
Short number |
Donation amount |
Donation purpose |
Charity Organization International Charity Fund “Ukrainian Philanthropic Marketplace |
88007 |
5 |
Support for ill children and the adults of Ukraine |
88001 |
5 |
Fundraising for hospitals of Ukraine |
|
88002 |
10 |
GoGlobal educational project support |
|
International Charity Fund “Caritas Ukraine” |
88010 |
5 |
"Home Care" project support |
88011 |
5 |
Support for children and youth experiencing difficult circumstances |
|
88012 |
5 |
Support for people with disabilities |
|
Charity Fund “Tvoya Opora” |
88000 |
20 |
Support for ill children |
Charity Organization Charity Fund “Zaporuka” |
88077 |
10 |
Support for ill children |
International Charity Organization “Charity Fund “SOS Children’s Villages” Ukraine |
88070 |
10 |
Support for orphan children and children deprived of parental care |
Charity Fund "Tabletochki" |
88088 |
5 |
Support for ill children (fundraising for medicines and supplies for cancer departments of Ukrainian hospitals as well as direct support for ill children) |
88100 |
5 |
Support for ill children (fundraising for medical treatment and examination of children abroad) |
Interconnection agreement on telecommunication services providing