Come Back Alive
Come Back Alive () is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization that emerged to help the Ukrainian military during the War in Donbas on the basis of crowdfunding, and continued to help the Ukrainian military during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is one of the biggest organizations working in this area, specializing in technical support, particularly in thermographic cameras and night vision devices. In addition, the organization implements training, medical, psychological as well as other projects. It has been a co-organizer of the Invictus Games in Ukraine since 2019. History. Come Back Alive was founded in  2014 by , an IT specialist from Kyiv. Similar to other volunteers helping Ukrainian forces, he began buying bulletproof vests to aid soldiers. Deynega wrote an inscription on each vest, which subsequently became the name of his Facebook group and charitable foundation. According to Deynega, his first batch arrived to the battlefront on 14 May 2014. Shortly after, he concluded that there was a greater need for thermographic cameras and night vision devices than bulletproof vests, therefore the organization has provided primarily night vision optics since. Initially it concentrated its efforts on the 80th and the 95th airmobile brigades, but later  began to work with a number of other units posted on the front lines. In the beginning the group consisted of only three members. By October 2015 their number grew to 16, and to 45 by June 2016. The members are not only from Kyiv, but also Lviv, Dnipro, and Vinnytsia. In the foundation's first month and a half it collected almost 1.5 million hryvnias (about 100,000 USD), in its first six months ‒ 12.6 million, in the first year ‒ 50 million, and after 1.5 years ‒ 70 million. By 11 February 2022 the organization had reported 200 million hryvnia (more  than US$7 million). This amount has accumulated from charitable donations, the average size of which is 500-700 hryvnias (20-30 USD). In 2018 the Foundation added media, a veterans' organization, and a think tank to the list of its activities. Its analytical reports are officially ordered by the Ministry of Defence and its associates. The Fund has been a co-organizer of the Invictus Games in Ukraine since 2019. In May 2020 Oksana Koliada, former Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs, became head of the foundation. Since November 2020 head of the foundation has been former naval  infantryman and civil volunteer Taras Chmut. In 2022, days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the foundation received more donations than the previous years combined. In the day of Russian invasion, February 24, 2022, Come Back Alive's Patreon page was removed due to a violation of Patreon's policy of not permitting funds to be used for funding "weapons or military activity." The same day, in the first few hours after invasion, the foundation raised around $400,000 in bitcoin. Activities. The organization has declared its guiding principles to be political neutrality, open reporting about incomes and expenses, and  distribution of aid to those with the greatest need. It primarily helps military units that are engaged in the most intensive warfare. According to the group's report from October 2015, it had sent aid to 66 units. The equipment donated becomes property of the unit, and military officials provide the organization with corresponding documents. Costly equipment is marked with the inscription "Come Back Alive" and "Not for sale" in Ukrainian and English. Since November 2014 the group has also marked every device with an ordinal number for more effective theft prevention and greater transparency. Between 2015 and 2016, the  organization monitored the presence of supplied goods in the military units it served. Fundraising. The foundation collects donations through various systems of non-cash payments and organizes additional fundraising events, such as: The organization receives donations not only from Ukraine, but also from other countries. In particular, several thermal imaging devices were bought with the help of the Ukrainian diaspora in San Francisco. The list of donations and purchases is published online. Maintenance of the organization itself is not financed from the main fund of donations, but from a targeted sponsor's help.