An Update from Grace Tea: Continuing Our Quiet Work

Dear Friends and Supporters,

First, we owe you an apology. It's been over a year and a half since our last update, and you deserve better communication from us. Your trust and generosity have meant everything to this mission, and we should have kept you better informed along the way.

Let us reassure you immediately: Grace Tea is still intact and functioning. Despite our silence, we have continued sending funds to our vetted partners on the ground in Ukraine without interruption. The work goes on.

The Numbers Tell Our Story

In 2024, we sent $22,000 to Ukraine. So far in 2025, we've sent $8,500. Every dollar continues to flow through our trusted network, reaching families in the hardest-hit areas with food, water, hygiene supplies, and emergency assistance.

Since the war began, your collective generosity has totaled $440,278.43 in donations. This extraordinary sum has translated directly into life-saving aid for countless families. We remain deeply grateful.

Why the Silence?

Our work has become quieter by necessity. Our partners operate in areas where showing faces or documenting aid distribution would put lives at risk. Many work in regions now controlled by Russian forces, where being identified as receiving Western humanitarian aid could have devastating consequences. We cannot, and will not, endanger those brave individuals who risk everything to help their neighbors.

What we do receive are handwritten financial statements from our partners, confirming how funds are used. We're including an example with this post to maintain our commitment to transparency while protecting identities.

Maintaining Our Commitments

While our public updates have been sparse, behind the scenes we've maintained rigorous standards:

All tax filings are current with the IRS, preserving our 501(c)(3) status
Every financial statement is meticulously updated, ensuring every dollar is accounted for
Our books remain open to any donor who wishes to verify our stewardship

This administrative diligence continues even as our public presence has quieted.

The Reality We Face

We need to be honest with you about two challenges:

First, donations have nearly stopped. We received $7,280.71 in all of 2024 and $10,847.65 so far in 2025 (through eight months). The world's attention has shifted, but the need remains acute.

Second, our team is exhausted. When we reactivated Grace Tea in 2022, we believed—like many—that this crisis would be brief. Years later, the reality has set in. Our all-volunteer team is maintaining operations with minimal capacity, keeping existing systems running but unable to expand our communication efforts as we once did.

Our Current Operations

We've adapted to this new reality. We're currently working with one partner in Ukraine - a small, trusted operation that's perfectly sized for the modest flow of donations we're receiving. This focused approach ensures that even a few hundred dollars per month (our current donation level) makes a meaningful difference without overwhelming our partner's capacity.

Our Unwavering Commitment

Despite these challenges, our core promise remains unchanged: 100% of your donations (minus bank processing fees) continue going directly to aid. All operational expenses (website, accounting, legal fees) are still covered by Grace Tea's founders and their friends. Not a penny of donor money supports administration.

Moving Forward

Our hope is simple: to continue receiving donations, even if just a few hundred dollars monthly, and faithfully sending these funds to our Ukrainian partner. This sustainable, quiet model may be smaller than our initial vision, but it remains effective and vital for the families we serve.

We continue our work quietly. The systems are in place. Our partner remains committed. Families still receive help. But we recognize we must do better at keeping you informed, even when the updates are simple: the work continues.

If you're able to give, whether once or monthly, your support will reach those who need it most through our established, vetted channels. If you've given before, thank you. Your generosity has saved lives.

The work is quiet now, but it is no less vital.

With gratitude and renewed commitment to transparency,

— Daniel Usenko, Director