Tennis community recognised for Humanitarian Support to Ukraine

GlobalGiving has received an Anthem Award for its special collaboration with the tennis community to raise crucial support for the people of Ukraine.

From the creators of the Webby Awards, the Anthem Awards honour the purpose and mission-driven work of people, companies, and organisations worldwide. GlobalGiving won a silver award in the “Humanitarian Action & Services — Partnership or Collaboration” category for their collaboration with the global tennis community, Tennis Plays for Peace.

The Tennis Plays for Peace collaboration was born in March 2022, by the seven governing bodies of tennis, the WTA, ATP, ITF and the four Grand Slams – the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, in response to their unified condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  It also included Ukrainian tennis players Elina Svitolina and Sergiy Stakhovsky, providing a powerful short video with a message of hope for their country.  The combined partnership with GlobalGiving leveraged the power of the tennis community to bring support to Ukrainians facing ongoing suffering.

Tennis fans and athletes from across the world came together to fundraise more than $3 million for GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Special exhibition matches with stars like Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina raised funds. Fans donated by scanning QR codes in the stadium. Tennis events hosted charity exhibition matches, donating proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorship money.

GlobalGiving continues to grant these funds to 150+ responding nonprofits addressing humanitarian needs in Ukraine and bordering areas.

“We are grateful for this recognition of the generosity of the global tennis community, and the power of sport," said Ann Austin, Vice President of WTA Community Development and Charitable Programs. "Collaboration with GlobalGiving over these last two years has enabled our global sport to support humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine in a meaningful way."