A Surrey man is opening an investment fund to help Ukraine and, in the process, Canada.
After several visits to volunteer in Ukraine and to take much-needed medical items over there, Will Rogers now hopes a new fund will help the war-torn country now and for decades to come.
Rogers, a Cloverdale paramedic, returned recently from volunteering with Frontline Medics, a California-based group, in various regions of Ukraine. He was helping in the medical support area, driving civilians and wounded soldiers from close to the front back to hospitals and train stations.
His last visit to Ukraine was in October, 2024, when he took 235 tourniquets and $20,000 he raised to support charities there. He’ll be back in Ukraine in March, taking another 200 tourniquets over.
“I wanted to start something like a heritage fund, but for a country,” Rogers said. “Put a glut of money in two different accounts, one to finance the administration (of the fund) and one to finance the needs of Ukraine.”
Calling it the “Canadian Ukraine Economic Defence Fund,” he said the idea for it has been in the back of his mind since the summer of 2024, but the wheels for it really began to roll in earnest last fall.
Rogers is hoping people across Canada will donate and he’ll use the profits from the invested money to finance whatever needs arise in Ukraine. He added the fund will help Canada too because all the equipment, ammunition, medical supplies–whatever is needed—will be Canadian made or produced.
“We’ll have a certain percentage every year get skimmed off and spent in Canada for Ukraine.”
He noted people can support the fund in two ways: the admin fund, for which he’s asking for a $100 contribution, and the operations fund, for which he’s asking for a $1,000 contribution.
“There’s 2 million millionaires in Canada,” Rogers said. “If I can get $4,000 from each one, which isn't a whole lot, that’s ($8 billion). The money will then sit in accounts and only earn equity through investments. The fund never gets depleted.”
His funds are in their nascent stages as both only have a few donations so far, but he’s hopeful with some awareness donations will grow.
Rogers said the fund will help Ukraine now, boost the Canadian economy now, and help Canadian projects in the future. But he admits, those days are “obviously a long way off.” When the war is over, he envisages earnings from the fund being used here at home to fund: education and infrastructure projects, First Nations education and clean water initiatives, investment in defence and new technologies, colleges and universities so they can offer tuition-free classes, and other projects.
Rogers has set up a website for the Canadian Ukraine Economic Defence Fund, printed cards and pamphlets, and has started to visit schools to raise awareness.
Next up for Rogers is his quest to get the word out and therefore generate donations to get the fund growing. He plans to visit more schools, care homes, business organizations, clubs, and to meet with municipal, provincial, and federal politicians.
In the short term, he wants to get $1 million into the admin fund, or 10,000 donations of $100, and he wants to get $10 million into the operations fund, also 10,000 donations ($1,000 each).
“That will get me going,” he said. “All that money will be invested. That money will never be spent. Every year, five per cent of the base—whatever it is—five per cent comes off and that’s available to be dispersed for funding whatever they need in Ukraine.”
For more info on Rogers, his visits to Ukraine, his new fund, or on how to donate, visit cuedf.ca.
