Rick Cohen notes that aid to civil organizations in Ukraine might be highest priority, but admits there "is no easy algorithm" for figuring out how best to do so.

"Economic development, humanitarian assistance, energy subsidies, and more will all probably be appreciated by the Ukrainian people. What may be most at risk in the wake of the violence unleashed by the Yanukovych government against the protesters in the Maidan, the invasion of tens of thousands of Russian troops in Crimea, and the difficulties that will emerge if military action increases is the future of Ukrainian civil society. Governments and philanthropists are facing a fluid, unpredictable situation in Ukraine, making it hard to pinpoint what they should do." -- Rick Cohen, the Nonprofit Quarterly