Ukrainian American Youth Association Inc.

What Ukrainian American Youth Association Inc. does

Ukrainian American Youth Association Inc. (UAYA), doing business as CYM (Спілка Української Молоді — Union of Ukrainian Youth), is the United States-registered national branch of a 100-year-old non-profit Ukrainian youth organization founded in 1925 and revived in the diaspora in 1946 in Munich, Germany. CYM operates as a global federation of 12 national branches (Ukraine, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Argentina) serving several thousand members, primarily Ukrainian-heritage youth aged approximately 8-25. Its programs include weekly branch meetings (oseredky), a structured 9-degree youth advancement system across five specialized druzhyny (Vikhovnyky, Suspilstvo, Kulturnyky, Ratnyky, Mizhnarodnyky), seasonal summer and winter camps at 17 owned properties worldwide, scouting-style activities, cultural education, and ongoing charitable initiatives supporting Ukraine during wartime.

The organization's revenue model is non-commercial and entirely donation- and membership-driven: membership dues and voluntary contributions, charitable fundraising (including the 'Warming Their Hearts' gift program at $30 USD per package, over 13,931 delivered since 2014 totaling $380,000+ USD), the '100 Drones for Victory' centenary campaign (149 drones purchased for $75,000 USD equivalent), and camp registration fees at its 17 owned properties. CYM also publishes two periodicals (Krylati magazine, 58 years; Avangard journal, 199 issues), operates a CYM Wiki, and distributes proprietary brand assets (43 Ukrainian-themed fonts, registered crest). It has no software products, APIs, or commercial technology offerings; digital infrastructure consists of country-specific websites under cym.org, @cym.org email, Facebook/X/YouTube channels, and the CYMnet internal portal.

CYM is governed by a three-tier structure: a World Executive (Svitova Uprava), National Executives (Krayova Uprava) in each country, and local branches (oseredky) at the community level. Notable alumni outcomes include 4 bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and 2 ministers of the Ukrainian government. The organization operates in 19 countries historically and 12 countries currently, with the most recent addition being a new National Executive in Portugal.

Name

Ukrainian American Youth Association Inc.

Legal name

Ukrainian American Youth Association (UAYA)

Website

https://cym.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The U.S. branch of CYM (Union of Ukrainian Youth), a global non-profit federation operating in 12 countries, delivering cultural, educational, and charitable programs — including camps at 17 owned properties — to several thousand Ukrainian-heritage youth worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development and Cultural Education Services

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (813990)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership, Debate & Model UN Camps (EDAMALAK)

Keywords

• Youth development programs
• Cultural education services
• Community youth organization
• Charitable youth programs
• Summer camp programs

Headquarters

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership dues and voluntary contributions: CYM operates primarily through membership contributions and voluntary donations from members and supporters worldwide. No commercial product revenue is described.
2. Charitable donations and fundraising: CYM conducts charitable fundraising campaigns including 'Теплом Зігріємо Серця' (Warm Their Hearts) with a cost per gift of $30 USD, 'День СУМівського донату' annual donation day, and various project-specific fundraisers such as drone purchases for Ukraine's military. Revenue is used to support charitable programs and Ukraine-related humanitarian aid.
3. Camp fees and program registrations: CYM operates summer and winter youth camps at its properties (Веселка, Верховина, Карпати, Тарасівка, etc.) and charges registration fees for camp attendance. Camps include educational, cultural, and recreational programming for youth.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CYM (Спілка Української Молоді / Union of Ukrainian Youth) is a global non-profit Ukrainian youth organization that delivers structured cultural, educational, and leadership development programs through weekly local branch meetings, summer/winter camps at its owned properties, and humanitarian charitable initiatives. Programs operate in the Ukrainian language and focus on preserving Ukrainian national identity, language, and Christian values among diaspora youth across 12 countries.

Product overview

The Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM) operates primarily as a youth organization with digital presence through its website (cym.org) rather than a traditional software product. The organization offers youth development programs including summer/winter camps, educational initiatives, and publications (Крилаті and Аванґард journals). Supporting digital services include member email (СУМ Пошта), internal wiki (СУМ Вікі), and charitable projects like Теплом Зігріємо Серця. The organization has no commercial software products or SaaS offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Теплом Зігріємо Серця (Warming Their Hearts): Charitable program to collect gifts or funds for children of Ukrainian soldiers
• Благодійний табір (Charitable Camp)
• Крилаті (Krylati)
• Авангард (Avangard)

Products and services

• Youth Camps (Табори) Summer and winter youth camps at CYM's 17 owned camp properties (Karpaty in USA, Veselka and Verkhovyna in Canada, Tarasivka in UK, Beskyd in Wisconsin, and others) providing educational, recreational, and leadership development programs for Ukrainian-heritage youth in the diaspora.
• Теплом Зігріємо Серця (Warming Their Hearts) Charitable gift package program for children of Ukrainian military personnel, sold at $30 USD per package via PayPal and local CYM branches. Over 13,931 packages delivered since 2014, raising over $380,000 USD. Won the 2018 National Competition 'Благодійна Україна' Youth and Children's Charity award.
• Благодійний табір (Charitable Camp) — UA:Вільні (Free UA) Charitable camp program for children of fallen Heroes and missing soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, run for 10 consecutive years. The winter 2025-2026 camp hosted 68 children of fallen Ukrainian Heroes in Stara Huta, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
• Крилаті (Krylati) Magazine Adventure journal published by CYM with 58 years of continuous publication, including special editions and archives available digitally at cym.org/krylati.
• Аванґард (Avangard) Journal Official journal publication of the Ukrainian Youth Association with 199 issues produced, with archives available online at cym.org/avangard.
• Weekly Branch Meetings and Educational Programs Weekly local branch (oseredok) meetings providing scouting-style youth programming including sports, singing, arts, excursions, cultural education, and rank progression through the 9-degree system (Otrok, Vistovyy, Zvidun, Voyin, Druzhynnyk) across five specialized 'druzhyny' (Vikhovnyky, Suspilstvo, Kulturnyky, Ratnyky, Mizhnarodnyky).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 13,931 gift packages delivered to children of Ukrainian military personnel worth over $380,000 USD since 2014
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ukrainian Youth (SUM) founded as youth wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN)foundationalOthersCYM was founded in the early 1920s as the youth wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). The organization's founders — Mykola Pavlushkov, Borys Matushevsky, and others — were part of the OUN's youth wing. This historical connection shaped CYM's nationalistic, Christian, and pro-independence ethos. The organization was established as a secret underground organization with cells of 5 members each, designed to survive Soviet repression. In 1930, 45 leading members of CYM and SVU (Ukrainian Liberation Organization) were arrested in Kharkiv for anti-Soviet activity.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• 4-H: US youth development organization with comparable leadership, citizenship, and life-skills programming. Shares CYM's mission of structured youth character development but operates in a non-cultural, civic-agricultural context.
• Girl Scouts of the USA: Large mainstream youth organization with comparable badge/progression systems, summer camp infrastructure, and member-driven community model. Differs from CYM in being far larger, secular, and non-heritage-specific.
• Scouts BSA: Mainstream American scouting organization with broadly comparable rank/progression system, weekly meetings, and summer camps. Operates at vastly larger scale and serves a general audience rather than a heritage-specific community.

Direct peers

• PLAST Ukrainian Scouting Organization: The other major Ukrainian scouting-style youth organization in the diaspora. Directly comparable to CYM in target audience (Ukrainian heritage youth), programming model (scouting-style ranks, summer camps), and ideological alignment with Ukrainian national identity.

Others

• Caritas Ukraine: Major Ukrainian humanitarian/charitable organization with overlapping donor base and wartime aid mission. Comparable to CYM's charitable arm (gift packages, drone purchases) but not a youth-development or scouting-style peer.
• Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh): Ukrainian scholarly and cultural society with comparable diaspora-preservation mission but focused on academic and intellectual programming rather than youth scouting-style activities.
• Ukrainian Museum and Library of New York: Adjacent Ukrainian cultural-heritage institution in the same New York ecosystem. Shares CYM's mission of Ukrainian cultural preservation but focuses on archival and museum programming rather than youth development.
• Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA): Representative body of the Ukrainian American community that shares CYM's Ukrainian-identity-preservation mission but focuses on advocacy and policy rather than youth programming and camping.

Emerging players

• YMKY Ukrainian Catholic Youth: Ukrainian Catholic-affiliated youth organization offering similar cultural, spiritual, and identity-preservation programming. Comparable to CYM in mission but tied more directly to Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church structures rather than independent nationalistic heritage.
• Ukrainian Dancers of New York: Ukrainian cultural organization preserving heritage through folk dance. Overlaps with CYM's cultural-identity mission and serves a similar diaspora youth audience but specializes in performing arts rather than scouting-style programming.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cymglobal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXfcGnWSa3zu_Nix34TzeVQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/global.cym
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ukrainian-american-youth-association-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ukrainian American Youth Association Inc.