Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre

What Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre does

The Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre (UCRDC) is a Canadian non-profit organization established in 1988 and headquartered at 620 Spadina Ave., Toronto, within the St. Volodymyr Institute. Its mission is to collect, catalogue, and preserve documentary material — including oral histories, photographs, films, letters, and personal archives — documenting the history, culture, and contributions of Ukrainians worldwide, with particular focus on the Ukrainian-Canadian community and key historical events such as the 1932-1933 Holodomor, World War II, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The organization produces documentary films (notably 'Harvest of Despair', 'Between Hitler and Stalin', and 'A Canadian War Story'), runs oral history projects (such as 'Children of Holodomor Survivors Speak' and 'Ukrainians Assisting Jews During the Holocaust'), and operates specialized websites including the Holodomor Monuments documentation portal and the 'Canada Reacts' wartime archive.

The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and advised by academic specialists in Ukrainian and Eastern European history. It is embedded in the Ukrainian Canadian institutional ecosystem as a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and its Toronto Branch. UCRDC has no commercial technology platform or software product; its 'core technology' is archival — audio/video digitization, cataloguing, and documentary film production. Distribution occurs through direct email orders for films and publications, on-site archive access for researchers, and YouTube for documentary viewership.

UCRDC is entirely donation-funded, with no commercial pricing model. It depends on voluntary contributions from approximately 18 publicly listed major supporters — primarily Ukrainian-Canadian family foundations (Temerty Family Foundation, Ihnatowycz Family Foundation, Huculak Foundation, Kalimin Foundation), institutional funders (Shevchenko Foundation, Canada Ukraine Foundation, Holodomor Research & Education Consortium at University of Alberta), and individual donors. The organization issues tax receipts and operates with a lean staff structure anchored by an Office Administrator.

Name

Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre

Legal name

Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre

Website

https://ucrdc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre is a Toronto-based non-profit, established in 1988, that archives Ukrainian and Ukrainian-Canadian history through oral histories, documentary films, and historical collections, serving researchers, the Ukrainian-Canadian community, and educational institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heritage Archives and Documentary Production

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

Keywords

• Archival preservation services
• Documentary film production
• Oral history collection
• Historical research materials
• Ukrainian heritage education

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Voluntary Donations: The UCRDC depends on voluntary donations from both individual and institutional donors for its financing. The organization provides receipts for tax purposes to donors.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UCRDC is a non-profit research and documentation organization that collects, catalogues, and preserves material documenting the history, culture, and contributions of Ukrainians and Ukrainian Canadians. It operates a research archive containing oral histories (audio and video), photographs, memoirs, documents, and books, and produces documentary films on topics such as the 1932-33 Holodomor famine-genocide and Ukrainian-Canadian military service. The organization also sponsors lectures, conferences, exhibits, and educational programs.

Product overview

The Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre operates as a non-profit research and documentation organization rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings include documentary film production (Harvest of Despair, Between Hitler and Stalin, A Canadian War Story), a research archive of oral histories and historical documents, oral history projects on topics like the Holodomor and Holocaust, web-based projects including the Holodomor Monuments website, and educational materials. The organization functions as a community resource centre collecting, cataloguing, and preserving material documenting Ukrainian history and culture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Harvest of Despair One-hour documentary film about the 1932-33 Famine-Genocide in Ukraine. Available in 4 languages with annotated scripts. Sold to educators, researchers, and community members.
• Between Hitler and Stalin: Ukraine in World War II One-hour documentary recounting events in Ukraine on the brink and during the course of World War II. Available with Russian subtitles and a companion book.
• A Canadian War Story Documentary telling the story of Ukrainian immigrants who served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Directed by John Paskievich with digital premiere on November 6, 2020.
• UCRDC Archive Research archive established in 1988 that acquires, preserves, and makes available documentary sources relevant to the Ukrainian Canadian Community. Materials include video and audio interviews, films, photographs, documents, and books. Access provided to legitimate researchers, academics, and students.
• Children of Holodomor Survivors Speak Oral history project consisting of interviews with children of survivors of the Ukrainian Holodomor (genocidal famine). First project to address impact on second generation survivors in diaspora.
• Holodomor Monuments Website Website created by UCRDC documenting Holodomor monuments around the world, based on information collected by Vitaliy Ohienko from the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory in Kyiv.
• Canada Reacts Documentation project recording the response of Ukrainian Canadians to the 2022-2023 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Collects photos, videos, articles, and materials for archival preservation.
• Ukrainians Assisting Jews During the Holocaust Collection of oral history interviews with Ukrainians who took great personal risks by assisting Jews during the Holocaust, exploring shared history and heroism during WWII.
• Maniak's Holodomor Collection Collection of 6,000 letters collected by journalists Volodymyr Maniak and Lidiia Kovalenko through their 1988 Kyiv campaign to gather witness accounts of the 1932-1933 Famine. 133 copies of the original documents are housed in the UCRDC Archives.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ukrainian Canadian CongresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCRDC is a member organization of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and its Toronto Branch, working collaboratively on community initiatives.
• St. Volodymyr InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCRDC is located at the St. Volodymyr Institute in Toronto, hosting the organization's offices and archive.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies: Dnipro-based Ukrainian institute and museum dedicated to Holocaust and Jewish history in Ukraine, conducting oral history collection and educational programming. UCRDC has hosted Tkuma lectures in Toronto, indicating peer-level collaboration on Ukrainian historical documentation.
• Ukrainian Museum and Library of New York: New York-based Ukrainian cultural institution with library, archives, art collection, and exhibitions serving the Ukrainian-American diaspora. Directly comparable in offering Ukrainian diaspora archival and educational services, though based in the U.S.
• St. Volodymyr Institute: Toronto-based Ukrainian studies institute at the University of Toronto where UCRDC is physically housed at 620 Spadina Ave. Operates an overlapping scholarly mission in Ukrainian studies, education, and publications as UCRDC's institutional host partner.
• Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre (Oseredok): Winnipeg-based Ukrainian cultural and educational centre operating archives, library, art gallery, and educational programming. Most directly comparable to UCRDC as a Ukrainian-Canadian heritage organization with an overlapping archival and educational mission.
• National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide: Kyiv-based national museum dedicated to documenting and commemorating the 1932-33 Holodomor. Directly comparable thematic focus and educational mission with state-backed resources and significantly larger scale.

Others

• YIVO Institute for Jewish Research: New York-based institute preserving Jewish heritage through archives, library, and research programs. Operates a comparable ethnic-heritage archival model with substantially larger scale and broader funding base, making it a useful structural comparator rather than a direct competitor.
• Ukrainian Canadian Congress: National umbrella organization coordinating Ukrainian-Canadian community organizations. UCRDC is a member organization of UCC and its Toronto Branch, but UCC focuses on advocacy and community coordination rather than archival and educational programming.
• Shevchenko Foundation: Canadian foundation supporting Ukrainian cultural and educational initiatives across Canada. Functions more as a grantmaking entity than a direct archive operator, but pursues overlapping cultural-preservation mission and is a UCRDC major donor.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS): University of Alberta-based institute conducting Ukrainian studies research, publishing academic work, and supporting the Holodomor Research & Education Consortium. A major UCRDC donor and partner, but operates at university scale with broader academic mandate and significantly larger resources.
• Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute: Harvard University-affiliated institute supporting Ukrainian studies research, publications, and conferences. A larger, well-funded academic institution with similar archival and scholarly mission at a global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutu.be/W1QhNc-R_do

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre