Self-Management in Action: How a Dutch Team Is Leading Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine

The origin? A single message from a friend offering to drive refugees and supplies. From there, it took off. In the chaos of the early war months, Bas Spijker and his team moved quickly. Housing over 200 Ukrainian refugees and delivering over €2 million in aid. No red tape. No waiting around. Just action.

Scaling compassion without losing your soul

DCA didn’t just grow. It evolved. The team realized that delivering crates of food wasn’t enough. Long-term relief mattered more. That meant homes for displaced families. Real infrastructure. Deep partnerships with local leaders—especially in frontline regions where big NGOs couldn’t (or wouldn’t) go. Why? Bureaucracy. Compliance. Slow processes. All the usual excuses.

But DCA moved differently. And locals noticed.

And that’s the game-changer. This isn’t charity parachuted in from a distance. This is shoulder-to-shoulder work with people on the ground. People who know what’s needed, when, and where. No savior complex. Just radical collaboration.

This trust-based model has allowed DCA to step into regions others avoid, with speed and purpose that bureaucratic giants can’t match. In these high-risk zones, the difference between fast and slow is the difference between help and abandonment.

From informal chaos to self-managed structure

Early on, DCA ran on pure energy. Small team. Big commitment. Zero hierarchy. Tasks were picked up based on who had the skills—and the guts—to get them done. Ukrainian volunteer Kateryna might write a social post. Her friend’s boyfriend would design it. Strategy came from the kitchen table. It worked, because everyone gave a damn.

But scale forces change. The bigger the team, the more scattered things got. So they shifted. Bas, who previously worked at Springest (one of the Netherlands’ top Holacracy pioneers), brought in structure, but not bureaucracy.

They adopted tools like Slack (for communication), Asana (for task management), and Peerdom (to map roles and responsibilities). It wasn’t seamless. Swapping spontaneity for systems stung. But it was necessary.

Balancing self-management and operational efficiency

Structure doesn’t have to kill spirit, but it will if you let it. DCA faced the same challenge many fast-growing, purpose-driven groups face: how to stay efficient without becoming just another cold, corporate machine.

When the core team started receiving small stipends, things got real. Expectations changed. So did responsibilities. Not everyone was ready. To protect their DNA, DCA created a hybrid model: Holacracy-lite for the core team (clear roles, structured meetings, shared decision-making), and a project-based setup for the wider group of volunteers. Enough structure to run. Enough freedom to move.

That freedom isn’t just a value. It’s a strategic edge. By not locking every process into stone, DCA has stayed nimble. Decisions are made fast. Frontline realities are met head-on. And above all, people stay motivated because they feel trusted, not managed.

What they’re learning (and why it matters)

This isn’t a polished playbook. It’s a work-in-progress. The team is still experimenting: new tools, new setups, new rhythms. What matters is they’re staying honest. They’re not clinging to what worked yesterday if it’s slowing them down today.

And they’re not just talking values. They’re living them. Trust. Freedom. Respect. Every decision runs through that filter.

It shows. When 100 underprivileged kids in Donetsk had to evacuate because the frontline got too close, DCA was ready. Just weeks later, the village fell under Russian occupation. The big orgs? Still drafting memos. DCA? Already adapting. That’s what agility looks like.

This ability to move fast isn’t accidental. It’s built into the design. The self-management setup isn’t just an organizational experiment: it’s a survival mechanism. And in a war zone, that edge is everything.

Why purpose-driven volunteers keep showing up

This isn’t just about systems. It’s about people who care so much they keep showing up. Even when it’s hard, risky, and uncertain. Volunteers return to Ukraine every six weeks, not knowing what they’ll find. Katya brings the war with her, because it’s her story too.

These aren’t career humanitarians in branded vests. These are everyday people with extraordinary drive. And that’s what makes DCA different. The structure keeps things moving. But the soul? That’s in the people.

Their emotional commitment is the engine behind the impact. And when that kind of energy meets a system that supports rather than controls, it becomes unstoppable.

What every nonprofit should steal from this

Want to scale impact without selling out? Learn from DCA. Structure is your friend. But only if it serves the mission, not the other way around. Build systems that work for your team. Let values lead. And when the rules slow you down? Break them.

So if you're in the business of doing good, here’s the question: Are your processes serving your purpose or strangling it?

The best organizations don’t wait for permission. They get to work.