We’re here to help: Frequently asked questions from our community survey (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent members,

Thank you for taking the time to fill out our recent community satisfaction survey. We received more than 1,000 responses — that's just over 6% of the community at the time — and we’re incredibly grateful for your feedback. Your thoughts help us make our membership program stronger, more transparent, and more useful for you.

We’ll be sharing more insights from the survey soon, but today we wanted to answer a few recurring questions and comments that came up. If you ever have more questions, ideas, or feedback — we’re all ears. Thank you to everyone who took the time to write in.

Question: “I’m having trouble adding my hometown to the community map.”

We added the community map to our website near the end of 2024 — meaning it’s still a relatively new feature, and we appreciate the feedback to help us improve it. We’re aware that some locations can be tricky for the map tool to recognize, especially smaller or lesser-known towns, or those with repeating names. We’re improving our map right now, and we’re working on solving these problems. You can always email us at community@kyivindependent.com, and we’ll make sure your pin is placed correctly if you’re unable to do it yourself. 

Question: “I wasn’t aware of all the benefits of membership.”

We get this comment often — and we hear you. We’ll be working on ways to make your benefits more visible and easier to find — including exclusive content, merch discounts, community events, and more. In the meantime, you can always find a full list of member perks with this link.

Question: “I want to increase my membership from $5 to $10 per month. Can you help?”

You can upgrade your membership anytime by logging into your account. In the upper, right-hand corner, you will find “Account” settings, and from there, on the menu that appears, you will see your current plan. Click the button “Change,” and this will take you to a screen where you can adjust your membership tier.

If you have any questions, just email us at community@kyivindependent.com, and we’ll help you directly.

Question: “How do I manage my membership or update my account settings?”

To manage your account, you first need to log in to your account. Then, in the right-hand corner, you will find “Account” settings. There, you can change your name and your email. In the “Billing” section, you can update your payment information, and under the “Email newsletter” section, you can manage your subscriptions to all newsletters. If you have any questions, you can ask us via community@kyivindependent.com, and we’ll help you navigate through it.

But heads up: We’re currently working on a new, improved account interface that will make all of this much easier and more intuitive. Once the new version is live, we’ll update this answer with the latest instructions — and managing your account will become much smoother!

Question: “Where did the comment section go?” 

Good news — the comment section is coming back on our website soon! It took a short break, but when it returns, it will be ready for your thoughts, questions, and opinions again. 

Question: “Can I have your address in Kyiv? I’d like to stop by when I visit.”

We’re honored you’d want to visit us! We do allow our members to visit our offices. If you're in Kyiv and would like to visit us, you can reach out to us at community@kyivindependent.com, and we will try to arrange a meeting with our team during your time in Kyiv.

Question: “Discord is really confusing to use, and I need help.”

You’re not alone. Discord can be tricky at first — and since we receive this feedback often, we’re considering working on an onboarding guide or something similar. If you think this would be helpful, let us know. 

To join our Discord community server — an exclusive place for our members and one of your membership benefits — you need to follow these steps:

1. Create a Discord account by going to Discord.com. You don’t need to download anything to your computer, using a web browser works just fine. You can also download the mobile app to your phone, which some people find easier to navigate. You can also find a how-to guide to get started on Discord here.

2. Use this invite link to join our Kyiv Independent community chat. You won’t have immediate access, so don’t worry if you don’t see anything at first. You'll just need to link your Discord account to your Patreon account, following these steps.

On Discord, you’ll find chats for learning Ukrainian, sharing ideas, supporting Ukraine, and connecting with other members of the community.

Question: “Let me ditch the $ and pay in €! I’d like to pay in a currency other than USD.”

We totally understand! Our team is now working on this feature, so it could be implemented in the coming months.

While prices on our website are displayed in USD, the payment can be processed from any card and currency — your bank will simply convert the amount to the equivalent in your local currency. (Though, we have heard that some members incur transaction fees when being charged in another currency.)

We’ve had this request from a lot of members in the past, and we hope to offer at least one or two additional currencies to our members. 

Thank you for being part of our community! Your support means a lot to us, and we're glad to have you with us.