A selection of grants: opportunities for the development of NGOs in Ukraine

In today's world, grant support is becoming an increasingly important tool for developing civil society organisations and bringing their initiatives to life. Ukraine is no exception to this trend, and today there are many opportunities to secure financial support for a wide range of projects and programmes. In this article we look at some of them, which can become important steps on the path to developing the civic sector in Ukraine.

1) Institutional grants for Ukrainian CSOs from the Prague Civil Society Centre

Who it's for: key local CSOs that actively take part in reconstruction and recovery processes, are registered in the specified regions, and have at least 1 year of verified on-the-ground activity.

Geography: Kherson, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Areas of activity:

• increasing the involvement of local residents in planning, fundraising and implementing recovery-oriented projects;

• monitoring local-level spending earmarked for reconstruction and recovery;

• supporting the exchange of knowledge and experience between communities;

• engaging foreign experts in planning and implementing reconstruction and recovery in order to share knowledge and experience.

Areas of funding:

• salaries;

• office costs;

• business trips;

• psychological support for staff;

• building the organisation's capacity;

• professional development of staff;

• innovation, and so on.

Grant size: up to €37,000

*Co-financing is not required but is welcome.

Deadline: 06.02.2024

2) Competition for 2-year institutional support of Ukrainian CSOs from The Prague Civil Society Centre

Who it's for: civil society organisations that take part in recovery and reconstruction processes at the local level and have at least one year of active work in the specified area.

Geography: CSOs must be officially registered in Kherson, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Activities that may be supported:

• increasing the involvement of local residents in planning, fundraising and implementing recovery-oriented projects;

• monitoring local-level spending earmarked for reconstruction and recovery;

• supporting the exchange of knowledge and experience between communities;

• engaging foreign experts in planning and implementing reconstruction and recovery in order to share knowledge and experience.

Grant size: up to €37,000 over a 24-month period to cover the organisation's necessary needs.

*Funding for the second year is subject to approval based on the results of the first year of cooperation.

Deadline: 06.02.2024

3) "School of Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in Territorial Communities" competition

Who it's for: qualified civil society organisations (CSOs) with experience in adult training on social mediation and peacebuilding in territorial communities.

Project goal: supporting local self-government, community development and stability in Ukraine.

Grant size: from $50,000 to $100,000 over 12 months.

*Grant agreements are expected to be signed no earlier than 1 April 2024.

Deadline: 22.02.2024 by 13:00

4) Grant competition for newly created and recently registered CSOs

Who it's for: newly created or recently registered civil society organisations and initiative groups in Ukraine that have been operating for up to 3 years and have no experience of receiving grants.

*See the competition regulations for more eligibility criteria.

Proposals are accepted in the following areas:

• independent governance and democracy;

• support for vulnerable groups of the population;

• community development.

Participants will gain:

• grant project management skills;

• a grant track record;

• experience working with international organisations;

• mentoring support during project implementation.

Grant size: up to €5,000

Deadline: through 20.02.2024 inclusive

5) State competition of projects run by youth and children's civil society organisations

Who it's for: youth and children's CSOs and their separate subdivisions registered as legal entities no later than 6 months before the competition was announced, and which comply with the Law of Ukraine "On the Fundamental Principles of Youth Policy".

Competition proposals should help address the following priority tasks:

• raising young people's competencies in order to build a culture of entrepreneurship, professional and career development, encourage them to start their own business, and adapt to the labour market during the war and in the post-war period;

• raising young people's competencies for their harmonious mental development and forming a responsible attitude towards health and a culture of life safety;

• raising young people's competencies for their reintegration from territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, as well as the adaptation and socialisation of young people within the Ukrainian public space;

• raising the culture of volunteering among young people.

Areas of activity:

• holding campaigns, meetings, seminars, trainings, gatherings, conferences, forums, tent camps, rallies, hikes and hiking gatherings;

• publishing informational and methodological materials;

• producing and placing social videos and social advertising.

Grant size: up to UAH 600,000

Deadline: 05.02.2024 by 23:00

6) Educational and grant programme "Strengthening Civic Activism Among Youth" from the NGO "Ukrainian Professional Development"

Who it's for: teams of 3+ people aged 18 to 35 who represent CSOs/charitable organisations that have existed for up to two years, or initiative groups that want to register an organisation.

As part of the programme, your team will:

• receive a lawyer's support in registering a CSO/charitable foundation;

• turn ideas into a ready-to-implement project with a mentor's support;

• be able to receive $1,000 to implement its project;

• attend a series of useful webinars;

• receive consultations on writing a grant application for organisational development.

Programme stages:

• from 27.02 to 15.03, active training, registration of organisations, project development;

• 15.03, project pitching;

• from 19.03 to 10.04, consultations on writing a grant application for organisational development.

*Training will take place online on weekdays, in the afternoon, for 2-3 hours.

Grant size: $1,000.

Registration deadline: 11.02.2024, by 23:59

7) IOM is looking for implementing partners.

For a project to raise awareness among vulnerable youth about safe migration and employment in wartime conditions.

Who it's for: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is announcing a request for expression of interest (EOI) from Implementing Partners among qualified non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for the further implementation of projects aimed at informing vulnerable youth about safe migration and employment in wartime conditions.

The main goals of these projects are to draw young people's attention to the problem of modern slavery, especially during the war, and to raise awareness of the risks of human trafficking and exploitation. An important aspect of these initiatives is informing the public about safe migration and employment, providing information on how to protect oneself in risky situations and where to turn for help for those affected by human trafficking and exploitation.

Application deadline: 7 February 2024.

8) "Perform Europe" competition from the "Creative Europe" programme

Who it's for: any organisation and professional in the performing arts who legally operates in one of the Creative Europe Countries.

Perform Europe is a programme that supports partnership projects which rethink the way artists tour across borders.

5% of the funding will be directed to projects that involve partnership with Ukrainian partners or support initiatives in the Ukrainian performing arts sector.

Competition priorities:

• inclusion and diversity;

• tackling climate change.

*In addition, all proposals must focus on quality and innovation and be based on fair principles.

Application conditions:

• applications are submitted by partnerships, which must consist of at least 3 partners and 3 countries where the "Creative Europe" programme operates;

• each application must include at least 1 completed work of performing art (a finished production or artistic concept) ready to be presented in various contexts.

Grant size:

• small partnership projects, €12,000;

• medium partnership projects, €32,000;

• large partnership projects, €60,000.

Deadline: 31.03.2024 by 23:59 CEST

9) "European cultural and creative organisations" competition within the "Creative Europe" programme

Who it's for: representative, multinational, membership-based networks of European cultural organisations that span a wide range of Creative Europe participating countries.

The competition aims to strengthen the capacity of the European cultural and creative sectors to face common challenges and to develop talent, innovate, thrive, create jobs and grow.

Proposals should address the following priority challenges:

• artists and cultural workers: empowering the cultural and creative sectors;

• culture for people: increasing cultural participation and the role of culture in society;

• culture for the planet: unleashing the power of culture;

• culture for shared creative partnership: strengthening the cultural dimension of the EU's external relations;

• culture for digital transformation: helping the European cultural and creative sectors make full use of new technologies to boost their competitiveness.

Total competition budget for 2024: €9,925,000

Deadline: 07.03.2024 by 17:00 Brussels time

Grant support is an important tool for ensuring the sustainable development of civil society organisations and the implementation of their projects. The various competitions and programmes offered by different funds and organisations open up wide opportunities for creativity and innovation. We hope this selection of grants will help civil society organisations find the support they need and carry out their important projects to improve the life of the community and society as a whole.