A selection of grants: from opportunities to growth

Grant roundup: from opportunities to growth

In today's world, access to funding can be a critical factor in the success of projects and initiatives aimed at improving society. To help organizations and individual initiatives bring their ideas to life, numerous foundations and government and international organizations issue grant programs. This roundup presents important grant opportunities that could be decisive for carrying out social, environmental and community projects in Ukraine and beyond.

1) Grant program for communities from IOM and the Government of Japan

The program aims to unite Ukrainian society and strengthen the resilience of local communities by supporting the reintegration into civilian life of veterans, their family members and the families of the fallen.

Who it is for:

- territorial communities;

- individual associations of residents within a village, settlement or city;

- from territories under the control of the Government of Ukraine, in all regions where the security situation allows activities to be carried out;

- with an initiative group of at least 15 people, including veterans, persons with disabilities, representatives of national minorities and others.

Possible areas of activity:

- emotional support activities;

- new social services for all community residents;

- activities that help adapt the environment for people with disabilities;

- provision of legal consultations;

- advocacy initiatives to protect the rights of veterans, veterans with disabilities, members of veterans' families and members of the families of the fallen;

- activities that help introduce non-discriminatory practices and counter domestic violence.

In addition to funding, competition winners will also receive:

- the knowledge needed to build up their community;

- support from IOM specialists in organizing activities.

Grant size: up to EUR 15,000

Deadline: 10.05.2024 inclusive

2) "Be Her Voice" grant competition from UWF

Who it is for: women's / feminist organizations with at least 2 years of experience that have a clear focus (in line with their charter) on protecting women's rights and promoting gender equality

COMPETITION PRIORITIES:

1) Support for projects aimed at publicly visualizing the theme of protecting women's rights / gender equality through artistic means

Grant size: up to UAH 750,000

2) Highlighting effective practices of women's organizations, as well as the systemic changes this work brings about

Grant size: up to UAH 370,000

Eligible costs: program and administrative expenses.

A mandatory condition when drawing up the budget is that 10% of the total grant amount go toward countering burnout, supporting staff, retreats and so on.

Deadline: 13.05.2024

3) Grant support for refugee and displaced persons' organizations from UNHCR

The fund aims to strengthen the participation of displaced and stateless persons in carrying out humanitarian work, ensuring that they are central to the decisions that affect their lives.

Who it is for: registered and unregistered organizations led by people with lived experience of forced displacement, including refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs, returnees and stateless persons who are recognized in their communities thanks to their past significant contributions

* Additional attention will be paid to ensuring that organizations led by LGBTIQ+ people, women, people with disabilities, indigenous people and other underrepresented groups receive support and encouragement to apply to the fund.

Selected organizations will be provided by the fund with:

- financial support to test and implement ideas with strong community approaches that create value for community members, not tied specifically to any thematic area or technology;

- support from experts in program and project management;

- technical support, expertise and coaching;

- an equitable network in the form of interaction between organizations, sharing experience and finding partnerships;

- other support based on the project's needs.

Grant size: up to USD 45,000

Deadline: 31.05.2024 by 23:59 Panama time (UTC-5)

4) Competition of socially important projects by non-profit organizations of the Mykolaiv region

The competition is aimed at strengthening the capacity of local communities to respond to the humanitarian crisis by supporting and developing the social sphere, community initiatives and horizontal communication among the civic, state and municipal sectors, guided by the SCLR approach.

Who it is for: NGOs, charitable foundations, charitable organizations, municipal institutions, religious organizations, associations and other associations of legal entities with non-profit status

Geography: Mykolaiv region

Funding areas:

- funds directed toward achieving the project's goals;

- administrative expenses (no more than 10% of the grant);

- purchase of minor equipment (no more than 70% of the grant);

Grant size: from UAH 10,000 to UAH 550,000

In addition to funding, selected organizations will receive mentoring and organizational support (in particular, on writing grant applications, internal and external communications, developing the organizational structure, and other matters and needs).

Deadline: 03.05.2024 by 15:00

5) "Time to Act, Ukraine!" social initiatives competition from the "MHP to the Community" Foundation

The competition aims to help solve important social problems of communities by providing financial support to local social initiatives as a response to the challenges of war.

Who it is for:

- local self-government bodies;

- municipal institutions, enterprises and organizations;

- educational institutions;

- healthcare facilities;

- civic associations.

Geography: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions and the city of Kyiv

Priority areas of the competition:

- reintegration and rehabilitation of veterans;

- preservation of traditions and cultural heritage;

- systemic projects in education, medicine and infrastructure;

- development of public spaces;

- energy security.

Grant size: from UAH 50,000 to UAH 100,000

* Co-financing of the project of at least 50% of the funds received is mandatory.

Deadline: 12.05.2024

6) Scholarships for special projects for media that write in the languages of national communities, from the NGO "Internews Ukraine"

Under the program, selected editorial teams will receive scholarship support to create special projects about the life of national communities in their native language (up to 10 pieces).

Story ideas should concern accounts of the life of national communities during Russia's invasion of Ukraine:

- how communities overcome the challenges of war;

- what contribution representatives of national communities make to the development of their communities and Ukrainian society as a whole;

- about representatives of national communities who take part in repelling Russia's aggression;

- the development of the cultural heritage of national communities during the war, and so on.

In addition to scholarships, participants will receive mentoring support in preparing their pieces and will complete a three-day online training.

Deadline: 03.05.2024 inclusive

7) Competition of environmentally focused projects from Interreg NEXT Romania - Ukraine

Who it is for:

- CSOs;

- local self-government bodies;

- regional state authorities, oblast councils and others;

- national state bodies - ministries and others;

- offices/branches of state national/regional authorities and other state bodies working on priority themes;

- local or regional development agencies, environmental agencies, employment agencies and so on;

- research organizations, universities, faculties, colleges, research institutions, scientific and technical centers, research clusters and so on;

- training centers, schools and other state educational institutions, state vocational training and so on;

- business support organizations - chambers of commerce and industry, chambers of trade and crafts;

- European groupings of territorial cooperation;

- hospitals and medical centers.

Applications must be submitted by partnerships of up to 4 organizations from both countries. The activities of Ukrainian organizations must take place in the Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa or Chernivtsi regions.

The competition invites projects under the priority "Environmental focus across the border":

- fostering adaptation to climate change and disaster risk prevention, promoting resilience, taking ecosystem-based approaches into account.

Grant size: from EUR 800,000 to EUR 1,400,000

* Co-financing must be at least 10% of the total project cost and be provided by all partners receiving support from the program.

Deadline: 16.07.2024

8) "Cybersecurity of Ukraine's Critical Infrastructure" grant competition from USAID

The competition aims to carry out creative and effective initiatives and solutions aimed at strengthening national readiness, reducing vulnerabilities in cybersecurity and reinforcing Ukraine's critical infrastructure in the cybersecurity sector.

Who it is for: officially registered Ukrainian for-profit and non-profit non-governmental organizations, business associations, think tanks and/or private enterprises.

Project activities must be aimed at achieving one or more of the following goals:

- strengthening an enabling environment for cybersecurity;

- developing Ukrainian cybersecurity talent;

- building a resilient cybersecurity industry.

Grant size: from USD 20,000 to USD 150,000

Deadline: 30.09.2024

Grants open the door to bringing ideas to life and help create positive change in society. This roundup includes a variety of grant programs that can be important steps for those who want to become actively involved in social development, strengthening the environment and supporting vulnerable groups. Along with these grants, new opportunities open up for positive change and development.