The Eastern Europe Foundation announces a grant competition to support civil society organizations in Ukraine

The Eastern Europe Foundation, with support from Switzerland, is launching a grant competition as part of the third phase of the “Resilient and Strong” program. The aim of the competition is to support civil society organizations (CSOs) that assist individuals affected by the war in Ukraine, especially vulnerable groups such as women, internally displaced persons (IDPs), the elderly, people with disabilities, veterans, family members of military personnel, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ communities, children, and others.

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Objectives of the Grant Competition

The grants are intended to support CSO initiatives that provide services to war-affected individuals, including:

• Human rights protection and combating gender-based violence (GBV), including sexual violence.
• Support and services for vulnerable civilian populations, including women, the elderly, people with disabilities, veterans, and ethnic minorities.
• Social integration and rehabilitation of IDPs, including employment assistance, legal aid, psychological support, etc.
• Training and skill development for adaptation to new conditions, including support for entrepreneurship and employment.
• Engaging IDPs and vulnerable groups in addressing community issues.
• Improving living conditions for IDPs in host communities.
• Partnerships between CSOs and local authorities to address wartime challenges.
• Creating safe and inclusive spaces for work, education, and cultural activities for IDPs and local residents.

Support Areas

The Foundation will also consider applications for strengthening CSO resilience through:

• Expanding staff to support program activities.
• Staff and volunteer support, including psychological resilience and skills enhancement.
• Purchasing equipment or services essential for the organization’s mission or project tasks.

Participation Conditions

Eligible participants include charitable organizations, community associations, registered as legal entities in Ukraine with non-profit status. Grants cannot be awarded to organizations registered in temporarily occupied territories or along the line of demarcation.

Ineligible Expenses

The Foundation will not support:

• Procurement, transportation, and distribution of humanitarian aid.
• Expenses not necessary to achieve the project’s goals.
• Entertainment expenses, donations, gifts, alcohol, tobacco, taxes, fines, etc.
• Purchase of commercial real estate, used equipment, and vehicles.

Grant Lots

• Lot 1: Grants from 400,000 to 500,000 UAH. Approximately five projects will be supported.
• Lot 2: Grants from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 UAH. Approximately ten projects will be supported.
• Lot 3: Grants from 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 UAH. Approximately ten projects will be supported.

How to Apply

To apply, download, complete, and submit:

• Application Form – guidelines for filling out the form can be found at the provided link
• Logical Framework
• Budget

The application deadline is 11:59 PM on September 16, 2024 (Kyiv time, UTC +3 / EEST).

Expected Results

The competition results will be announced by December 2024. Winning projects are expected to commence their activities in the second half of January 2025.

Funding will be provided after signing an agreement between the Eastern Europe Foundation and the Swiss Embassy.

Applicants are also required to participate in training and informational events of the program and comply with reporting requirements.