East Europe Foundation announces the “Capable and Resistant: Sumy” grant competition (hereinafter — the Competition) and invites civil society organizations (CSOs) to participate. The objective of the competition is to support projects of civil society organizations in the areas of healthcare, education, housing/shelters, and repairs in territorial communities of Sumy region, which have suffered due to the war.

Within the grant competition, support is focused on three clusters: Housing, Health, and Education. Possible areas of activity include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Housing :  

• Current repairs, furnishing and equipping of damaged shelters, collective centers, and facilities owned by territorial communities that serve collective needs. This may include restoring essential utilities (electricity, water supply, sewage), creating safe and accessible spaces for internally displaced persons (IDPs), local residents, people with disabilities, seniors, and families with children. 

• Preparing collective housing for IDPs and affected families for the winter season (the “one warm room” concept, covering basic utilities such as heating, water, electricity, and routine repairs). 

• Supporting collective housing for IDPs and affected families (furnishing, equipping with appliances) to ensure more suitable conditions for medium-term living. 

Health:  

• Medical consultations and referrals to specialists, including mental health, chronic illnesses, sexual and reproductive health, and cases involving sexual violence. 

• Rehabilitation for victims of mines and unexploded ordnance (prosthetics, physiotherapy).   

• Routine repairs and equipping of municipal healthcare facilities (healthcare institutions at the primary and secondary levels — such as ambulatory clinics, consultative hospitals, and specialized medical centers), including shelters. 

• Implementation of inclusive solutions: barrier-free access, accessibility for the disabled, consideration of the needs of children, seniors, and families with young children. 

Education :  

• Access to education for affected children (supplementary classes, integration of displaced children into local schools, distance learning). 

• Support for educational infrastructure, including improvements to shelters and the provision of essential equipment and materials to maintain safety and learning continuity. 

• Implementation of inclusive solutions for learning spaces: creating a safe and accessible environment for disabled children, taking into account gender and age needs, and supporting psychosocial well-being. 

Please note. Proposed projects may provide that up to 15% of the grant may be directed to strengthening the CSO’s capacity, in particular regarding measures to increase resilience and the implementation of the “Duty of Care” package: accident and life insurance for employees and volunteers of the organization, procurement of individual first aid kits and other forms of care for staff and volunteers. 

All applications submitted to the competition will be reviewed and evaluated by the Expert Council based on the criteria outlined below.  

• Compliance of the proposed activities with the competition’s requirements and clusters. 

• A well-founded understanding of the target audience’s needs and the scope of their coverage. 

• Project feasibility, alignment of planned outcomes with available resources and timelines. 

• Experience of the organization’s members and involved experts. 

• Previous successful experience in implementing similar projects with a similar budget. 

• Availability of letters of support/memoranda from local self-government bodies or other partner institutions.  

Expected start date: January 2026.  

Planned number of supported organizations: up to 12. 

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants are CSOs, namely: charitable organizations (non-profit societies, institutions, foundations, etc.) and public associations (public organizations, public unions) registered as legal entities in Ukraine with non-profit status (numeric identifiers assigned to nonprofit organizations 0032, 0034, 0036) and who: 

• have proven experience working in Sumy region, or 

• are ready to expand their activities to Sumy region and demonstrate the ability to effectively engage with local communities. 

The applicant must understand and apply humanitarian principles and standards, adhere to the principle of zero tolerance for violence, and be ready to work together with experts engaged by EEF to develop, improve and/or implement organisational policies on Accountability to Affected Populations and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (AAP/PSEA). 

Please note. Letters of support / recommendation letters and/or memoranda of cooperation with local state authorities and local self-government bodies are mandatory. 

Applications are not accepted from individuals, business entities (including legal entities and private entrepreneurs), state authorities, local self-government bodies, political parties, or religious organizations. 

At the time of submission, the organization must not be in the process of liquidation or bankruptcy.  

Grants are not provided to organizations registered in temporarily occupied territories or in the demarcation line area. 

How to apply:
Applications can only be submitted through East Europe Foundation Grant Portal.  

An informational online session will be held on October 17, 2025, for those interested in participating in the competition. To join the session, please fill out the registration form via the link. 

For convenience, applicants may download templates from the “Documents” section of the Grant Portal, review and complete them, prepare the necessary files for upload, and later transfer the information to the portal. 

East Europe Foundation reserves the right not to award funding if submitted applications do not meet the competition’s requirements.  

Please note:  

• Applications must be submitted in Ukrainian.  

• The list of expenses that cannot be supported by East Europe Foundation is provided in the project budget template. A separate “Budget Instructions” tab contains details of such expenses.  

• Providing co-financing is not required and does not affect application evaluation.  

• Applicants will be notified of the results via their Grant Portal account and by email.   

• The decision of the competition committee is final and not subject to review.  

• East Europe Foundation reserves the right not to comment on the results of the application review. 

Co-financing is not required.

Application deadline: October 30, 2025, 16:00 

Competition results: December 2025. 

Grant amount: from 1,200,000 UAH to 1,700,000 UAH. 

Competition geography: The territory of Sumy region, which is controlled by the Government of Ukraine at the time of application. 

Expected duration of projects: from 6 to 8 months. 

Contacts:

Questions can be sent to [email protected]. Please indicate the title of the competition in the subject line of your email – Grants for CSOs to Support Recovery and Reconstruction in Sumy Territorial Communities .