East Europe Foundation announces a grant competition within the third phase of the Capable and Resistant Program (hereinafter referred to as the Program) to strengthen the resilience and effectiveness of civil society organizations (hereinafter referred to as CSO) that provide services to civilians affected by the full-scale invasion, and to promote the development of these organizations in the context of war.  

The Capable and Resistant Program is implemented by East Europe Foundation with the generous support of Switzerland.  

Objectives of the Grant Competition  

Within the framework of the Program’s grant component, we will support initiatives by CSOs that provide services to war-affected individuals, particularly vulnerable groups such as women, internally displaced persons (hereinafter referred to as IDPs), the elderly, people with disabilities, veterans, family members of military personnel, ethnic minorities, LGBTQI communities, children, and others.  

Our support will focus on addressing issues related to gender-based violence (hereinafter referred to as GBV), human rights protection, support for IDPs and ethnic minorities, as well as providing psychosocial support and other humanitarian assistance to those impacted by the war (except as otherwise described below).  

Initiatives can address the needs of the organization’s target audience (hereinafter referred to as the TA), supporting existing and/or developing new services and activities that are important to the TA and the local community.   

 Possible areas of activity within the framework of the grant competition include, but are not limited to:  

• Measures to protect human rights and combat GBV, including sexual violence.  

• Support and services for (multi-)vulnerable civilians: women, the elderly, people with disabilities, veterans, family members of military personnel, veterans and civilians in captivity, national minorities, members of the LGBTQI+ community, and others.  

• Measures to facilitate social integration and rehabilitation of IDPs, including employment assistance, legal aid, psychological support, other counselling support and the like.  

• Measures aimed at acquiring new skills and developing competencies that will help IDPs and/or the affected local population adapt to new conditions, as well as activities to support and develop entrepreneurship, to increase employment and the like.  

• Measures that facilitate the involvement of IDPs and other vulnerable groups in solving community problems, such as conflict prevention and mediation.  

• Measures aimed at creating/improving conditions for IDPs to stay in the host community.  

• Establishing or strengthening partnerships between CSOs and local authorities to address local problems and wartime challenges in order to support the affected population.  

• Establishment/operation of safe and inclusive coworking spaces, spaces for work, study, and/or cultural leisure for IDPs and the local population (including youth, children and their parents, and elderly people), etc.  

• Other activities and initiatives that provide support to people affected by the full-scale invasion, including IDPs and vulnerable locals.     

The Foundation may support activities aimed at strengthening the sustainability of CSOs, which include, but are not limited to, the following:  

• Expanding staff to support and strengthen the organization’s programmatic activities, such as new positions for communications, monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, etc.  

• Activities for employees and volunteers of the organization, according to the priorities and needs of the organization within the project (e.g., psychological resilience, burnout prevention, professional development, support and insurance packages for volunteers, etc.).  

• Purchase of equipment or services that are important to the organization’s mission or project objectives. Examples include IP phones for hotlines, additional furniture and equipment if the organization expands its activities and staff, and repair of premises owned by the organization or community if the main services were or will be provided in these premises and they need repair, especially due to the consequences of military actions.  

Applicants   

We invite CSOs to participate in the competition, including charitable organizations (non-profit companies, institutions, foundations, etc.) and public associations (public organizations, public unions) that are registered as legal entities in Ukraine and have non-profit status.   

Grants cannot be issued to organizations that, at the time of signing the grant agreement, are registered (have a legal address) in territories defined as temporarily occupied (as listed in the settlements where the state authorities of Ukraine temporarily do not exercise their powers, as well as settlements located on the demarcation line).    

Within the framework of this competition, the following is NOT eligible for support:  

• procurement, transportation, and distribution of humanitarian aid (including food and non-food items, medicines, etc.) and assistance to the military;  

• expenses for activities that are not necessary to achieve the goals of the grant project;  

• expenses incurred before the start of or relating to a time period after the end of the project implementation period (e.g., subscriptions for a period longer than the project implementation period, advance purchases of services, etc.).  

• entertainment expenses;  

• contributions and donations to individuals and legal entities;  

• gifts, bonuses, tips, fines, purchase of alcohol and tobacco products;  

• payment of previous obligations and/or debts, fines and penalties imposed on the grantee;  

• taxes, fines and other penalties imposed for violation (non-compliance) with applicable laws;  

• interest payable on the use of borrowed funds;  

• international business travel expenses;  

• regranting costs;  

• purchase of commercial real estate;  

• purchase of used equipment and vehicles;  

• purchase of goods for personal use;  

• purchase of food packages, medicines, and weapons;  

• depreciation and amortization expenses;  

• purchasing materials that pose a high risk of storage and use, including chemicals, additives, and flammable materials;  

• provisions for unforeseen expenses;  

• compensation for the cost of currency fluctuations;   

• expenses for political or religious activities.  

Terms of support:  

Lot 1: Grants ranging from UAH 400,000 to 500,000 for CSOs with previous experience in implementing similar projects and the necessary professional capacity. Approximately five projects are planned to be supported under Lot 1.   

Lot 2: Grants ranging from UAH 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 for CSOs with previous experience in implementing similar projects and the necessary professional capacity. Approximately 10 projects are planned to be supported under Lot 2.  

Lot 3: Grants ranging from UAH 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 for CSOs with previous experience in implementing similar projects and the necessary professional capacity. Approximately 10 projects are planned to be supported under Lot 3.  

The final number of supported projects and the distribution of lots will depend on the quality and relevance of the submitted proposals and their budgets.  

Each organization may submit only one application for this Competition within one lot. Only one project per organization can be supported.  

All applications submitted to the competition will be reviewed and evaluated by an independent panel of experts based on the following selection criteria:  

• Compliance of the planned activities with the terms of the competition.  

• Understanding the needs of the target audience and the scope of their coverage.  

• Project realism, clear identification of risks.  

• The experience of the organization’s members and involved professionals.  

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

• Budget reasonableness.  

Geography of the Competition: The territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine at the time of application.   

Expected Duration of the Projects: 6 to 10 months (for Lot 1 and Lot 2); 6 to 12 months (for Lot 3).  

Expected Start of Operations: Second Half of January 2025.  

Important: Funding for the winning projects within the third phase of the Program will be provided after the signing of the Agreement between East Europe Foundation and the Swiss Embassy, no earlier than January 2025. The preparation and holding of the grant competition is part of the second phase of the Program, which runs until the end of 2024.  

The third phase of the Capable and Resistant Program also includes measures to develop civil society organizations to strengthen their resilience in the face of war. By applying for the grant competition, organizations undertake to participate in the training and information activities of the “Capable and Resistant” Program, as well as to fulfil the reporting requirements (interim and final narrative and financial reporting is provided for). Before signing grant agreements, applications and budgets are also to be finalized in cooperation with the Foundation.   

 

HOW TO APPLY  

To apply, you need to download, fill out, and send the following documents:  

• Application Form (recommendations for filling out the form can be found at the provided link)  

• Logic Model  

• Budget  

The entire package of documents is the same for all lots.  

East Europe Foundation reserves the right not to support any project if the quality of the project applications does not meet the terms of the competition.   

Please note:  

• the application must be submitted in Ukrainian;  

• the list of costs that cannot be supported by the Foundation is included in the project budget template (sheet 2) and in this announcement;  

• the grantee’s own contribution or co-financing from other sources is not required;  

• applicants will be notified of the results of their application by e-mail;  

• the decision of the tender committee is final and not subject to review;  

• submitted applications will not be returned or reviewed.  

Deadline for applications: 23:59 on September 16, 2024 (Monday), Kyiv time, UTC+3/EEST.  

Announcement of results: No later than December 2024.  

Submission: All applications should be sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Application for the Grant Competition. Lot No._” .  

For more information and technical assistance on how to participate in the grant competition, CSOs intending to apply can send their questions by e-mail to [email protected]. Answers to questions will be provided electronically. If additional clarifications are needed, the Foundation can organize an online information meeting on the ZOOM platform or with a live broadcast on the official website of the Foundation. If such a meeting is organized, it will be announced on the Foundation’s social media.