In order to strengthen the sustainability and effectiveness of civil society organisations (hereinafter referred to as CSOs), media that have the status of public organisations, and participants of CSOs; to promote their development in war conditions, within the framework of the “Stiyikist’” Programme (hereinafter referred to as the Programme), East Europe Foundation announces a grant competition.

EEF implements this Programme within a consortium of non-governmental organisations led by ERIM (Equal Rights and Independent Media, France) in partnership with Human Rights House Foundation, Human Rights House Tbilisi, the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, and funded by the European Union.

Within the grant component of the Programme, it is planned to provide grants to support local initiatives aimed at strengthening CSOs, as well as media that have the status of public organisations, by announcing an open competition (hereinafter referred to as the Competition) in three areas:

1. Grants to support CSOs in their relocation from areas affected by active hostilities, or within these areas, and to ensure their life in a new place (Lot 1).
2. Grants to support the work of organisations that contribute to ensuring appropriate working conditions for internally displaced persons, particularly for representatives of the CSOs for their effective interaction with hosting citizens (Lot 2).
3. Grants to improve operational and organisational capacity of mass media with the status of non-profit organisations to ensure their professional activities (Lot 3).

For this competition, one organisation can submit only one application within one lot. Grantee’s co-funding is optional for participating in the Competition. 

Grants cannot be issued to organisations that, at the time of signing the grant agreement, are registered (have a legal address) in the territory classified as temporarily occupied (registered in settlements included in the list of cities and towns on the territory of which the state authorities of Ukraine temporarily do not exercise their powers, as well as settlements located on the front line).

Goals of the grant Competition:

Lot 1

The purpose of this lot is to support CSOs in their relocation from the regions of Ukraine affected by military operations, namely from Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv oblasts, as well as to create conditions for their activities in a new place.

Priority will be given to organisations that carry out relocation from one of the communities that are recognized as affected by active hostilities and are defined in the Order of the Ministry of Regional Integration of April 25, 2022, all amendments to it, and taking into account all versions of the order. The list of priority communities can be found in Appendix No. 1. Relocated organisations should continue their activities in a new location – this should be confirmed by providing the organisation’s Activity Plan.

The application may contain the following budget lines (this list is not exhaustive):

• relocation of offices, rental of office space, purchase of equipment, software, or other materials necessary for the organisation to continue implementing its mission;
• payment of salaries to employees and fees to the experts involved;
• payments for Internet services and telephone communication;
• psychological assistance, mentoring, and coaching support for CSOs employees.

Lot 2

This lot provides support to CSOs that contribute to ensuring appropriate working conditions for internally displaced persons, relocated CSOs, and their representatives, for their effective cooperation with host communities. Preference will be given to organisations that have experience in practical work with internally displaced persons (IDPs) and/or mediation of conflicts in territorial communities.

The application may include the following types of activities (the list is not exhaustive):

• creation/ensuring functioning of co-working spaces, office spaces for internally displaced persons and relocated representatives of CSOs;
• implementation of measures for social integration of internally displaced persons and representatives of CSOs into life in territorial communities;
• involvement of citizens, in particular young people, in decision-making processes in communities;
• creating conditions for using the potential of IDPs (for applying their knowledge, skills, and abilities);
• providing IDPs with legal assistance, consulting, informational, and other types of services;
• measures aimed at creating/improving the conditions of residence of IDPs in host territorial communities (for example, development and public discussion of relevant regulatory legal acts, prevention and mediation of conflicts, minimising the risks of conflicts);
• conducting events aimed at helping IDPs master new skills and competencies that will help them adapt to new conditions.
  

Lot 3

The projects submitted under this lot should help improve the operational and organisational capacity of public organisations working in the field of media and communications and support their professional activities.

The application may include the following activities (the list is not exhaustive):

• activities aimed at improving professional standards in the field of media and communications;
• implementation of communication projects, information or advocacy campaigns aimed at countering disinformation and Russian propaganda;
• events aimed at highlighting the topic of social integration of IDPs into life in the territorial communities of Ukraine, promoting tolerance and mutual understanding between local communities and IDPs, as well as between groups of IDPs;
• ensuring/maintaining organisational consistency (for example, covering rent, maintaining staff, purchasing necessary equipment, IT services for editorial offices, and producing content);
• strengthening digital security and data protection;
• psychological help.

The following civil society organisations (CSOs) are invited to participate in the Competition: charitable organisations (non-entrepreneurial societies, institutions, foundations, etc.), public associations (public organisations, public unions) that are registered as legal entities in Ukraine and have a status of a non-profit organisation. Applications from business entities (including legal entities and individual entrepreneurs), state authorities, local governments, political parties, and religious organisations will not be accepted for consideration. Applicant organisations should not be in a state of bankruptcy or termination of the legal entity status at the time of applying.

Among applicants, preference will be given to the following organisations:

• veterans’ organisations that carry out psychological and social adaptation activities for former military personnel;
• media that have a status of public organisations;
• youth CSOs;
• CSOs that promote social empowerment (e.g. co-working spaces, information centres for IDPs and CSOs);
• CSOs working in the field of human rights protection, providing assistance and support to the LGBTIQ+ community, dealing with the rights of minorities, as well as protecting the rights of women.

All applications submitted for the Competition will be reviewed and evaluated by an independent panel of experts based on evaluation criteria.

Evaluation criteria for applications within Lot 1

Exclusive criterion: applications that do not meet this criterion will not be accepted for consideration within Lot 1 (points are not assigned). CSOs that as of 24.02.2022 were registered in one of the regions of Ukraine affected by hostilities at the time of applying should provide evidence of change in their location of activity (examples of evidence include: premises rent agreement, change of official registration location, IDP certificate of the representative (s) of the organisation, photo or video evidence).

Basic evaluation criteria:

1. Compliance of the application with the conditions and goals of the Competition.
2. Reasonableness of how the claimed costs will contribute to restoring/improving/strengthening the applicant organisation’s capacity.
3. Activities history before 24.02.2022.
4. Impact on ultimate beneficiaries.
5. Reaching the target audience until 24.02.2022.
6. Validity of the budget to the planned activities, balance of the project budget.
7. The organisation has been registered, as of 24.02.2022, in one of the communities identified as such where active hostilities are taking place.
8. Availability and validity of the plan of the organization’s activities.

Evaluation criteria for applications within Lot 2

1. Compliance of the project proposal with the conditions and goals of the Competition.
2. Expediency of planned project activities.
3. Paying attention to gender balance in project development.
4. Experience of the organisation’s members and specialists involved.
5. Experience in implementing similar projects (working with IDPs and/or conflict mediation).
6. Availability of partnerships (including existing ones and ideas for potential ones) for the implementation of the project.
7. Validity of the budget to the planned activities, balance of the project budget.
8. Sufficiency and adequacy of the foreseen risk minimization measures.

Evaluation criteria for applications within Lot 3

1. Compliance of the project proposal with the conditions and goals of the Competition.
2. Expediency of planned project activities.
3. Paying attention to gender balance in project development.
4. Experience of the organisation’s members and specialists involved.
5. Experience in implementing similar projects (working with IDPs and/or conflict mediation).
6. Availability of partnerships (including existing ones and ideas for potential ones) for the implementation of the project.
7. Validity of the budget to the planned activities, balance of the project budget.
8. Sufficiency and adequacy of the foreseen risk minimization measures.

Maximum grant amount: up to UAH 1,000,000 per organisation

Number of grants: up to 15 projects are planned to be supported within the Competition

Expected duration of projects: from 3 to 6 months

Expected launch of project activities: November 2022

How do I apply?

Applicant organisations must complete and submit:

1. Application Form
2. Project Budget
3. Logical Project Model

East Europe Foundation reserves the right not to provide funding if the quality of project applications does not meet the Competition conditions.

Please note that:

• within this competition, grants may not be granted to commercial organisations, political parties, religious organisations, and individuals;
• the application must be submitted in Ukrainian;
• applicants will be notified of the results of consideration of their application in writing by email;
• the decision of the Competition Commission is final and is not subject to review;
• submitted applications are not returned or reviewed.

A list of budget lines/items that cannot be supported by EEF is contained in the Project Budget template.

Application deadline: 23:59, October 3, 2022

Results of the Competition will be announced no later than November 1, 2022

All applications must be sent via email to [email protected] with «Заявка на конкурс грантів» + lot number in email subject.

Questions on this Competition announcement can be sent to Yuliia Smahliukova, Program Specialist at East Europe Foundation. You can contact her via [email protected] until October 3, 2022.