Deadline: 03-Apr-2026
The Eastern Europe Foundation invites Ukrainian civil society organizations (CSOs) to apply for grants supporting advocacy projects on territorial community restoration and EU integration. The competition strengthens citizen participation, local governance, transparency, and recovery processes. Grants range from 800,000 to 1,100,000 UAH for eligible CSOs implementing advocacy campaigns aligned with EU standards.
About the Grant Competition
The Eastern Europe Foundation has launched the second wave of its grant competition under the “Phoenix: The Power of Communities” project with the support of the European Union. The initiative aims to empower CSOs to lead advocacy campaigns that promote community restoration, democratic participation, and preparation for Ukraine’s EU accession.
Key Objectives
The competition focuses on strengthening citizen participation in the restoration of territorial communities, improving local governance practices and public accountability, developing local programs addressing urgent economic, social, and cultural challenges, integrating principles of sustainable development, human rights, non-discrimination, gender equality, and transparency, encouraging public participation of residents, including internally displaced persons, veterans, people with disabilities, youth, and older adults, and enhancing EU-aligned policies at the territorial community level.
Supported Activities
Organizations can propose activities such as public monitoring and expertise on community recovery, public finance management, and development strategy implementation, evaluation of local government performance and analytical reporting on public-private dialogue and citizen participation, policy analysis and advocacy recommendations addressing community restoration challenges, regional forums, discussions, and collaboration initiatives between civil society and government institutions, and media and information campaigns promoting transparency, public awareness, and EU standards.
Who is Eligible?
Eligible applicants are Ukrainian civil society organizations that meet the following criteria: charitable organizations, public associations, or foundations with official non-profit status, at least two years of experience in projects related to community restoration or advocacy, and previously participating CSOs in the “Phoenix: The Power of Communities” project are eligible. Organizations must not be under liquidation or bankruptcy. Ineligible applicants include individuals, businesses, government institutions, local authorities, political parties, or religious organizations, and organizations registered in temporarily occupied territories or on the contact line.
Grant Amounts
Grants range from 800,000 to 1,100,000 Ukrainian hryvnias. Funding supports advocacy campaigns, public engagement, research, and awareness-raising initiatives aligned with EU standards.
Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be assessed by an expert board based on relevance to the competition’s thematic areas, clarity and feasibility of proposed activities, contribution to addressing identified community challenges and ensuring sustainability, organizational experience and capacity to implement similar initiatives, and reasonableness and balance of the proposed budget.
Why It Matters
This grant competition promotes transparent and accountable recovery processes in Ukrainian communities, active citizen engagement in local governance and public finance management, alignment with EU standards and best practices in territorial community development, and support for veterans, internally displaced persons, and marginalized groups in recovery planning.
How to Apply
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Prepare a Project Proposal outlining objectives, activities, expected results, and alignment with EU standards.
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Include Organizational Details demonstrating capacity, prior experience, and operational readiness.
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Submit Budget Plan showing reasonable and balanced financial allocation.
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Submit before the Deadline following Eastern Europe Foundation’s official application process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Submitting incomplete proposals lacking activity details or expected outcomes, proposing projects not aligned with competition priorities or EU standards, failing to provide evidence of organizational experience, or including ineligible organizations or individuals as project partners.
FAQs
1. Who can apply? Charitable organizations, public associations, and foundations registered in Ukraine with official non-profit status.
2. What is the funding range? Grants range from 800,000 to 1,100,000 UAH.
3. Can previously participating CSOs apply? Yes, prior participants in the “Phoenix: Power of Communities” project are eligible.
4. Are government institutions or businesses eligible? No, only eligible CSOs can apply.
5. What types of activities are supported? Advocacy campaigns, public monitoring, research, forums, media initiatives, and EU-aligned policy support.
6. Are organizations in occupied territories eligible? No, organizations in temporarily occupied territories or on the contact line are ineligible.
7. How will applications be evaluated? Based on relevance, clarity, feasibility, organizational capacity, sustainability, and budget balance.
Conclusion
The Eastern Europe Foundation’s grant competition empowers CSOs to strengthen Ukraine’s community restoration, democratic participation, and EU integration efforts. By supporting advocacy, transparency, and citizen engagement, selected organizations contribute to sustainable, inclusive, and accountable local development while aligning communities with EU standards.
For more information, visit Eastern Europe Foundation.
