Applications Open for European Culture of Solidarity Fund

Deadline: 27 April 2020

Applications are now open for the European Culture of Solidarity Fund. The Fund supports imaginative cultural initiatives that, in the midst of the global pandemic crisis reinforce European solidarity and the idea of Europe as a shared public space.

Funding Information

The Fund has grants available in three amounts:
- €5.000 – 15.000 (5 – 10 awarded projects/submission period)
- €15.000 – 30.000 (2 – 3 awarded projects/submission period)
- €30.000 – 50.000 (1 – 2 awarded projects/submission period).
Grants can be used for financing a wide range of activities ranging from seed money for entirely new initiatives and (co-) funding for scaling up already existing ideas to European level. They can cover material costs, office costs, online co-working and communication tools, production costs, but also expert fees and staff costs.

The Fund is looking for

It is this moment – a European culture of solidarity – the Fund has set out to capture and encourage. The Fund – set up in partnership with other foundations – is looking to support imaginative cultural initiatives – big or small – that reinforce solidarity and the notion of Europe as a shared public space in response to the current crisis and its aftershocks. It is open to individuals, collectives and organisations from all sectors and civil society at large with initiatives and ideas that:

Expand the notion of Europe as an open and shared public space for everybody in times of inward looking and national decision-making;
Express and act in hands-on solidarity with people and communities across closed borders;
Share experiences, knowledge, skills, stories, ideas and resources of solidarity across Europe, especially outside mainstream public attention;
Sustain people-to-people interaction beyond European borders and in times of travel restrictions and social distancing;
Maintain cultural life and social experiences with a European outreach in times of home lockdown and prepare the ground for a cultural revival of Europe after the crisis;
Develop new approaches in operations of cultural work and new alliances across sectors to deal with the current challenges imposed by the crisis.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be above 18 years old;
The call is open to individuals, collectives or organisations (NGOs, public institutions, private enterprises and freelancers) from the creative sector as well as other fields and sectors of society including academic & educational, environmental, social entrepreneurship, health & social care, human rights, etc. Applicants can represent the private, public or civic sector.
Applicants can be based anywhere in the world, but their proposal must clearly contribute to a European Culture of Solidarity, the overall focus of the Fund.
The Fund does not accept proposals submitted by political parties. Their work is strictly non-partisan.

Selection Criteria

All incoming proposals will be assessed on the basis of their
- Relevance to the overall theme and focus of the Fund;
- Feasibility and implementation potential;
- Impact they may have on the challenge addressed and communities involved.
The Fund will pay special attention to proposals coming from:
- Regions where so far there is little to no emergency funding made available for the cultural and creative sector institutions;
- People and communities that face discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, (cultural) background, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Applications will be selected upon internal assessment, with support of external partners and advisors from a wide spread of geographic, cultural and professional backgrounds.
The Fund will complete the assessment procedure within 4 weeks from the submission deadline. Decisions are final and they hope you understand that, due to the anticipated high volume of applications, unfortunately they cannot enter into any correspondence regarding unsuccessful applications.