Deadline: 2-May-22
The Active Citizens Fund is accepting applications for Small Projects 2022 to support small-scale projects lasting from six to twelve months, aimed at interventions proposed and implemented by local civil society organizations in order to increase the well-being of local communities and / or thematic communities consisting of certain social groups with common interests, needs and problems in one of the priority program areas of the Active Citizens Fund.
Areas of Support
Active Citizens Fund priority programme areas of support are:
- Democracy, active citizenship, good governance and transparency,
- Human rights and equal treatment through combating any discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity,
- Social justice and inclusion of vulnerable groups,
- Gender equality and gender-based violence,
- Environment and climate change.
Funding Information
- Total budget of ACF in Croatia is € 9.060.000, out of that €8.552.00 from EEA Financial Mechanism and €560.000 from Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
- The amount of € 7.724.000 is intended for grants to Croatian CSOs, out of which €7.244.000 from EEA Financial Mechanism and €480.000 from Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
- The projects financing budget will be distributed via seven public calls:
- Public call for large projects – with a budget of € 3.150.000, for expectedly about 21 projects.
- Public call for micro or »Ad-Hoc Action« projects – with a budget of €215.000, for expectedly around 43 projects.
- Public call for sectoral innovation projects – with a budget of €600.000, for expectedly 3 projects.
- Public call for medium projects – with a budget of €2.709.000, for expectedly around 45 projects.
- Two public calls for small projects – with a budget of €630.000, for expectedly around 44 projects.
- Public call for in organizational (institutional) grants – with a budget of € 420.000, for expectedly 7 projects.
Expected Outcomes
Expected outcomes of the ACF in Croatia are:
- Strengthened civil society watchdog/advocacy role;
- Increased support for human rights, rule of law and good governance;
- Strengthened democratic culture and civic awareness and engagement;
- Enhanced capacity and sustainability of civil society (organisations and sector);
- Enhanced collaboration between Croatia and donor state entities involved in the Programme;
- Strengthened regional (cross-border) cooperation in the civil society sector.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible lead applicants are civil society organisations (CSOs) established and registered in Republic of Croatia if they meet following definition:
- “A non-profit voluntary organization established as a legal entity, having a non-commercial purpose, independent of local, regional and central government, public entities, political parties and commercial organizations. Religious institutions and political parties are not considered NGOs”.
- More specifically, eligible candidates must meet all of the following general conditions:
- Are non-profit organizations that have not been created nor operate to generate personal profit. Although they may have paid staff and may engage in revenue- generating activities, they do not distribute profits to their members nor to their board. Where revenue-generating activities are undertaken, these should not represent the purpose of the NGO but should be solely a means to support its mission and values;
- Have members who do not have any direct commercial interest in the outcome of the work of the organizations or of its commercial activities and should not pursue the commercial or professional interests of their members. This requirement therefore excludes trade and professional associations, where the aims and purposes of the association are to further the specific interests of its membersonly;
- Are voluntary in nature, formed voluntarily by groups or individuals and usually involving an element of voluntary participation in theorganization;
- Act in the public arena and for the public good on concerns and issues related to the well-being of people, groups or society as awhole;
- Have some degree of formal or institutional existence, unlike informal or ad hoc groups,involving formal statutes or other governing document(s) defining their mission, objectives and scope;
- Have transparent structures and an elected chair / board, and are accountable to their members and donors;
- Are independent of local, regional and national government and other public authorities;
- Are independent of political parties and commercial organizations;
- Conducts transparent financial operations validated through Register of Non-profit Organizations (RNO) with Croatian Ministry of Finance;
- Faith-based organisations are eligible if they meet the principles identified and if the funded activities do not directly or indirectly promote a religious doctrine, mission or proselytism related to the beliefs of a particular faith (beyond basic religious/cultural awareness raising).
For more information, visit https://eeagrants.org/currently-available-funding/hr-activecitizens-call-for-small-projects-2022