Grant Application Centre
How it works
Application
- To be eligible, you must represent a CSO from one of the Program Countries for 2024: Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, or Lithuania.
- Prepare your application according to the provided eligibility criteria and assessment criteria.
- Ensure that your project aligns with the objectives of the program.
- Justify your budget, demonstrating value for money and efficiency.
- Include sustainability aspects in your proposed project.
- Submit your application within the specified deadline.
Shortlist
- An evaluation committee will review all the submissions and grade them based on the assessment grid.
- Shortlisted applicants will be notified of their selection.
- Small capacity-building grants of €250 will be awarded for capacity assessment and project review visits.
Capacity Assessment and Project Review Visits
- Liaison Officers (LO) will visit your organization’s office or the marginalized minority community area.
- The LO will assess your organization’s technical capacity and review relevant documentation.
- The visit will also focus on discussing the substantive project design and addressing any questions or suggestions from the evaluation committee.
- Based on the visit’s findings, you will have a short period to make final adjustments to your project design and budget.
Resubmit
- After the capacity assessment and project review visit, revise your project proposal based on the feedback and discussions.
- Submit the final version of your proposal, incorporating the necessary changes.
Final Decision
- The evaluation committee will make the final decision on which shortlisted projects will be supported in each country.
- Once selected, you will enter into a grant agreement with MRGE.
- Disbursement of funds will occur in three tranches, as specified in the reporting requirements.
- Monitoring visits may be conducted by the Finance Officer and Grant Manager to assess your project’s progress.
- Peer learning grants may also be awarded to support peer exchange among grantees.
It’s not just a grant
There is more to our partnership than only the grant.
MRGE and PILnet will organize one central training for grantees each year, focusing on EU mechanisms and opportunities. This training will serve as a time for grantees to exchange experiences with other grantees of the same year.
With Liaison Officers’ support, grantees will be able to seek pro bono legal advice through local clearinghouses where available or help to translate their requests and submit them to PILnet Global Clearinghouse.
Grantees will have access to international mobile units of experts, or CSO Shields, as needed. Experts will assist minority CSOs in analysing available information, and designing tailor-made responses and solutions.
At the end of the project, a research will be conducted, and a final study measure the change in the situation of civic space, and assess the long- and medium-term effects of the MARIO project.
Annual exchange meetings will be followed by advocacy meetings for selected grantees in Brussels where they will meet relevant EU decision makers.
A long-lasting network of grantees alumni will have access to funding opportunities. The grantee alumni network will be a platform for exchange as well as information and opportunities.
Annual exchange meetings will be followed by advocacy meetings for selected grantees in Brussels where they will meet relevant EU decision makers.
What we fund
We are looking for organizations that:
- Represent minority groups and are equipped with the tools to meaningfully engage in awareness raising on EU Fundamental Rights and values;
- Subject projects that strengthen community capacities to hold local and national authorities to account by applying national and European human rights mechanisms;
- Have experience with media coverage, campaigns and research as grant activities raise minority concerns in positive or constructive ways.
- School activities and awareness raising to minority youth on their rights;
- Local accountability projects i.e., community-local authority problem-solving workshops and dialogues;
- Activities that investigate, address, or publicise gaps or failures in the rule of law
- Projects that contribute to democratic participation, including civic responsibility education projects, and advocacy with local authorities or relevant political parties for the inclusion of minorities;
- Legal capacity projects and campaigns that build communities’ legal capacity to access justice mechanisms to achieve their rights i.e., direct legal advice, mediator training and legal support involving a violation of the rights of minorities;
- Local advocacy projects and campaigns that give voice to local minority (and majority) concerns and support policy changes to address challenges and failings;
- Watchdog and monitoring activities on EU policies and rights and values under the EU Treaties and the Charter;
- Organization of civic platforms and civic dialogues linked to EU rights and values themes, coalitions and partnerships among CSOs and minority CSOs;
- Advocacy to influence local policy and decision-making processes.
READ MORE
Application area
Follow the steps below to apply:
- Download the Call for Applications for more details here;
- Download and fill out the application form here;
- Download and fill out the budget template here;
- Fill out your full name and email address in the form below;
- Upload the filled-out application to the area marked ‘Upload application form here’;
- Upload the filled-out budget to the area marked ‘Upload budget here’;
- Tell us how you heard about the position, consent to the GDPR agreement, and click ‘Submit’.
MARIO is funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (2021-2027) of the European Union (ref: 101091387).
