Active citizens fund: New open calls for proposals support Civil Society in Greece with € 1.5 million

The Bodossaki Foundation and SolidarityNow, in their capacity as the Fund Operator of the Active Citizens Fund programme in Greece,  which has already allocated over € 7 million to support Civil Society, announces two open calls for proposals: “Gender equality promoted and gender-based violence combatted” and “Platforms and networks among CSOs developed”.

The Active Citizens Fund in Greece is supported through a € 12m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The program aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship, and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active Citizens Fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow.

According to data, Greece scores last at the European Gender Equality Index of the EU. The call “Promoting gender equality and combating gender-based violence” with a total available funding € 1,005,400, aims to contribute to inequalities reduction and gender-based violence elimination.

The new call encourages civil society organisations and actors to take initiatives that will contribute to informing, raising awareness and advocating on gender equality issues, including, but not limited to, combating gender stereotypes and sexism, promoting gender mainstreaming, advancing balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-making, as well as, enhancing the prevention of and strengthening the combat against gender-based violence, all whilst supporting its victims and empowering them to successfully advocate for and exercise their rights.

The call “Development of networks between civil society organizations”, with a total available funding of € 500,000, seeks to fulfill the need of developing and strengthening Civil Society networks, which are necessary for the enhancement of the sector and its operation. The civil society organisations and actors are encouraged to take initiatives, which will contribute to the promotion and strengthening of networks and platforms among civil society organizations, as well as to advocate for such networks.

The organisations eligible as implementation bodies are NGOs with legal status in Greece, while the project partners may be public or private sector organisations with legal status in Greece, NGOs, Cooperative Social Enterprises, international organisations, informal citizens groups etc.

Active citizens fund enables organizations with little experience in project implementation but with great social local impact, to receive funding. Part of the funding will be allocated for the empowerment of the organizations that will implement the projects, thus contributing to the sustainability of the program results.

Given the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on civil society, the program may cover up to 100% of the project costs.

All relevant documents for the preparation of proposals, such as the guidelines to applicants, the Call document etc. are available in electronic format here for the open call “Gender equality promoted and gender-based violence combatted, and here for the open call “Platforms and networks among CSOs developed”.

The closing date for the submission of proposals for funding is April 12, 2021.

Finally, the open call for Bilateral Cooperation Initiatives, aiming at the strengthening of bilateral relations between NGOs in Greece and entities in the Donor States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), remains open for potential applicants.

Bilateral cooperation refers to networking, exchange, strengthening cooperation, sharing and transfer of knowledge, technology, experience and best practices between NGOs in Greece and entities in the Donor States (Iceland, Lichtenstein, and Norway). The funded activities include educational trips for young people aged 18 to 30, who are given the opportunity to attend seminars, workshops and similar activities supporting the exchange of best practices and experience. The call for the strengthening of Bilateral Relations, with available funding € 92,000 supports initiatives of up to € 6,000 each and will remain open until June 30, 2023, or until the exhaustion of the available funds, whichever occurs first.