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Communities
Grant programmes, rules and terms that matter for Communities: 21 knowledge base articles.
Programmes4
- Digital Europe Digital Europe (DIGITAL) is the EU programme for 2021–2027 with a budget of over €8.1 billion that funds the deployment of digital technologies: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital skills and their uptake in business and the public sector. Ukraine has been associated since 2022, but only to four objectives. The typical rate is 50%, so applicants fund the other half.
- Erasmus+ Erasmus+ is the EU programme for education, training, youth and sport for 2021–2027, with a budget of €26.2 billion. It funds the mobility of people, partnerships between organisations and capacity building in higher education. Ukraine takes part as a third country not associated to the Programme, so what is open is the international dimension rather than the whole programme.
- Interreg Interreg is the EU’s European territorial cooperation for 2021–2027: dozens of separate programmes, each with its own territory, calls and rules. Ukrainian municipalities, public institutions, NGOs and universities take part in several of them, but only together with partners from EU countries. The rate, the advance and Ukraine’s status depend on the programme, so check them on its website.
- LIFE LIFE is the only EU programme devoted entirely to the environment and climate action, with a budget of €5.432 billion for 2021–2027. It runs through four sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity, circular economy, climate action, and the clean energy transition. Ukraine has been associated to LIFE since 2022, so a Ukrainian organisation can be a full beneficiary.
Programme sections5
- Circular Economy and Quality of Life The circular economy and quality of life sub-programme holds €1.345 billion for 2021–2027. It funds waste management, resource efficiency, water and air quality, noise reduction and chemical safety, and the co-financing rate here is 60%. LIFE
- Clean Energy Transition: a rate of up to 95% The clean energy transition sub-programme holds €997 million for 2021–2027 and carries the highest co-financing rate in LIFE, up to 95%. It funds not equipment but the removal of non-technological barriers: policies, skills, financing schemes and the preparation of investment projects. LIFE
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation The climate change mitigation and adaptation sub-programme holds €947 million for 2021–2027. It funds cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the adaptation of territories to the effects of climate change and climate governance, at a co-financing rate of 60%. LIFE
- Key Action 2: cooperation partnerships Key Action 2 funds joint projects between organisations rather than trips for individuals. Cooperation Partnerships come in three fixed lump sums – €120,000, €250,000 and €400,000 – and Small-scale Partnerships in two, €30,000 and €60,000, the latter designed as the entry point for organisations with no EU project experience. Erasmus+
- Nature and Biodiversity: the largest sub-programme Nature and Biodiversity is the largest LIFE sub-programme, with €2.143 billion for 2021–2027. It funds the restoration of habitats and species populations, the build-out of the Natura 2000 network and the implementation of EU nature legislation, and the co-financing rate here reaches 75%. LIFE
Glossary12
- Eligible and Ineligible Costs Eligible costs are the costs a donor agrees to cover with the grant because they meet the conditions of the agreement: actually incurred during the project, foreseen in the budget, necessary for its implementation and backed by documents. Anything that fails these conditions, or is expressly excluded by the agreement, is rejected at the check, and the organisation covers that money itself.
- Final payment and closing the grant The final payment is the closing settlement of a grant: the donor determines the final amount from accepted costs and deducts everything already paid. The difference can be positive or negative, in which case part of the advance has to be repaid. In Horizon Europe the payment is due within 90 days of receipt of the final report. Horizon Europe
- Financial statement for a grant A financial statement is the part of the periodic report in which each participant declares its eligible costs for the reporting period. In EU grants it is filled in on the Portal in euros, signed by an authorised person of the organisation, and due within 60 days of the end of the period. The interim or final payment depends on its acceptance.
- Grants for budgetary institutions: treasury servicing A budgetary institution receives a grant as own revenue of the special fund, in the Budget Code subgroup for charitable contributions, grants and gifts. The money goes to an account with the State Treasury or, for universities, research and cultural institutions, with a state-owned bank. It can be spent only after the estimate is amended, and that time has to be built into the project plan.
- Grants for local communities: where to start A Ukrainian community can attract grants through its council, a municipal enterprise, a local development agency, or in partnership with a civic organisation. The realistic sources are EU programmes, UN agency projects and state instruments such as the regional development fund. Almost everywhere this takes local budget co-financing, a council decision and a link to the community strategy.
- Organisational capacity assessment before a grant An organisational capacity assessment checks whether an organisation can deliver the project and handle the money properly: governance, financial system, internal control, staff, experience. The donor runs it before signing the agreement, and the result affects the terms: the size of the advance, extra requirements, or a refusal. Prepare policies and documents well in advance.
- Record-keeping after the grant ends After a grant ends, project records must be kept for several more years, because the donor may check costs after the last payment. In EU grants this is five years after the final payment, or three for grants of up to EUR 60,000. If a document is missing when a check comes, the related cost is rejected and the money has to be repaid.
- Registering an international technical assistance project in Ukraine State registration of a technical assistance project is an entry in the register kept by the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, confirmed by a registration card. Without it the grant can still be received and spent, but tax and customs exemptions are unavailable and a foreign implementer cannot be accredited. The recipient then reports twice a year.
- Regranting: grants through intermediary organisations Regranting means a donor awards one large grant to an operator organisation, which then runs its own calls and passes smaller grants on to local organisations. For an applicant it is the most accessible way into grant funding: a simpler application, smaller amounts, the local language. But your contract is with the operator, and the original donor's rules usually reach you through that contract.
- Timesheets (time records) A project timesheet is the evidence of how much time a specific person spent on the grant itself. The amount of personnel costs depends on it. In Horizon Europe hourly timesheets can be replaced by a monthly declaration of days, and costs are calculated as a daily rate multiplied by the number of days worked on the action.
- Ukraine Facility The Ukraine Facility is the EU’s support instrument for Ukraine for 2024–2027 worth up to €50 billion: up to €33 billion in loans and up to €17 billion in non-repayable support. It is mostly not a grant programme to apply to: the bulk goes to the state budget. Money reaches businesses, municipalities and NGOs through banks, financial institutions, state programmes and individual calls.
- VAT and customs exemption in technical assistance projects Goods and services paid for by a registered international technical assistance project and listed in its procurement plan are supplied in Ukraine without VAT, and imported goods are free of import charges. The exemption is tied to the registration card and the procurement plan, not to the word grant in a contract, so a paperwork mistake turns into a tax reassessment for the supplier.
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