Ukrainian version published at the Kyiv Rights Hubs website
Announcement date of the small grants competition: May 18, 2026
Deadline for submission of project applications for the small grants competition: June 14, 2026, 23:59
The project is implemented by a consortium of the Kyiv Human Rights Hub, the Center for Civil Liberties, and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) in partnership with a number of Ukrainian and international organizations.
Administrative and organizational support for the small grants competition is provided by the Kyiv Human Rights Hub.
PROJECT GOAL — to strengthen the role of Ukrainian civil society as a driver of democratic change, a bearer of human rights values, and a partner in shaping public policy. The project seeks to ensure the sustainability, effectiveness, and impact of human rights public initiatives, especially in conditions of full-scale war and threats to democratic institutions.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of CSOs to influence public policy, advocate for the rights of vulnerable communities, and respond to humanitarian challenges, adhering to the principles of equality, inclusion, and transparency. The project also prioritizes women’s rights , LGBTQ rights , anti-corruption , and investigative journalism.
PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES. The project provides a wide range of opportunities: from small grants for project implementation, training, advocacy campaign development and strategic planning to emergency grants in crisis situations. Organizations can join programs on developing management skills, anti-corruption activities, documenting human rights violations, participating in forums, analytical academy and networking events. Support covers both local and regional initiatives, taking into account the needs of internally displaced persons and representatives of marginalized communities.
THE PURPOSE OF THE SMALL GRANTS COMPETITION “ABLE TO IMPACT” — Expanding the capabilities of Ukrainian CSOs in carrying out human rights activities and providing them with support in developing organizational capacity.
Proposed projects must correspond to ONLY one of the following thematic areas:
- promoting human rights, including equal rights and the prevention of discrimination;
- strengthening the organizational capacity of human rights NGOs (including the applicant) and developing regional human rights networks;
- supporting civic education at the regional level;
- supporting advocacy activities related to regional and national human rights agendas.
Under the thematic area “Supporting advocacy activities related to regional and national human rights agendas”, priority will be given to projects submitted by organizations in partnership with other organizations.
Project activities may include, but are not limited to:
- providing psychosocial, legal and other types of support (except humanitarian aid) to victims of military actions;
- carrying out objective, impartial monitoring of peaceful assemblies, legal proceedings, and actions of local government bodies and local self-government bodies;
- developing and advocating for policy proposals for democratic governance reforms in selected priority areas;
- conducting public awareness campaigns and campaigns targeting civil servants, local government employees and local council members;
- public monitoring of cases of discrimination at different levels and in different areas;
- planning and implementing advocacy campaigns at the national, regional and local levels;
- conducting thematic media campaigns;
- expanding access of vulnerable groups to advisory and legal support on issues of protecting rights and combating discrimination;
- measures to promote intersectoral cooperation and networking in the field of human rights;
- conducting public monitoring, evaluation, and expertise in the field of democratic governance reform;
- conducting public monitoring and public expertise of the activities of executive authorities and local self-government bodies in ensuring equal rights and preventing discrimination;
- development and implementation of measures and programs for civic education in the field of equal rights and prevention of discrimination;
- holding open lectures, public discussions on the topics of equal rights and prevention of discrimination;
- organization of civic activity clubs in educational institutions and youth spaces;
- creation and dissemination of educational materials on human rights, participation in decision-making processes, combating corruption, etc.;
- etc.
Ineligible are costs related to:
- measures that could lead to civil unrest;
- measures that discriminate against any group on the basis of age, gender reassignment, disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief;
- administrative fines, fines for criminal offenses;
- payments for works or activities fully financed from other sources in cash or in kind;
- unfair dismissal payments or other compensation payments;
- replacement or refund of any funds lost as a result of fraud, corruption, bribery, theft, terrorist financing or other misuse of funds;
- any fines or fees levied by local authorities or any local government body;
- debt repayment;
- costs associated with the preparation of a competitive application or commercial proposal prior to the conclusion of a formal agreement;
- education, retraining and advanced training (studying courses, trainings, etc.);
- compensation related to exchange rate fluctuations;
- purchase of equipment, machinery, materials, goods, etc. that were already in use;
- payment of taxes and fees;
- activities of a political or religious nature .
Organizations can submit project applications for the small grants competition within one of the LOTs:
LOT 1: Organizations that have been registered since May 15, 2023 and have implemented at least one project .
Grant amount for LOT 1: NOK 70,000.00.
LOT 2: Organizations that are registered before May 15, 2023 and have implemented at least three projects.
Grant amount for LOT 2: from 70,000.00 to 115,000.00 Norwegian kroner .
Number of projects planned to be supported: up to 20
Geography of project implementation : the entire territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine.
Project implementation period : from 6 to 12 months
Expected start of operations: September 2026
Project applications are accepted until 23:59 (Kyiv time) on June 00 , 2026.
The project allows administrative expenses of no more than 7 % of the grant amount ( bank fees , rent, utilities, office supplies, Internet and communication costs, etc.).
Project budget calculations are made in Norwegian kroner.
Grant funds will be transferred in Norwegian kroner in one/two tranches depending on the grant amount.
All budget items must be detailed and justified in accordance with the planned activities within the project. All justifications must be based on the market value of goods and services in Ukraine.
Who can submit a project application?
Charitable organizations (charitable organizations, charitable foundations and charitable institutions) and public associations (public organizations and unions of public organizations) that are registered as legal entities in Ukraine and included in the Register of Non-Profit Organizations with the non-profit status 0032, 0036, 0038.
Higher education institutions that are registered as legal entities in Ukraine and included in the Register of Non-Profit Organizations with the non-profit status 0048.
Applications from business entities (both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs), state authorities, local governments, municipal institutions, political parties, and religious organizations will not be accepted for consideration.
Applicant organizations must not be in a state of bankruptcy or dissolution of legal entity at the time of application.
Grants cannot be issued to organizations that, at the time of signing the grant agreement, are registered (have a legal address) in a territory designated as temporarily occupied (in the list of settlements in the territory of which the state authorities of Ukraine temporarily do not exercise their powers, as well as settlements located on the contact line).
HOW TO SUBMIT A PROJECT APPLICATION
Applications must be submitted ONLY through the online application form.
Submission procedure:
- Fill out the project application form (Word format) and budget (Excel format);
- Prepare all necessary documents for participation in the small grants competition in the appropriate format;
- Submit a complete package of documents via online application form within the established deadline.
One organization can submit only one project application.
List of required attachments, in addition to the completed project application form (Word format) and budget (Excel format):
- copy of the Certificate of State Registration or Extract/Extract from the Unified State Register;
- a copy of the Extract from the Register of Non-Profit Institutions and Organizations;
- a copy of the Report on the Use of Income (Profits) of the non-profit organization and the annual financial statements for 2025;
- CVs of the personnel planned to be involved in the project implementation;
- Memorandum letter, if submitting the project in a consortium (is a mandatory annex for those submitting in partnership under the thematic area ” Supporting advocacy activities related to the regional and national human rights agenda”).
COMPETITION STAGES AND EVALUATION OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS
The evaluation of project applications submitted for the small grants competition will take place in two stages (for each Lot separately).
Stage 1: Evaluation of project applications according to technical criteria:
- timely submission of the project application, budget and mandatory annexes (by the specified date and time);
- compliance of the organization that submitted the application with the requirements established for participants in the small grants competition;
- the project application and budget comply with the established form (all sections are completed in the required format);
- availability of all required applications;
- the requested amount of funding does not exceed the established maximum grant amount;
- The duration of the proposed activity is at least 6 months and no longer than 12 months.
Project applications that do not meet at least one of the specified technical criteria are not allowed to proceed to the next stage of evaluation .
Stage 2. Evaluation of project applications by an independent Competition Commission . Project applications admitted to the second stage of evaluation will be evaluated by independent experts of the Competition Commission according to the following criteria:
- relevance of the proposed project;
- the extent to which the proposed project will solve/or allow solving the problem identified in the justification;
- compliance of the project with the thematic areas of the competition;
- the extent to which the proposed activity ensures the achievement of project results (clarity, logicality of the project, practicality and appropriateness of the implementation of activities);
- the experience and potential of the project team to implement the project;
- acceptability, reasonableness and rationality of the budget.
Questions about the conditions of the small grants competition and the procedure for submitting project applications are accepted at the following email address: [email protected] no later than June 14, 2026 .
After summarizing all received questions, the Kyiv Human Rights Hub will provide summarized written answers and publish them on its website: https://hrhub.kyiv.ua