Active Citizens Fund will grant the support in 4 programs

From 2020 to 2024, the Active Citizens Fund will provide support for civil society in Latvia to implement activities in programs “Democratic Culture”, “Human Rights”, “Sustainability and Capacity”, and “Bilateral and Regional Cooperation”.

It is planned to announce the first calls in spring 2020. These will be Strategic Project calls for proposals in programs Democratic Culture and Human Rights. We invite you to be informed about the framework of activities supported by the programs.

CALLS FOR PROPOSALS

The Active Citizens Fund will launch at least 7 open calls for proposals for the following types of projects:

• Strategic projects with a systemic vision on their importance and long-term impact on strengthening the participation of Latvian civil society and individuals, and the empowerment of vulnerable groups. Total grant amount from 40 000 – 105 000 EUR.
• Action projects for implementation of current and urgent initiatives to ensure interest advocacy and implementation of civic activities. Total grant amount from 1 000 – 10 000 EUR
• Capacity projects – for activities that focus on strengthening, cooperation and networking of civic society organizations, non-registered civil society groups, and active individuals; as well as on the development of financial sustainability of organizations. Total grant amount from 6 000 –20 000 EUR
• Awareness-raising campaign on democracy and the role of people in it. Total grant amount from 50 000 – 70 000 EUR

10% co-funding will be required for all projects. Half of it can be contributed in the form of voluntary work. Action projects is the exception, as the full co-funding amount can be contributed in the form of voluntary work.

In addition to the call proposals, a possibility to receive funding for collaboration activities with the donor states of Active Citizens Fund – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – will be provided.

PROGRAMS OF THE ACTIVE CITIZENS FUND

The program’s “Democratic culture” objective is to strengthen democratic culture and civic awareness in Latvia. The total amount provided for the program is 4 405 000 euros. The program will support activities for awareness-raising on democracy, participation in civic activities, and the reinforcement of CSO watchdog and advocacy roles. Funding will be granted in open calls for proposals to strategic projects, action projects and campaigns. For more details see the description of the program “Democratic culture”.

The program’s “Human rights” objective is to increase awareness on human rights in Latvian society. The total amount provided for the program is 630 000 euros. The program will support activities for awareness-raising on human rights and reinforcement of CSO working in human rights. Funding will be granted in open calls for proposals to strategic projects. For more details see the description of the program “Human rights”.

The program’s “Sustainability and capacity” objective is to enhance the capacity and sustainability of civic society in Latvia. The total amount provided for the program is 2 020 000 euros. The program will support activities for capacity building, cooperation between CSOs and facilitation of financial stability of CSOs. Funding will be granted to capacity projects. Under the auspices of this program in 2021/2022, the Civic Competences Academy “Change Maker” will be organized, too. The Academy is an 8-months training course in civic competence that will take place in regions of Latvia. For more details see the description of the program “Sustainability and capacity”.

The program’s “Bilateral and regional cooperation” objective is to enhance cross-border collaboration of civil society in Latvia with organizations in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and all EEA/Norway Financial Mechanism beneficiary states. Mostly, the support will be available to civil society organizations that want to include in their projects the collaboration activities with organizations in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Such as grants for bilateral cooperation and partnerships, and implementation of specific activities. Funding is also provided for the participation of the Active Citizens Fund operator and other civil society organizations in international events organized and coordinated by the Active Citizens Fund operators in the EEA/Norway Financial Mechanism beneficiary states. For more details, see the description of the program “Bilateral and Regional Cooperation”.

Currently, the Active Citizens Fund is working on the development of the Fund’s management and control processes, drafting of rules for calls for proposals, development of selection criteria, as well as program’s IT system.