The Culture for Development Institutional Grant Scheme aims to empower well-established cultural and artistic organizations by providing financial resources and infrastructural support to enhance their organizational capacities and ensure financial sustainability.
The objective of this call is to strengthen the organizational and financial capacities of these organizations by providing financial resources, infrastructural support and capacity building activities. This intervention seeks to enhance organizational stability, ensuring long-term sustainability and resilience within the cultural sector.
The Culture for Development Institutional Grants Scheme is designed for well-established cultural organizations that have been active for more than three (3) years and have demonstrated a lasting impact on significant social, political, and policy issues through the use of distinct cultural strategies and methods.
Eligible organizations are those who contribute to high-quality cultural content in fields such as critical theory, feminism, visual arts, performance, and social activism, with the impact extending beyond local communities influencing national socio-political narratives and supporting cultural and democratic development in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The support is based on the organizations’ annual reports and plans and strategic priorities, ensuring alignment with their areas of expertise and long-term goals.
The Institutional Grants Scheme will cover essential operational and infrastructural costs necessary for the daily functioning and growth of independent cultural organizations. The financial support will enable organizations to plan and implement their programs effectively, ensuring that they have the resources needed to maintain and expand their operations.
The Institutional Grants Scheme includes a mandatory Mentorship program provided by Helvetas, a subcontracted partner with extensive experience in organizational development. This mentorship is an integral part of the grant and is designed to support the long-term institutional and organizational development of each selected organization. The mentorship will be tailored to the specific needs and priorities of each grant recipient, focusing on strengthening governance, developing long-term strategies, and improving overall resource management. Areas of support may include organizational structure, partnership building, financial management, and strategic development.
The Culture for Development Project integrates environmental sustainability, social inclusion, diversity, and decentralization into all aspects of its activities and management. Emphasis is placed on fostering inclusive practices that support youth, women, and other marginalized groups, while gender equality remains an important driver of creativity and innovation.
Who CAN apply:
● Cultural and artistic organizations registered in the Republic of North Macedonia with a proven track record in cultural and artistic fields in the period of three years.
Requirements:
● The applicant must be registered as a legal entity with the Central Registry of the Republic of North Macedonia;
● The organization must be registered under the Law on Associations and Foundations;
● The applicants must have prior 3-year long operational work and experience in the realization of cultural and artistic projects.
Who CAN NOT apply:
● The applicant and/or individuals who in any way support or have supported discriminatory, radical, violent, racist, or nationalist behaviors and views;
● The applicant who is not registered in accordance with the laws of the Republic of North Macedonia;
● The applicant who has not settled their legal obligations regarding public contributions, taxes, and fees
● Political, religious organizations and organizations founded by religious and faith-based organizations;
● Individuals.
● Cultural institutions founded by the Republic of North Macedonia or local self-government units.
● Representative offices of foreign organizations registered in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Institutional Grant Scheme supports independent cultural and artistic organizations in the Republic of North Macedonia by covering operational and infrastructural costs that are vital for their ongoing activities and program work. The support helps address gaps in the current cultural funding landscape, where many organizations struggle to cover essential operational expenses.
The call seeks to ensure stability and sustainability of the cultural organisations, and enable them to effectively address critical sociopolitical and cultural issues. Additionally, through the mentorship program, support aims at enhancing organizational growth and long-term sustainability focusing on areas such as strategic development, internal capacities and financial management.
The call seeks to support activities that include, but are not limited to:
● Improving organizational and financial management (organizational development, development or revision of strategic policies and procedures);
● Improvement of organizational strategy and program (program growth, new initiatives/themes);
● Innovative approaches in audience development and outreach;
● Advocacy and initiatives related to improvement of cultural policies and funding;
● Capacity building activities and initiatives that contribute to the strengthening of the program work; and
● Other activities that directly help organizations to carry out their core organizations work and influence national socio-political narratives.
The total grant amount per organization is up to 3,820,000 MKD which will be disbursed over a period of two years and seven months, in two annual installments around 1,401,000 MKD each and final installment of 1,018,000 MKD.
All required documents must be submitted via [email protected] no later than 17 October 2025 at 5:00 PM.
Required application documents:
1. Proposal (stamped and signed);
2. Budget proposal for 2026, 2027 and 2028;
3. Organizational Self-assessment questionnaire;
4. Organizational budget: a) breakdown of organization actual income and expenditures for two previous years, b) breakdown of organization’s expected income/expenditure and organisational budget for 2026 of institutional support c) breakdown of organization’s expected income and expenditure for 2027, and 2028 of institutional support;
5. Current Status (Tekovna Sostojba) not older than 6 months;
6. Statute;
7. Organizational Chart;
8. Organizational Strategy (if applicable);
9. Annual Narrative Reports for the last 2 years.
Application documents are available only in English.