Македонски центар за меѓународна соработка - МЦМС

Author: Marika Harjula
Date: 2007
PDF:   balkan-civic-practices-no.3-a-guide-to-european-union-funding-for-ngos-2006.pdf

The purpose of our guide is to provide an overview that brings together information scattered across websites of different Commission Directorate Generals. If you use our guide to identify possible programmes of interest and then go to the website addresses indicated, you will find more detail about the programmes and calls for tender, although how much varies from one DG to the next. Examples of the types of projects funded are available in websites of some of the DGs.

The European Commission is certainly Europe’s largest donor. It is estimated that 1 billion Euro (out of a total budget of about 100 billion Euro) is available for NGO projects, and even that is the tip of the iceberg. A lot has been done over the last decade by NGO’s themselves with the support of the European Parliament to enlarge a budget focused more on economic policies to practically every area of activity generated by citizens associations. The issue is therefore, not an absence of programmes or funds. They cover a very wide range of action. Practically any project which has a genuinely European dimension and can be linked to EU policies should find a corresponding fund. The issue lies more in having a good strategy to access the EU budget.

If you and your organization take the necessary time to adopt a strategic overview and assess the ground rules in order to avoid the pitfalls in contract compliance and financial management, there is absolutely no reason why you should continue to loose out on the opportunities offered by European projects. That is why, in this opening chapter, we have included tips to make European funding much easier.

Successful fundraising begins with being able to access accurate information on what is required. This must then be followed by determination to see it through. You will also need to assess the pros and cons of EU funding.