Call for Applications: Grants for Volunteerism (Kosovo)

Deadline: 12-Oct-2026

The Grants for Volunteerism Kosovo support individuals, unregistered initiatives, and NGOs in developing creative civic activism and volunteering projects that mobilize citizens to address community needs across Kosovo. The grants aim to strengthen solidarity, social responsibility, active citizenship, and volunteer participation. Projects can focus on areas such as youth empowerment, environmental protection, public health, gender mainstreaming, cultural heritage, and social inclusion. Citizens’ engagement and volunteering are important for strengthening communities, encouraging social responsibility, and promoting active citizenship in Kosovo. Civil society organizations have played an important role in democratization and community development over the past two decades. However, despite relatively high levels of public trust in civil society, participation in volunteering and civic activism remains low. The Grants for Volunteerism are intended to help address this gap by supporting initiatives that actively engage citizens and volunteers in activities that benefit their communities. The programme encourages creative approaches that can bring people together, strengthen social cohesion, and promote meaningful participation in community life. The grants support projects that mobilize volunteers and promote volunteer work while addressing community needs.

Supported initiatives may focus on:

Projects should demonstrate how citizens will be engaged and how volunteers will contribute to achieving the proposed results. The programme places emphasis on inclusive participation and encourages projects that engage diverse groups within communities. Applicants may develop activities involving: Projects should demonstrate clear strategies for involving participants and volunteers rather than simply delivering activities to the community. Applicants can request up to EUR 5,000 per project. The grant can cover necessary expenses required for successful project implementation, including reasonable and justified costs associated with volunteer participation.

Eligible costs may include:

Applicants should ensure that their proposed budget is realistic and directly connected to the activities and expected results. Human resources costs are subject to a specific restriction. Expenses for salaries and fees must not exceed 10% of the total budget requested. Applicants should therefore allocate the majority of the requested funding toward activities and expenses that directly support citizen engagement, volunteering, and project implementation. Certain types of expenditure are not eligible under the Grants for Volunteerism Kosovo.

Ineligible costs include:

Applicants should carefully develop their budgets and ensure that every requested cost is necessary for achieving the project’s objectives. Projects supported through the Grants for Volunteerism Kosovo must deliver concrete results within a maximum period of 12 months. Applicants should therefore develop realistic activities, timelines, and volunteer engagement plans that can be completed within the permitted project period. The proposal should clearly explain what will be achieved during the project and how citizen and volunteer participation will contribute to those results. The programme is open to several categories of applicants involved in non-profit initiatives that provide public benefit.

Eligible applicants include:

Applicants must be engaged in initiatives that have a non-profit and public-benefit purpose. NGOs applying for the grants must meet specific financial and operational requirements.

Eligible NGOs must:

The turnover requirement is intended to ensure that the programme is accessible to smaller civil society organizations and community-based initiatives. Individuals may also apply for Grants for Volunteerism Kosovo. To qualify, an individual applicant must be a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo and propose a non-profit initiative that provides public benefit. Individual applicants should demonstrate a clear community need and explain how their proposed activities will mobilize citizens or volunteers to address that need. Unregistered initiatives can also apply, providing an opportunity for community groups that have not formally registered as NGOs to participate. Such initiatives should demonstrate a clear public-benefit purpose and provide a practical plan for implementing their proposed volunteering or civic activism activities. The proposal should explain who will participate, how volunteers will be mobilized, what activities will be carried out, and what concrete results are expected. All applicants must commit to the Core Values for grantees. This requirement applies to individuals, unregistered initiatives, and NGOs participating in the programme. Applicants should ensure that their proposed activities and organizational practices are consistent with the values expected from grant recipients. Applicants must not be led or managed by Politically Exposed Persons. This eligibility condition applies to organizations and initiatives seeking support under the programme. Applicants should ensure that their leadership and management arrangements comply with this requirement before submitting an application. Yes. Partnerships are allowed under the Grants for Volunteerism Kosovo. However, the lead applicant must take full responsibility for project implementation and management. This means that partnerships can be used to bring together different groups, organizations, or community actors, but the lead applicant remains responsible for ensuring that the project is properly implemented and managed. A strong proposal should clearly connect the community need with the proposed volunteering activities.

Applicants should explain:

The proposal should demonstrate that volunteer participation is a central part of the project rather than an incidental activity. Citizen engagement is a key element of the Grants for Volunteerism Kos