Overview of open calls

Civil Society Fund calls that are open for donor country partnerships:

N.B.: Before sending in an application, be sure to check with the Fund Operator whether the call is still open. Deadlines can change if the funds are exhausted.

Bulgaria

Call No. 2 – Rolling Call for Small Grants (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Dedicated to strengthening civil society and supporting organisations that contribute to a more democratic, inclusive, and resilient society. It aims to foster civic participation, protect fundamental rights, encourage social justice and equality, and promote sustainable responses to emerging societal challenges. The call places particular emphasis on supporting smaller, community-based organisations, as well as initiatives working with underrepresented or vulnerable groups, through a simplified and accessible funding mechanism.

Funding Budget: €4,150,000

Grant Amount: €10,000 to €25,000 per project

Project Duration: 6 to 12 months

Deadline: 29 June 2030 (with ongoing rolling application sessions; the first evaluation cutoff is 29 September 2026)

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Slovakia

Call No. 1 – Small Grants (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Supports small-scale civil society initiatives that strengthen democratic values, the rule of law, human rights, and social cohesion, while addressing challenges such as disinformation, declining trust in democratic institutions, and the impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Funding Budget: €990,000

Grant Amount: Up to €25,000 per project

Project Duration: 1to12 months

Deadline: Rolling call (applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and assessed at regular intervals until the budget is exhausted)

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Call No. 7 – Bilateral Cooperation (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Supports initiatives aimed at strengthening relations between Slovak CSOs and entities in the donor states. Funding is intended for networking, sharing know-how, transferring best practices, and developing joint project partnerships.

Funding Budget: €120,000

Grant Amount: Up to €5,000 per project

Project Duration: Up to 12 months

Deadline: Rolling call (Applications accepted ongoingly until the allocated funds are fully exhausted)

Partnerships is mandatory (Projects must involve at least one partner from Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein)

Poland

Call No. 1 – Thematic Projects (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Supports projects that strengthen democratic values and the rule of law while promoting and protecting human rights.

Funding Budget: €17,250,920

Grant Amount: €10,000 to €112,000 per project.

Deadline: 29 July 2026 at 12:00 noon.

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Czechia

Call No. 1 – Project Grants (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Supports initiatives that strengthen civic engagement, protection of human rights, information integrity, gender equality, a just green transition, and participation in democratic processes. The call aims to foster stronger, more sustainable, and better-connected civil society organisations.

Funding Budget: €5,960,000

Grant Amount: From €25,001 to €100,000

Project Duration: 18, 24, 36 months

Deadline: 15 September 2026

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Call No. 2 – Project Grants for Systemic Change (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Supports strategic, large-scale civil society initiatives aimed at achieving structural and systemic changes in public policies, institutional practices, or societal frameworks. Focuses on long-term impacts regarding democracy, human rights, civic participation, and institutional transparency.

Funding Budget: €1,600,000 (Total Pool)

Grant Amount: €100,000 to €200,000 per project

Project Duration: 36 months

Deadline: 15 September 2026

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Call No. 3 – Small Project Regional Grants, Karlovy Vary and Pilsen Regions (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Supports smaller-scale, localized civil society initiatives explicitly targeting the Karlovy Vary and Pilsen regions. Funding is geared toward boosting civic participation, addressing regional socio-economic challenges, promoting democratic governance, and fostering community resilience.

Funding Budget: €51,558

Grant Amount: €2,000 to €5,000 per project

Project Duration: 6 months

Deadline: 15 September 2026

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Portugal

Call No. 01 – Large Projects: Strengthening Democratic Values and the Rule of Law (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Funds major, multi-year initiatives designed to achieve structural, systemic change within Portuguese civil society. The call focuses heavily on strengthening democratic values, enforcing the rule of law, protecting fundamental human rights, and building the structural resilience and long-term capacity of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Funding Budget: €1,562,500

Grant Amount: €37,500 to €62,500 per project

Project Duration: Between 12 and 24 months

Deadline: 29 September 2026

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Call No. 02 – Large Projects: Supporting and Defending Human Rights (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Seeks to support initiatives that protect and advance human rights, promote social and environmental justice, and address discrimination and gender inequality, with a special concern for LGBTIQ+ rights, supporting migrants and refugees, addressing gender-based violence, and strengthening climate action and a just green transition.

Funding Budget: €1,562,500
Grant Amount: €37,500 to €62,500 per project
Project Duration: Between 12 and 24 months
Deadline: 29 September 2026

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) encouraged.

Call No. 03 – Small Projects: Strengthening Civil Society Organisations (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Focuses on two pillars: strengthening the organisational development and long-term sustainability of CSOs by enhancing staff and volunteer capacities, and improving the enabling environment by reinforcing umbrella networks, fostering cooperation platforms, and reducing fragmentation to increase collective sector impact.

Funding Budget: €450,000

Grant Amount: €25,000 to €37,500 per project

Project Duration: Between 6 and 18 months

Deadline: 29 September 2026

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) are encouraged.

Estonia

Call No. 1 – Strategic Projects (Call guidelines)

Focus Area: Supports strategic projects that contribute to a more vibrant and resilient civil society protecting and promoting democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.

Funding Budget: €1,405,000

Grant Amount: €50,001 to €120,000 per project

Project Duration: 12 to 24 months

Deadline: 28 September 2026

Donor-country partners (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) are encouraged.

A Note on Funding Mechanisms under the Civil Society Fund

Under the 2021–2028 EEA and Norway Grants framework (with projects eligible to run until April 2031), the funding previously known as the Active Citizens Fund has transitioned to the Civil Society Fund.

There are two main avenues for engaging in project partnerships:

- Standard/Thematic Project Grants: These are larger, multi-year initiatives designed to achieve systemic change or run sustained regional and thematic programmes. While only organisations based in the beneficiary countries can officially act as the primary applicant (Project Promoter), entities from the donor states (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) are actively sought after and highly encouraged to join as partners. Unlike the tail-end of the previous cycle, the rollout of the 2021–2028 framework means major calls for these large-scale partnerships are open and launching across multiple countries throughout 2026.

- Bilateral Funds / Bilateral Initiatives: These are highly flexible, smaller sources of funding explicitly set aside to build cross-border relationships. They finance activities such as partner-matching searches, study tours, joint workshops, conferences, and initial networking. In many cases, these initiatives can be launched on a rolling basis, allowing both beneficiary country organisations and donor-state partners to proactively trigger contact and seed future collaborations.

With the new funding period fully underway as of 2026, a wide range of both large thematic grants and rolling bilateral funding opportunities are actively live.

The information above is updated as frequently as possible, but discrepancies may arise due to varying country timelines. Please check out www.eeagrants.org for a comprehensive overview of all EEA and Norway Grants programmes.