Call for proposals for local (grassroot) civil society organisations (CSOs)

Purpose of the call: to support Slovenian and Croatian local, grassroot CSOs' impact-oriented project and upgrade for enhanced protection of EU in three programme priority areas (democracy, human rights, climate change), while offering them extensive capacity building support.

The specific objective of this Call is to support Slovenian and Croatian local (grassroots) civil society organisations in implementing projects aimed at strengthening the fundamental values of the European Union and improving the quality of life in local communities. The Call will support initiatives with the potential for long-term impact, systemic change, and capacity-building of key actors, particularly in the context of the protection of human rights, equality, the rule of law, democracy, and freedom of expression. At least 70% of the amount will go to organizations working outside of the main capitals (Ljubljana and Zagreb).

Expected results (apply to both countries):

The call aims to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of civil society organisations in Croatia and Slovenia that are actively promoting and protecting fundamental EU values and are working at the local level. Supported projects are expected to result in strengthened watchdog and advocacy roles of CSOs, improved organisational resilience, and increased collaboration with institutions, media, and citizens. In particular, projects should contribute to better protection of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, freedom of expression, and equality in local communities. Through long-term programme-based work, organisations will be better equipped to engage in public debate, influence public policy, and build partnerships that ensure broader social impact and systemic change.

Submission and evaluation process (apply to both countries):

Applications with the required attachments must be submitted exclusively in electronic form to the designated email address: Croatia - [email protected]; Slovenia - [email protected]. These email addresses are intended solely for the submission of applications for this Call and will not be monitored before the closure of application acceptance date. Applications submitted in any other way (e.g., by fax, regular mail, etc.) or sent to another email address will be rejected without the possibility of resubmission.

Applications must be delivered to the specified email address no later than March 9, 2026, at 12:00 PM (noon Croatian/Slovenian time). Applications delivered to the specified email address after this deadline will be rejected. The date and time of email delivery with the completed application and all required attachments are those recorded on the server of CNVOS/Community Foundation Slagalica.

After submitting application, applicants will receive an automatic response to the email address from which the application was sent. If such a response does not arrive in the applicant's email inbox or spam folder within two (2) hours after sending the application, applicants may contact CNVOS or CFS during the publicised office hours for check of the application status.

A complete application includes:

● A fully completed application form (Word),

● A fully completed financial plan (Excel),

● A completed form with applicant and project details (Excel),

● A scanned, signed, and stamped Applicant's Statement (in .pdf format),

● A scanned valid statute or founding act of the applicant, if the document is not available in a publicly accessible national electronic registry (in .pdf format),

In case of partnership projects:

● A scanned, signed, and stamped Partner's Statement (in .pdf format),

● A scanned valid statute or founding act of each Slovenian or Croatian partner, if the document is not available in a publicly accessible national electronic registry (in .pdf format)

Evaluation process:

Administrative check of administrative and eligibility criteria (consortium staff, 4 eyes rule) (see the criteria in the Call document). If certain parts of the project application are missing and can be supplemented (documents or information), applicants will have 5 working days from the date of notification to submit the required supplements. The notification requesting the supplement will be sent to the email address provided by the applicant in the application form (the email address of the contact person).

After the completion of the verification process regarding administrative and eligibility criteria, the applicant will receive a notification on whether the project application has proceeded to the next stage of evaluation. Applicants whose applications are rejected due to non-compliance with administrative and eligibility criteria will have 8 working days from the date of notification to submit an appeal against the eligibility decision. Appeals will be reviewed by the Compliance Committee, and the Committee’s decision is final. Appeals should be sent to the designated email address for Slovenia/Croatia.

Evaluation of Application Quality

Each application that meets the administrative and eligibility criteria (see the criteria in the Call document) will be reviewed and assessed by two independent and impartial external evaluators based on the criteria outlined in the Call document.

If the difference between the two evaluators’ scores exceeds 30% of the higher score, the application will be independently assessed by a third evaluator. In such a case, the final score will be the average of the two closest evaluations. This procedure does not apply in cases where the third evaluator’s assessment would not result in the project receiving financial support under any circumstances.

For detailed information please see Call documents.

Eligible organisations should be established in Slovenia or Croatia. Additional eligibility criteria can be found in the Call documentation. All eligible applicants and partners must respect the fundamental rights and values on which the EU is founded.

Call documents and other important information can be found:

For Slovenian potential applicants: CNVOS

For Croatian potential applicants: Community Foundation Solidarna and Community Foundation Slagalica

Email of the help-desk for applicants:

Slovenian email help-desk for applicants CNVOS: [email protected]

Croatian email help-desk for applicants: [email protected]

Info session: January 22, 2026, on platform ZOOM – for Croatia and Slovenia (two different zooms links)

Support via phone and email: short questions about the projects and call documentation.

Regular weekly Q&A update on sub-web pages

Ideas-development boot-camp in 13 different locations (5 in SI, 8 in CRO). Aim of the boot-camp: developed impact-oriented project concept note.

Individual live or online consultations: support and brainstorming for impact-oriented project proposals (up to 50 organisations, increased if needed).