Microgrant competition to strengthen local actors in the protection of affected populations within the National PULSE Consortium

Supported by UK aid / SHARP element of the UK Government's Humanitarian Assistance, Recovery and Protection Programme)

The competition is run by partners of the National PULSE Consortium - Charitable Foundation ‘Right to Protection’, Non-Governmental Organisation Girls, and International Charitable Foundation ‘Caritas Ukraine’

The implementation covers the target areas of the project: Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv Oblasts

Competition objectives:

1. To support beneficiaries in addressing humanitarian and social issues and creating infrastructure to provide quality services to vulnerable groups.

2. To support and strengthen the capacity of local actors (local organisations) to provide quality protection services to vulnerable groups that meet the needs of communities.

Priority categories of beneficiaries: children, women, persons in difficult life circumstances, persons with disabilities, including official representatives of guardians and family members, representatives of Roma communities and other vulnerable groups, internally displaced persons, including those evacuated from temporarily occupied territories, civilians affected by the war, veterans and family members of deceased or missing military personnel.

Within the framework of a single microgrant, the participating organisation must cover at least 150 direct unique beneficiaries.

The competition is implemented in the following lots:

Lot 1 - Comprehensive services for the protection, social, legal and psychosocial support of civilians affected by war

Lot 2 - Gender and countering gender-based violence

Lot 3 - Inclusive communities: psychosocial support and accessible infrastructure

*A detailed description of each lot and links to apply for participation are provided at the end of this announcement.

The maximum microgrant amount is UAH 548,800.

The estimated duration of the microgrant project is up to 4 months. The expected start date of project activities is 1 December 2025, with projects to be completed by 31 March 2026.

Application deadline: 24 November 2025 (09:00). Projects submitted after this date will not be considered.

Organisations that meet the following criteria are invited to participate:

• registered legal entities, non-profit organisations - public, charitable organisations (non-profit code 0032, 0036 - Lots No. 1, 2, 3), religious organisations (non-profit code 0035 - Lot No. 3);

• registered for at least 1 year prior to the date of the grant competition;

• having the operational capacity to implement the project (at least a project manager and a financial specialist);

• operating in the Ukrainian-controlled territories;

• having an adequate financial management and accounting system, the ability to report and undergo audits;

• having no tax debts and not being on any sanction lists;

• demonstrating motivation for organisational development and, preferably, having previous experience in project implementation;

• adhering to a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH), applying a zero-tolerance approach to the misuse of funds and having a low level of risk tolerance associated with fraud.

* Applications from organisations registered for less than a year, as well as projects with a requested amount exceeding that specified in the announcement, may be considered. Such applications will be considered based on a general competition provided that the organisation's capacity and the appropriateness of the budget are properly justified.

How to participate in the competition?

The participant's application is accepted via Google Form with the following attachments:

• Application form in Word or PDF (Annex 1),

• Budget form in Excel (Annex 2),

• Official registration documents (extract from the Unified State Register, copy of the State Tax Service decision on inclusion in the Register of Non-Profit Organisations, charter/regulations, copy of the minutes of the organisation's meeting with the name of the person authorised to sign documents, etc.).

Project applications will be evaluated and winners selected by the Selection Committee based on the following criteria:

• Quality of the programme component and alignment with the programme's objectives - includes the effectiveness of approaches to solving the stated problem, expected impact, alignment with the donor programme's thematic and strategic priorities - 30 points;

• Focus on the target group - whether the proposed services meet the needs of the beneficiaries, the extent to which the project covers the stated audience, and whether the project covers a sufficient number of beneficiaries in accordance with the cost per beneficiary - 25 points;

• Budget alignment with programme activities – the budget includes expenditure items that are logically justified and economically calculated in accordance with the principle of ‘price-quality-expediency’ – 20 points;

• Institutional capacity of the organisation - experience, qualifications of the team, existing management, financial reporting and control procedures - 15 points;

• Innovative potential – the use of new methods, possibility of expansion or integration into larger programmes/policies – 10 points.

All participants in the microgrant competition will receive a response regarding their further participation in the competition. In the event of a funding refusal, the competition organisers reserve the right not to provide explanations for the reasons for the refusal.

Detailed description of lots

This project was funded with UK aid from the UK Government and is implemented by Right to Protection, NGO Girls, ICF “Caritas Ukraine” within the National PULSE Consortium, coordinated by Right to Protection. UK Government support to this project in Ukraine is provided through the SHARP element of its Humanitarian Assistance, Recovery and Protection Programme.