Capacity Building Grants

Capacity Building Grants is sponsored by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. Supports capacity-building initiatives in various sectors.

Organisational Grants – Civil Society Organisations that Promote Democracy, the Rule Of Law, and Human Rights, Strengthened - Civil Society Fund Start date 03 Jul 2026 / 00:00 End date 29 Oct 2026 / 12:00 To apply you must have a MyGulbenkian account. Purpose of this grant is to enable umbrella organisations to pursue their own long term goals and missions.

Organisational Grants provide multianual, flexible financial support based on the organisation’s existing strategic or organisational work plan, funding both capacity building and core activities essential to fulfilling their role within the sector. More info: civilsocietyfund. pt Output 3.

1 - Organisational development supported; Project duration: 36 or 48 months; Project grant amount: 150. 000€ No co-financing required. Project funded at a rate of 100%.

Organisational grants under this grant shall not include project partners. Each entity (as a promoter) may only submit one application to this grant.

Project promoters must be Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) established in Portugal, operating as non-profit, voluntary and private entities, irrespective of their legal form, and complying with the following requirements at the time of application submission: Is established as a legal entity; Pursues the general interest or common good and has a non-commercial purpose; Is independent of local, regional and central government, public entities, political parties and commercial organisations; Is not a political organisation or a political party; Is not a religious institution.

In addition to the stated conditions, promoters applying to this grant must be an umbrella organisation established in Portugal. For the purposes of this call notice, an umbrella organisation is a legally established entity that represents, coordinates, or provides services to a network, federation, or association of multiple independent member organisations operating within a common sector, theme, or purpose relevant to the Fund.

The organisation shall cumulatively: Have a mission that aligns with the Fund’s areas of support, as defined in the Fund rules; Have a formal membership base comprising at least five distinct legal entities, the majority of which must be non-governmental organisations; Be able to demonstrate that its activities primarily serve and benefit its member organisations; Be registered and compliant with applicable legal and regulatory requirements; Be able to demonstrate previous work with the Fund’s areas of support and a membership base comprising of at least 60 % active member organisations with a primary statutory purpose that falls within one or more of the Programmes areas of support: i.

Promoting civic participation in democratic processes; ii. Promoting information integrity and media literacy; iii. Protecting human rights, including anti-discrimination and social justice; iv.

Promoting gender equality, including SRHR (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) and LGBTIQ+ rights; v. Promoting climate action, environmental protection, and just green transition.

Have a multiannual work plan and/or strategy; Have been legally registered for at least 48 months prior to the submission deadline; Demonstrate an average annual turnover over the last three completed financial years of at least twice the annualised value of the grant amount applied for; Be in compliance with its payment obligations regarding taxes and social security. We only accept online applications.

You need to register before applying. Please read the regulations available in the documents section above before applying. Your application will only be valid after all the mandatory fields of the application form are complete and the mandatory documents are uploaded.

At the end click on the “Submit” button. We strongly advise candidates not to wait until the last few days before applying. Telephone (weekdays, 10:00 – 13:00): +351 21 782 3360 E-mail: [email protected] Updated on 23 september 2026