House of Europe: Donor Analysis and Grant Lines 2026

House of Europe has funded Ukrainians since 2019. The European Union pays for the programme, and Goethe-Institut Ukraine runs the calls. So far the team has offered more than 40 competitions for cultural managers, educators, youth workers, social entrepreneurs and media professionals.

The amounts stay modest: EUR 1,000 for a personal project, up to EUR 100,000 for the revival of a cultural venue. Because the application is short and only some lines require an EU partner, the money reaches individuals and small organisations in small towns. For many of them this becomes the first EU grant in the portfolio.

As of 17 July 2026, the programme’s own grant lines sit between waves. Six calls from partner EU institutions remain open in the opportunities catalogue. Below we break down the donor structure, the amounts per line, the rhythm of the calls, and what actually moves the panel.

Who stands behind House of Europe

The donor is the European Union, represented by the EU Delegation to Ukraine. Goethe-Institut Ukraine implements the programme. From 2019 to 2022 the consortium also included the British Council Ukraine, Institut français d’Ukraine and Czech Centres, so the current single-implementer setup is fairly recent. The team also works with the Ukrainian cluster of EUNIC, the network of EU national institutes for culture.

The first phase ran from April 2019 to March 2023 with an EU contribution of EUR 11.6 million. At launch the EU presented it as a pilot for external cultural relations: more than 20 grant programmes across culture, education, health, social entrepreneurship and youth work.

The year-by-year numbers show how the scale shifted. In 2020 the team ran 72 calls and supported 118 projects and 3,702 people. A month after the covid lockdown started, the programme released EUR 800,000 in emergency funding for culture, first in Ukraine to do so. In 2022 the war response package reached EUR 1.5 million: 35 museums received money to secure their collections, and 404 changemakers got EUR 1,000 each for evacuation and work. 2023 grants, stipends and courses reached over 130 organisations and 1,300 people. In 2024 the team funded over 150 ideas and taught 1,600 participants. In 2025 it supported roughly 1,500 people and organisations through 320 grants and stipends.

One more detail worth factoring into your plans: winners join the alumni community, which counted about 1,800 people in early 2025. That means networking, early access to further opportunities, and contacts with cultural project managers across the country.

Seven grant lines of House of Europe: amounts and terms

House of Europe splits its own calls into seven lines. Each has a dedicated page with a PDF guide, a budget template and the manager’s contacts. Here is what each one gives.

Individual project grants

EUR 1,000 to 4,000 for one person to run their own initiative: launch a podcast, hold a professional course, organise a series of meetings, or join a paid competition or internship. The condition is EU or UK involvement in the idea. The grant covers event participation, expert consultations, marketing, rent, digital tools and fees. It does not cover equipment, construction works or running costs of an organisation.

International mobility grants

Up to EUR 4,000 for a single trip of 5 to 28 days to a professional event in the EU or the UK. The rates are fixed. Travel: EUR 180 up to 499 km, EUR 275 for 500 to 1,499 km, EUR 360 for 1,500 to 2,499 km, EUR 530 beyond 2,500 km. Stay: EUR 120 per day for 5 to 14 days, EUR 70 per day for 15 to 28 days. Registration fees, tickets, visa costs and insurance come on top. You plan the trip alone, since colleagues cannot join you on the grant.

Local events grants

EUR 15,000 to 20,000 for a cultural event lasting two to ten days outside Kyiv and Lviv. Music festival, urban workshop, media forum, photo exhibition. The grant covers fees for speakers and artists, venue and equipment rent, travel, promotion, licences and team salaries. Events must be free for visitors.

Infrastructure grants

EUR 10,000 to 20,000 for culture NGOs to buy equipment: sound systems, projectors, cameras, computers, furniture, software. Organisations from the regions get priority. Each organisation can win an infrastructure grant only once. In 2025 the programme additionally ran a separate call for large infrastructure grants of up to EUR 100,000 to restore a cinema, museum, library or house of culture outside Kyiv.

International cooperation grants

Up to EUR 50,000 for a tandem of non-profit organisations from Ukraine and the EU or the UK working on a joint cultural project: a festival, an exhibition, a residency, a theatre production. A digital element is mandatory, although it does not have to dominate. The grant covers staff, artist fees, translation, design, filming, materials, rent and travel, but never equipment purchase.

Translation grants

Up to EUR 5,000 and up to 70% of the publication costs. Applications come from publisher and translator tandems in Ukraine, the EU and the UK. The line supports translations in over 50 languages of EU countries and Ukraine’s national minorities, in both directions, including Braille editions. It covers the translator’s fee, rights, design, printing and marketing.

Cultural heritage digitisation grants

This line targets museums, archives and NGOs that preserve and digitise heritage. In the 2025 wave the amount reached EUR 20,000: a 3D scanner, a server room, cloud storage, plus consultations with digitisation specialists abroad.

Beyond these seven lines the programme regularly launches separate calls. In 2025 those included media content grants on national communities of up to EUR 20,000 and cultural institutes cooperation grants with EUNIC members of up to EUR 20,000. The latter had an unusual format, since applications were accepted on the last day of every month until the budget ran out. That call is now closed.

How the House of Europe call cycle works

House of Europe works in waves, and that is the main thing to understand about this donor. The programme keeps no permanently open calls. Translation grants, international cooperation grants and infrastructure grants are announced twice a year, in spring and autumn. Each of those line pages states this directly.

Personal projects, mobility, local events and thematic calls follow a less predictable schedule. The team publishes dates on social media and in the weekly newsletter. Before each wave managers hold a Facebook live stream and answer questions about the terms.

So the practical conclusion for planning is simple: prepare the application before the call opens. A wave lasts a few weeks, and during that time you need a budget in the programme template, a CV, confirmation from the European side and a project description. Organisations that wait for the announcement with a ready idea submit noticeably stronger applications.

What is open in the catalogue of House of Europe as of 17 July 2026

Alongside its own calls, House of Europe curates an opportunities catalogue. Every week the team picks programmes from other EU and UK organisations and describes them in plain language. As of 17 July 2026 the catalogue holds six entries with open deadlines.

• Next Visionaries, a programme on European integration and leadership for young people. Deadline: 26 July 2026, 23:59 Kyiv time.
• Connections through Culture, grants for cultural projects with Great Britain. Deadline: 12 August 2026, 23:59 Kyiv time.
• DAAD scholarships for postgraduate studies in Germany: performing arts. Deadline: 15 October 2026, 23:59 Kyiv time.
• DAAD scholarships for postgraduate studies in Germany: fine art, design, visual communication and film. Deadline: 15 October 2026, 23:59 Kyiv time.
• Perform Europe, grants for cooperation projects in performing arts. Deadline: 22 October 2026, 23:59 Kyiv time.
• NUMO, grants for professional travel to Germany for artists, researchers and cultural managers. Deadline: 7 December 2026, 23:59 Kyiv time.

Other organisations run these calls, because here House of Europe acts purely as an information channel. Terms, application platforms and eligibility rules differ in each case. The current list always sits here: House of Europe opportunities catalogue.

How to apply for House of Europe and what moves the decision

All applications go through one online platform: houseofeurope.grantplatform.com. You register, pick the section and find the call. The deadline usually falls at 15:00 Kyiv time on the closing day, so a last-night submission simply will not work.

Most lines ask for the same basic package: a CV, a budget in the programme template, a project description and plan, and registration documents for organisations. Mobility additionally requires confirmation from the EU or UK side, such as an internship invitation, a conference programme or a letter from the host organisation.

What the panel weighs

The idea counts for more than the applicant’s formal status. The programme states plainly that a young village school teacher and a university professor stand equal chances. In infrastructure and local events grants, organisations from the regions get priority, because in the donor’s logic that is where funding runs thinnest. International cooperation grants award extra points for a diverse team, and the cultural institutes call rewards bringing in several institutes rather than one.

Priority themes repeat from call to call: equal opportunities, inclusion, environmental sustainability, national communities, digitisation, media literacy, decolonisation, cultural heritage preservation. An application that works clearly with one of them reads stronger than an abstract one.

Limits worth knowing in advance

An organisation receives an infrastructure grant only once. Costs incurred before the project starts get no compensation, and neither do costs already covered by another grant. Under martial law travel restrictions apply to men, so the programme cannot guarantee permission to leave, although it does provide a letter confirming that it funds the trip. The grantee files those documents personally.

Before applying, read the PDF guide on the relevant line page. It spells out tax details for different types of legal entities, reporting templates and assessment criteria. You can ask managers directly during a live stream or write to ask@houseofeurope.org.ua.