Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF): Donor Analysis 2026

3,207 funded projects and almost UAH 2.5 billion invested over nine years. That is the record of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF), a state grantmaker that a dedicated law created in 2017.

Right now the foundation runs three open calls. All three sit inside «Cultural Horizons», a programme co-financed by the European Union. The nearest deadline falls on 14 August 2026 at 18:00 Kyiv time.

Each call sets its own rules, so the differences matter. One lot, for example, shuts out applicants based in regional capitals and in Kyiv.

What UCF is and where its money comes from

The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation started work in 2017 under the Law of Ukraine «On the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation». Specifically, it is a state institution with its own budget, a supervisory board and a system of expert councils that distribute money through competitions.

The foundation covers seven sectors: audio arts, visual arts, audiovisual arts, cultural heritage, literature, performing and stage arts, plus the cultural and creative industries.

Over nine years UCF has funded 3,207 projects. In total, investment approaches UAH 2.5 billion and the audience reached exceeds 50 million people.

Two funding channels

First, the state budget of Ukraine. Each year the foundation announces a grant season with a set of programmes and lots that follow the annual priorities.

Second, international technical assistance. In October 2024 the European Commission launched a special call under Creative Europe to support the Ukrainian cultural and creative sector, with a total budget of EUR 7 million. UCF won that call together with Cultural Vistas GmbH, its German partner.

As a result, the «Cultural Horizons» programme appeared. It is registered as an international technical assistance project under grant agreement 101237681, registration card No. 6318 dated 31 December 2025. Notably, every currently open UCF call belongs to this programme.

What the foundation funds and how much it gives

For 2026 the foundation set priorities around partnership for development, culture at the local level, cultural diversity, contemporary cultural products, heritage preservation and inclusion.

The 2026 season under state funding ran nine programmes:

• Scholarships
• Social resilience through culture (support for artists with disabilities, barrier-free society, culture of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples)
• Culture during the war (new cultural products, «Kultura.Stal»)
• Cultural heritage (digitisation for front-line and de-occupied territories, cross-sectoral projects)
• Contemporary music space (professional stage, new voices)
• Art on screen (audiovisual content, pre-production, adaptation)
• Flagship events (large-scale cultural projects, landmark dates and figures)
• Kultura.Regiony (local culture, reintegration through culture)
• Partnership for development (community cultural trails, «Responsibility to Be», Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro)

These calls opened between November 2025 and February 2026, so they now sit at the ranking and implementation stage. For instance, UCF published the ranking register for «Kultura.Stal» on 6 July 2026 and the one for «Dnipro» on 26 June.

Grant sizes

Amounts depend on the call. In the currently open lots the range runs from UAH 155,000 to UAH 1,000,000, while residencies administered by Cultural Vistas pay EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000.

Because the minimum and maximum amounts are fixed in hryvnia on the announcement date, they will not rise after you submit, even if the exchange rate moves. Therefore plan your 2027 costs with that in mind.

What is open now: the «Cultural Horizons» programme

The programme budget for 2026–2027 stands at UAH 35,346,664.61. The programme itself runs from 11 June 2026 until 15 August 2027.

Every project must answer three cross-cutting EU priorities: digital transformation, sustainability and environmental responsibility, plus inclusion and gender equality. Since evaluators score these priorities, write them into the project as concrete actions.

Lot 1, «Innovatsiyni kulturni produkty» (new cultural products)

Applications run from 11 June to 14 August 2026, until 18:00 Kyiv time. The lot budget is UAH 19,108,000 (EUR 400,000). Grants range from UAH 500,000 to UAH 1,000,000 (EUR 10,000–20,000).

International partnership with an organisation registered in an EU country is mandatory here. Applicants can be legal entities of any ownership form or sole proprietors registered in Ukraine for at least one year as of the announcement date, with relevant experience in culture. Temporarily occupied territories fall outside the call.

Technical screening runs 17–31 August 2026. After that, projects start once the grant agreement is signed, though no earlier than 31 January 2027, and they must finish by 30 July 2027.

The lot funds podcasts and audiobooks, art objects, exhibitions, video art and short films, media art, performances, VR and AR projects, 3D models, and accessible formats such as subtitles, sign language interpretation, audio description and tactile solutions.

Lot 2, «European Local Culture»

Applications run from 1 July to 4 September 2026, until 18:00. The lot budget is UAH 9,554,000 (EUR 200,000). Grants range from UAH 155,000 to UAH 400,000 (EUR 3,000–8,000), and applicants choose between an individual and an international cooperation track.

This lot carries the tightest eligibility rule in the whole programme. Local self-government bodies can apply, except those in regional capitals and in Kyiv. Legal entities and sole proprietors registered in Ukraine for at least one year can apply too, again outside regional capitals and Kyiv. Temporarily occupied territories fall outside the call.

Technical screening runs 8–20 September 2026. Implementation starts no earlier than 15 February 2027 and continues until 15 August 2027.

Eligible outputs include art objects in public space, performances, multimedia and VR/AR expositions, virtual tours and interactive guides, digital heritage mapping, creative spaces, travelling exhibitions, cinemas and libraries, residencies, plus digital archives and catalogues.

Lot 3, «Residencies»

Cultural Vistas gGmbH in Germany administers this call. The deadline is 30 September 2026. Grants range from EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000, and co-financing is welcome without being mandatory.

Applicants must be non-profit organisations registered in an EU country, either alone or in partnership. Projects run from 1 January to 30 July 2027, last 3–7 months, and take place in EU countries.

Beneficiaries must be Ukrainian artists and cultural professionals, people from vulnerable groups in Ukraine, and Ukrainian cultural organisations, including local initiatives, independent cultural spaces and civil society groups. So a Ukrainian organisation enters through an EU partner, who submits the application and manages the grant.

How to apply

You submit only through a personal account on the official foundation site: ucf.in.ua. The foundation does not accept paper applications.

• Register in the system or log into your existing account
• Choose the programme, the lot and the competition type
• Read the applicant guide for your lot, because each call publishes its own
• Complete the online application form
• Attach documents, since the system takes only PDF and XLS files
• Sign the documents with a qualified electronic signature
• Click «Finish application» and save the code the system generates

After submission the application goes through technical screening, expert evaluation, ranking and a negotiation procedure. Meanwhile you can track its status in your personal account.

Three things that most often break a submission

The deadline is 18:00, not midnight. Both Cultural Horizons lots close at 18:00 Kyiv time on the deadline day.

The electronic signature. Without a valid qualified signature you cannot finish the submission. You can obtain one at the tax office or through banking apps, so arrange it well in advance.

Submission status. The foundation ignores applications that the electronic system never registered. Therefore log back in after submitting and check that your application carries a number.

Calls that sit between cycles

All nine state-funded programmes of the 2026 season have closed their intake. The foundation announces each new season separately, together with the annual priorities, so watch the grant programmes section on the UCF site.

The two open Cultural Horizons lots cover the same sectors as the national programmes. The differences lie in applicant eligibility and in the mandatory European partnership for the first lot.

UCF also runs information days for prospective applicants. In July 2026, for example, sessions took place in Lutsk, Lviv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.