Until April 20, civil society organizations and community centers with an annual turnover of up to 50,000 euros can submit concepts for local initiatives aimed at strengthening democratic processes, protecting human rights and strengthening the rule of law.
The competition under the Code Success Fund is open to civil organizations registered in Bulgaria as non-profit legal entities, including community centers and branches of foreign NGOs. Organizations with an annual turnover of less than €50,000 for the last financial year are eligible, with priority given to initiatives outside large urban centers.
The main objective of the competition is to support the development of active and sustainable local communities, in which civil society organizations play a key role in promoting democratic values, protecting human rights and promoting social inclusion.
The Fund will support initiatives that raise awareness of the rights and values of the European Union, promote democracy and civic participation, protect media freedom and counter disinformation. Initiatives aimed at equality and non-discrimination, building sustainable local partnerships and developing civic education, including through culture and art, are sought.
The proposals should contribute to the main priorities of the PACT project – EU rights, democracy, diversity and equality, and the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination should be embedded horizontally in each initiative.
The competition will be held in two stages. In the first stage, applicants must submit an initiative concept by April 20, 2026, 17:00.
The Fund also provides for activities to increase the capacity of applicants. Organizations with approved concepts will have access to training and mentoring support in the development of a complete project proposal.
The application in both stages is done entirely online through the Electronic System for Submission and Management of Projects (EMSS), available on the website of the PACT project, where all the necessary guidelines and templates of documents are published.
On the project website, in the “Resources” section, additional materials are available to help applicants.
Frequently asked questions related to the competition procedure are also published on the project website and can be found here.
The maximum grant amount per initiative is up to €15,000, with no co-financing requirement. The total budget of the fund amounts to €450,000 and around 30 projects with a duration of between 12 and 18 months are expected to be supported.
An important condition is that an organisation can receive up to €60,000 in total funding for all competitions under the PACT project.
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The Code Success Fund is managed by the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation and is part of the PACT project. The project is implemented with financial support from the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program in the amount of EUR 4,264,112.97, representing 90% of its budget. The funding institution is the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), under its delegated powers by the European Commission.
The project is implemented by a consortium including: Open Society Institute – Sofia Foundation, Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation and The European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) – International Non-Governmental Association “European Citizen Action Service”.