“Culture Helps / Культура допомагає”: Individual grants for mental health support up to 1000 EUR

“Culture Helps / Культура допомагає” opens a fourth call for applications for individual grants. You can receive up to €1.000 as individual mental health support.

The Individual grants programme focuses on support of mental health. Cultural workers, activists and artists, working with people who have been forced to move to safer regions of Ukraine or Creative Europe countries (all EU Member States as well as certain non-EU countries) because of the Russia’s war in Ukraine, can receive financial support to take care of their mental health and wellbeing (e.g.: pay for a therapist etc.). The programme aims to draw attention to the importance of mental health in the cultural field.

Facts on the Individual grants programme

“Culture helps” includes 7 calls for Individual grants, which will be announced in 2023-2024. This is the fourth call of the programme.
The next call will be launched in the spring of 2024. Each call will support from 20 applications;
80% of the total grants are expected to be disbursed in Ukraine, 20% in Creative Europe countries.
Minimum amount of the grant is €200, maximum €1.000.
For each of the previous rounds, we received more than 500 applications. We recommend you to take the time to create a high-quality application that can be supported in view of the large competition.
Specifically, at this level of grants, we do not support the implementation of projects, pay attention to the project and collaboration grants, or to the program for the restoration of cultural and artistic activities from the IZOLYATSIA Foundation ZMINA: Rebuilding.

To apply for the grant, you need to be (eligibility criteria)

Age from 18 years old
A cultural manager, an artist, or an activist who are currently working with displaced persons in Ukraine or in one of the Creative Europe participating countries, particularly families and children, on integration into new communities through culture.
Reside in Ukraine or be a person who has fled from Ukraine to one of the Creative Europe participating countries after 24.02.2022 (List of non-EU participating countries in the Creative Europe Programme).

In this call, together with the psychological agency Psikultura, we are launching information sessions in the format of webinars with the participation of psychologists who work with cultural activists, managers, artists at the intersection of art and psychology. The main goal is to raise awareness of mental health support methods and tools, help applicants find effective tools, and normalize mental health care issues. In addition to information sessions for the participants of the competition, we will publish useful tips, abstracts and workbooks developed by our experts. All news and opportunities will be published on the Insha Osvita Facebook page.

Application and timeline

Applications must be submitted via the link. You can find all questions from the form here to prepare your application in advance.
You can apply in English or Ukrainian (choose the one convenient for you – it will not affect the result of the assessment);
If you have technical or other difficulties with the Internet connection, you can submit an application as a Word document. Please reach us via email culture_helps@insha-osvita.org if it is your case.
Deadline for applications is March 29, 2024, 23:59 Kyiv time.
Results of the selection process will be announced not later than April 30, 2024.

Evaluation criteria

Clarity of the application and motivation of the applicant. Please be as specific as possible in your application.
Correspondence with conditions and focus of the Grant call. The application should be focused on the mental health of the applicant (cultural worker, activist or artist who are currently working with people who have been forced to move to safer regions of Ukraine or Creative Europe countries because of Russia’s war in Ukraine). Make sure the application does not support the mental health of other people (except you).
The cost plan in the application does not contain costs prohibited for financing. The programme does not finance the purchase of medical drugs, material assets (musical and medical instruments, household items, equipment, consumables for work), payment of room rent, tuition fees, surgical operations, cosmetology procedures, dental interventions, as well as consultations of doctors of alternative medical practice. We will gladly support sessions with a psychologist, rest in a sanatorium, etc.
Impact and effectiveness of implemented projects. Projects illustrating your professional activities will help us align your work with program priorities.
Intention to permanence and continuation of professional activity. It is important for us to support you and give you the opportunity to rest and recover so that you can return to your work in the future.
The action plan and financial plan should be logically linked. Please enter the specific amount of your request. Focus on the advice before filling out the application.

Do you have any questions left? Use one of the possibilities to prepare a better application:

Join an Online info session on March 12, 16:00 Kyiv time. Please register via link for the session, and we will send you an invitation and the Zoom link.
By the link, you can find a recording of a previous Online info session on individual grants, where we discussed many questions related to the preparation of the application.
Contact us via email, culture_helps@insha-osvita.org.
Contact us via Telegram chat.

“Culture Helps / Культура допомагає” is a project co-funded by the European Union under a dedicated call for proposals to support Ukrainian displaced people and the Ukrainian Cultural and Creative Sectors. The project is a cooperation between Insha Osvita (UA) and zusa (DE).