Grant Program of the National Endowment for Democracy

The National Endowment for Democracy provides more than 2,000 grants each year to support projects by non-governmental groups abroad that seek to achieve democratic goals and strengthen democratic institutions.

Support is provided for programs that aim to protect human rights and the rule of law, support freedom of information and independent media, strengthening democratic ideas and values, promoting accountability and transparency, strengthening civil society, democratic political processes and institutions, promoting civic education, supporting democratic conflict resolution, freedom of association, and developing a broad market economy.

The Fund only finances non-governmental organizations – public associations, associations, independent media, and other similar organizations; grants are not provided to individuals, government agencies, or state universities.

The funds may be used for:

• salaries of the organization's employees, social security contributions, taxes, and allowances;
• rental of office space and utilities;
• purchase of equipment costing more than $5,000;
• official travel and per diems (international, domestic, and local);
• contracts with consultants and other contractors;
• other direct expenses, including materials, printing, communications, event venue rentals, audio-visual services, and translation.

If the project involves sub-recipients, a separate budget must be provided and their expenses must be monitored. Funds may not be used for entertainment, gifts, donations, alcoholic beverages, fines, participation in election campaigns, lobbying, any illegal activities, or other prohibited items of expenditure.

- protecting and defending human rights and the rule of law;
- supporting freedom of information and independent media;
- strengthening democratic ideas and values;
- promoting accountability and transparency;
- strengthening civil society;
- strengthening democratic political processes and institutions;
- promoting civic education;
- supporting democratic conflict resolution;
- encouraging freedom of association;
- strengthening a broad market economy.

Fill out the necessary forms, prepare a text description of the project and budget, and send these documents by email to the address corresponding to the region where the project will be implemented (еuropeproposals@ned.org).

The Board of Directors evaluates how well the program aligns with NED's priorities, its relevance to the specific needs and conditions of the country, and the applicant's democratic commitment and experience.

The proposal should clearly define objectives that address identified problems, be measurable, limited in time and scope, and indicate expected results.

The evaluation plan should identify what changes or evidence will demonstrate the achievement of each objective and propose ways to measure progress.

- Organization profile form;
- Application Proposal Form;
- Proposal Narrative;
- Project budget using the template;
- Organization registration documents (certificate of registration) or explanation of lack of registration.

NED procedures require grantees to monitor project implementation and submit periodic reports documenting activities and assessing achievements and successes.