The Neighbourhood Fund

The Neighbourhood Fund supports civil society interventions in the six Eastern neighbourhood countries: Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The objective of the fund is democratic development and a strong and diverse civil society in these countries, while also providing opportunities for interventions that support resilience and democratic development initiatives in Ukraine. 

The guidelines were updated in February 2025 to place an even stronger emphasis on the ‘contextual specifics’ in the eastern neighbourhood countries by explicitly clarifying the position of the Neighbourhood Fund with its own specific purposes. This gives greater room for addressing the realities of the region, notably the conflict-affected contexts, by e.g. providing support for resilience-building among vulnerable groups, and allow for higher proportions of strategic deliveries, while waiving requirements for sustainability and advocacy. Additionally, the guidelines now more explicitly support interventions engaging with authorities to enhance public service delivery targeting vulnerable groups, thereby further aligning interventions with the challenges and opportunities within this region.  

Support modalities have also been streamlined with the project support modalities for the Civil Society Fund. The max number of project applications to the Civil Society Fund does not apply to the Neighbourhood Fund.