Materials for the Neighbourhood Fund

Log into 'Vores CISU'

On this page, you can find all relevant formats and guidelines for the Neighbourhood Fund.

If you have any questions, please forward them to puljer@cisu.dk

Support types and deadlines for the Neighbourhood Fund

Support types	Support Amount	Deadlines 2025
Small-Scale Interventions	Up to DKK 200.000	January 29. June 11. November 5.
Citizen Participation Interventions	Up to DKK 500.000	January 29. June 11. November 5.
Development Interventions	Up to DKK 4,5 mio	March 5. September 10.
Resilience and Democratic Development Ukraine	Up to DKK 4,5 mio	March 5. September 10.

When you apply for a Grant

The cover page of the application must be filled in and signed by the Danish applicant organisation and the leading partner. It's acceptable to have separate cover pages for each partner but they should be uploaded as one document.

The signed cover page is uploaded via Vores CISU

Cover page - Civil Socity Fund (incl. the Neighbourhood Fund)

In order to be able to apply for funding from CISU's pools of funds, the organisation must have audited Annual Accounts. The Annual Accounts must be uploaded via the system Vores CISU.

Requirements for the Annual Accounts at the time of application:

The Annual Accounts must be audited by either an approved registered auditor or a non-professional auditor elected by the organisation. If the latter is the case, the auditor must meet general impartiality requirements, meaning there must be no circumstances that could raise doubts about their independence. The auditor can be a member of the organisation but must not be part of the board.

The Annual Accounts must be signed by the auditor and the authorised signatory of the organisation, either in the document or through electronic signature.

The Annual Accounts must include, at a minimum, a) an income statement showing revenues and expenses and b) a balance sheet indicating equity.

CISU must be able to see from the Annual Accounts that the organisation has a minimum of 25/50 paying members or financial contributors (see the guidelines for each fund for specific requirements). If this is not evident from the Annual Accounts, CISU may request other documentation, such as a membership list and a bank statement showing payment of membership fees.

Additionally, it is always recommended to compare between the years in the annual accounts.

CISU reviews the Annual Accounts and makes an assessment of equity, going concern, and profit according to CISU's risk appetite.

There is no requirement for management review or legal critical review.

Template for Annual Accounts

Annual Accounts Template

After Funding has been Granted

Grant holders must comply with various management requirements outlined in the Administration Guide for CISU's pools of funds.

The Civil Society Fund Grant Management Guide (incl. CCAM and the Neighbourhood Fund):

grant Management Guide (updated 01.2023)

Download a checklist that can help your planning and management of your grant:

Check list

When you receive an e-mail from CISU with a grant contract, follow these steps:

Sign the contract and save it in your own system.
Now, locate the corresponding grant in Vores CISU and click on it.
Click on the 'Milestones' tab at the top of the screen.
Find 'Contract' on the list and click on it.
Upload the contract.
Click 'Send'.

It is a requirement for all grants, regardless of size, that a partnership agreement is established between the Danish organisation and the main partner in the intervention. However, CISU also recommends that partnership agreements are made with any other partners involved in the intervention.

Read more about requirements for cooperation agreements in the Administration Guide for the respective fund.

Download a proposed layout for a cooperation agreement, including suggestions for the content and structure of the partnership agreement in Danish, English, Spanish, and French.

Key points about partnership coorperation agreements

The partnership agreement should reflect the mutual nature of the partnership. Therefore, it's important that partnership agreements describe responsibilities and obligations as well as rights for all parties, for example:

The Danish organisation has the right to supervise the project, and the local partner organisation is obligated to receive the Danish supervisors. However, it could equally include that the Danish organisation is obligated to provide advance notice of the visit to allow for the partner to plan adequately, or that the dates for the visit are planned jointly.
All parties can terminate the collaboration with, for example, 3 months' notice. The Danish organisation has the right to terminate the collaboration immediately if it involves a breach of the agreement. However, situations may arise, such as cooperation problems between the local partner and a Danish delegate or project coordinator. It is therefore appropriate to introduce mechanisms for complaints, conflict resolution, and mediation, ensuring the rigths of the local partner to address unpleasant topics within predefined frameworks.

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires that all partnership coorperation agreements include the following clauses:

Anti-corruption clause:

”No offer, payment, consideration or benefit of any kind, which could be regarded as an illegal or corrupt practice, shall be made - neither directly nor indirectly - as an inducement or reward in relation to tendering, award of the contract, or execution of the contract. Any such practice will be grounds for the immediate cancellation of this contract and for such additional action, civil and/or criminal, as may be appropriate. At the discretion of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a further consequence of any such practice can be the definite exclusion from any tendering for projects, funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

PSHEA clause:

“The Danish MoFA has a zero tolerance for inaction approach to tackling sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH2) as defined in UNSG Bulletin ST/SGB/2003/13 and the definition of sexual harassment in UNGA Resolution A/RES/73/148. The Implementing Partner, and its sub-grantees, will take appropriate measures to protect people, including beneficiaries and staff, from SEAH conducted by its employees and associated personnel including any sub-grantee staff and take timely and appropriate action when reports of SEAH arise. In the event that the Implementing Partner receives reports of allegations of SEAH, the Implementing Partner will take timely and appropriate action to investigate the allegation and, where warranted, take disciplinary measures or civil and/or criminal action. Any violation of this clause will be ground for the immediate termination of this Agreement.”

Anti-Terror clause:

“If, during the course of implementation of this Project/Programme, the Implementing Partner discovers any link whatsoever with any organisation or individual associated with terrorism, it must inform the Danish MoFA immediately and explain the reasons for such transfer, including whether it was made or provided knowingly, voluntarily, accidentally, unintentionally, incidentally or by force. The Implementing Partner agrees that it and/or its implementing partners (including contractors, sub-contractors and sub-grantees) will take all reasonable steps to secure that no transaction made in relation to the Project/Programme will – directly or indirectly – benefit a person, group or entity subject to restrictive measures (sanctions) by the UN or the EU. Any violation of this clause is ground for immediate termination of the Agreement returning to the Danish MoFA of all funds advanced to the Implementing Partner under it.”

Anti-Child Labor clause:

“The Implementing Partner shall abide by applicable national laws as well as applicable international instruments, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and International Labour Organisation conventions. Any violation will be ground for immediate termination of the Agreement.”

All requests must be submitted via Vores CISU, and must be uploaded in this format:

English Template for change request (Guidance Note for budgets: Excel help sheet )

Here's how to upload the request:

Locate the relevant grant in Vores CISU and click on it.
Click on 'Opret Ændringsanmodning' at the bottom of the page.
Select the type of request (period change, budget change, and/or other).
Upload the change request (remember to use the correct format for the respective fund).
Click 'Send'.

All disbursement requests must be submitted via Vores CISU, and must be uploaded in this format:

Request for disbursement of the Grant

Here is how to upload the request:

Locate the relevant grant in Vores CISU and click on it.
Click on 'In- and Outpayments' at the top of the screen.
Click on 'Send payment request' at the bottom of the page.
Enter the amount and bank details, and upload the payment request (remember to use the correct format for the respective fund).
Click 'Send request'.

When you have received a grant from one of CISU's pools of funds that exceeds 500,000 DKK, you must share your organisation's Annual Financial Accounts, a revised Note on the grant, and the organisation's Annual Report with CISU. These documents are uploaded in Vores CISU.

If Annual Financial Accounts are not submitted by the deadline, funds cannot be disbursed from the grant until the Annual Financial Accounts are uploaded in Vores CISU.

Read more about the requirements for Annual Financial Accounts in the Administration Guide for the respective fund.

Project grants: Format for note to be included in the Annual Accounts

Here is how to upload the Annual Financial Accounts:

Go to your "Grants" section in Vores CISU.
Navigate to the grant where there is a requirement for organisational annual accounts (Note: There may be more than one grant, but it is sufficient to locate one of them).
Click on the "Milestones" tab at the top of the screen.
Find "Organisation Annual Accounts" on the list and click on it. Make sure to select the one with the correct deadline. For some grants, annual accounts for multiple years may need to be uploaded (e.g., one in 2024 and one in 2025).
Under "Last Statement," you can see the most recently uploaded organisation Annual Accounts.
Check if it's the correct Annual Accounts and if everything has been uploaded. It's always the latest approved accounts that needs to be uploaded. For example, Annual Accounts and Reports for 2024 should be uploaded for deadlines in 2025.

Now, there are two options:

Option 1: The correct Annual Accounts have been uploaded:

Click "Send" at the bottom of the page.
CISU's grant managers will now know that the statement is ready for review.

Option 2: The incorrect Annual Accounts have been uploaded:

Click on "Upload/Edit Annual Accouts" at the bottom under "Upload the most recently approved organisation Annual Accounts."
You will now be directed to the organisation's basic data page.
Find the box "Financial Figures and Organisation Annual Accounts."
Click "Add" at the bottom of the box.
Enter the period for the most recently approved accounting period and the reporting date (current date).
Upload the Annual Financial Accounts.
Upload the Annual Report/narrative report (not just the financial report) and protocol (if required, as per the Administration Guide).
If the Annual Accounts, interim statement, and audit endorsement are in three separate documents, merge them into one PDF document. You can do this using a program like https://smallpdf.com/da/merge-pdf.
Enter figures for "Own financing," "Public financing," and "Total turnover."
Click "Save changes" at the bottom of the page.
Now go back to the grant, milestone, Organisation Annual Accounts, and complete the two steps described under "Option 1.

Grant holders are obligated to immediately (i.e., within 14 days of the incident) report to CISU, if:

Significant difficulties arise in implementing the project, including adhering to the approved budget.
Significant issues arise concerning the authorities of the recipient country, the partner organisation, or deployed personnel.
Well-founded suspicion of theft, fraud, corruption, or other misuse of funds is detected.

For further details, please refer to the page reporting irregularities and complaints.

If the Danish organisation prepares press materials or any other public material regarding the grant, it must be made clear that the project is supported by CISU. However, this requirement for visibility does not apply to the local partners.

Download the CISU logo:

CISU Logo - Danish

CISU Logo - English

If you're unsure how to use the logo, feel free to reach out to CISU's Communication Manager Kim Jensen at kj@cisu.dk.

Final Reporting and Accounts

For several interventions funded by a CISU grant, reporting is required during the grant period. You can learn more about the requirements for status reporting in the Grant Management Guide specific to each grant.

Below are the relevant documents for status reporting

Status reports are uploaded via Vores CISU.

Civil Society Fund

For interventions lasting for 24 months or more, a mid-term status dialogue with one of CISU's advisors is a requirement. The preparation document is uploaded via Vores CISU, and the grantee will subsequently be invited to a conversation.

Here is how to upload your status reporting:

Find the relevant grant in Vores CISU and click on it.
Click on the 'Milestones' tab at the top of the screen.
Find 'Status Dialogue' on the list and click on it.
Upload the status report/preparation document.
Click "Send".

When the intervention is concluded, you must prepare a Final Report for the grant. Read more about the requirements for the Final Report in the Administration Guide for the respective fund.

The final report is uploaded via Vores CISU.

Here is how to upload the Final Report in Vores CISU:

Find the relevant grant in Vores CISU and click on it.
Click on the 'Milestones' tab at the top of the screen.
Find 'Final Report' on the list and click on it.
Upload the Final Report.
Click "Send".

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Audit Instructions for Grants of DKK 500,000 and Below

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Audit Instructions for Grants Above DKK 500,000

Check list for use when auditing grants (for grants under DKK 200,000 but relevant tool for all grants regardless of size)

The audit of grants below DKK 100,000 can be carried out by either an approved registered auditor (see below) or a non-professional auditor elected by the organisation.

The audit of grants of DKK 200,000 or less is carried out by an auditor appointed by CISU to handle the task. Learn more about the process in the Administration Guide for the respective fund.

Contact information for the CISU-appointed auditor:

Martinsen Rådgivning og Revision (tidligere Elley Revision Aps)

E: cle@martinsen.dk, att. Claus Elley

T: +45 7578 1888

If equipment, inventory, etc., is transferred to local partners at the end of the intervention, a transfer document must be prepared.

If the price for this equipment, inventory, etc., exceeds the so-called tax rate for immediate write-off of small acquisitions (in 2024, 33,100 DKK, changes annually), it is a requirement that the Final Accounts be supplemented with a signed transfer document between the Danish grantee and the local partner.

Transfer Document