Up Grants 2026
Is your socio-cultural centre running a project on democracy, participation, or social transformation? Would you like to make your work visible across Europe, and inspire others with your practice?
Then we’ve got good news for you: we are launching a new edition of Up Grants, our microgrants scheme that boosts innovative projects, offering them visibility, recognition, and opportunities for development. Up Grants is not just a collection of best practices, but a platform to promote and support them, helping them grow and resonate beyond their local communities.
With Up Grants 2026: Culture for Democracy, we want to celebrate socio-culture as a powerful channel for civic participation. Submissions will be collected based on three strands:
Digital ethics and democracy: building the tools to understand and navigate the digital transformation together
Dialogue in times of polarisation: how can socio-cultural centres bridge divides and nurture dialogue in increasingly polarised societies?
Participation and cultural resistance: socio-cultural centres as laboratories of civic participation and spaces of cultural resistance in times of social, political, and environmental crisis.
Does your initiative fit one of these strands? Then submit it by March 15th, 2026 at 23:59 CET. But before you do so, read the call in full here.
Have you read the call? Then you are ready to apply here.
What's in it for my organisation?
All eligible submissions will be featured on our website and get international visibility. Then, after the public and expert vote have been cast, the three winning projects - one per strand - will be rewarded with a grant of EUR 4,000. Winners will also be showcased on our website and other ENCC communication channels, and officially presented at our 2026 annual conference, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal on May 20th -22nd.
How do I know whether I can apply?
If your organisation is a socio-cultural centre, you can apply. We define a socio-cultural centre as a non-profit organisation or public body that facilitates citizens’ active participation in socio-cultural and artistic activities. These organisations work closely with and within their communities through a strong local network. They have a strong community outreach programme that empowers citizens to have a voice in society through arts and culture. Key features of socio-cultural centres include:
Community-based: Rooted in their communities, they cater to local residents' needs, often governed by community members and volunteers.
Open and inclusive: They welcome everyone, ensuring all individuals and groups feel valued and respected.
Promotion of diversity: They champion social and cultural diversity, offering programs reflecting all community members' interests.
Platform for innovation and engagement: Increasingly, they are hubs for social innovation and civic engagement, supporting community development and social justice.
I represent an initiative working with a socio-cultural centre, can I apply?
No, but the socio-cultural centre can apply and submit your initiative. However, if you are an ENCC member, this criteria does not apply.
My organisation is a network, can I apply?
Only cultural organisations that have a physical space which allows them to work closely with and within their communities can apply. However, if you are an ENCC member, this criteria does not apply.
My organisation is not an ENCC member, are the terms of participation the same as for ENCC members?
The Up Grants programme is open to both ENCC members and non-members. The winners will be selected through the combination of the results from the online voting and the evaluation of the jury of experts. Yet, the jury will take ENCC membership into account as one of the multiple factors in the evaluation of submissions (i.e., if two applications have the same score of votes, the preference will be given to our member).
Can I submit several applications for the same organisation?
Yes, each organisation can submit several proposals, also on different strands. However, only one grant can be awarded per organisation.
What’s in it for me?
All eligible submitted projects will be included in a database on the ENCC website and get intenrational visibility.
The three winning projects will receive a grant of EUR 4000. They will be showcased on the ENCC website and other ENCC communication channels, while a representative of the awarded organisation will be invited to join our conference in Lisbon in May 2026, with costs covered.
Why am I requested to get a Participant Identification Code (PIC)?
The Participant Identification Code (PIC) serves as a unique identifier of an organisation in the European Commission's participant organisations register. As our funds come from the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, Up Grants winners will need to get a PIC number in order to receive their grants. If you do not have a PIC number, we can assist you in creating one. To get one, you simply need to register your organisation on the European Commission's Funding & Tenders portal, by entering the following administrtive data:
Legal name of the organisation as it appears in its statutes.
Establishment/registration Country: Select the "Establishment/Registration Country" of the organisation from the drop-down list. Usually this is the location of the headquarters of the organisation.
Business registration number of the organisation, if available. This is a unique code identifying your organisation, ordinarily provided by your Country's Chamber of Commerce.
As a general principle, an organisation should have legal personality in order to be registered. If the organisation does not have legal personality, its representatives must prove that they have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on its behalf and that the organisation has financial and operational capacity equivalent to that of legal persons.
What costs are eligible to be covered by the awarded grants?
Costs related to the implementation of the project are generally all eligible. In case of doubt, you can check with us.
How are the awards provided?
The sum of 4000 euros will be transferred via bank transfer in two tranches, one right after the announcement of the results, and the second upon submission of the implementation report by winners.
Is the voting process open to everyone or only to ENCC members?
Online public voting is open to everyone, so make sure to advertise your initiative and share the contest page with your network(s) and the people around you.
Can I apply to the Up Grants if I don’t have time to work on my initiative between now and October 2026?
No. Winning projects will be asked to implement their follow-up plans and use the money provided between May and October 2026. A short report of the actions implemented thanks to the grants, including invoices, pictures, and other supporting material is expected by November 15th, 2026.
More questions? Reach out to us at upgrants@encc.eu.