The joy of writing funding proposals

Important: Please read this call and the information included carefully. Check adequately if you fit the profile of the participants we are looking for, before deciding to apply.

Youth organisations and youth workers play a vital role in our societies. In some countries, some part of this work is sustained through constant state funding and in others through fundraising from public or private money. Regardless of one's status at the moment in their current locations, the political and global trends, which are shrinking the space of civil society as well as its funding, require all youth organisations to diversify their funding sources. 

Currently, fortunately, there is still a large variety of EU calls for grants and funding, alongside various regional or state ones.  In many countries (especially in the North or West side of the EU), lots of EU funds are insufficiently absorbed. 

For various reasons (related to the current funding situation or not), many individuals in charge of managing a youth work organisation are not willing to apply for various funding calls.

Among these reasons are:

• Low level of experience in writing project proposals 
• Low confidence in their own skills or potential 
• Low confidence in their ideas and project concept as not being worthy enough for a specific funding call
• Overestimating the level of difficulty of a specific call 
• The sense of overwhelming feeling while reading a potential funding call 
• Postponing for a future time when all conditions align better
• Overestimation of the amount of time needed to write 
• Overthinking the entire procedure and giving up sooner than needed
• Not being aware of where funding calls are being announced and what the conditions are 
• Etc. 

If you are such an individual and many of these potential reasons apply to you, maybe this training course is what you need. 

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Understand how the main funding EU streams function in Europe (Erasmus +, CERV, Creative Europe, etc.) 
• Get a deeper knowledge of the application process and the main differences between different specific calls.
• Get insights on how to “read” a call and to identify faster if there is potential in a specific funding call.
• Get more confidence to design a project concept and proposal in line with various objectives of different funding calls.
• Get more skills in reading and drafting budgets in various funding calls.
• Get more courageous to try out writing a funding proposal (regardless of the outcomes). 
• Get more tips and tricks on how to engage in writing project proposals more successfully. 
• Get inspired by different types of youth work practices and how they attract funding. 
• Build connections and potential collaborations for solid future partnerships. 

The course has a strong, practical and grounded approach. We will not engage in the "theory" or writing, but we will work concretely with the current reality in terms of funding, through synthesised presentations, practical work, feedback sessions and real case studies.  The training activities are flexible and adaptable to group needs, taking into account the reactions of participants, their feedback, their expressed needs, their experience and the way they will work as a group.

The learning process will be guided and facilitated by an experienced team. 

• Andreea-Loredana Tudorache, our main trainer, has been involved in the international youth work field since 2003 in various capacities. She is one of the founders of A.R.T. Fusion Association and, over the years, has trained numerous professionals around the world in various topics. (http://trainers.salto-youth.net/AndreeaLoredanaTudorache ). She has a deep joy for writing project proposals, which she sees as tools to make one's dreams come true. For her, whenever a funding call is published, it brings a deep excitement, and she wishes to inspire others to feel the same. She has been regularly writing proposals and projects in various funding streams  since 2005.
• Elena Stevkovska, youth worker, theatre facilitator and trainer since 2021. (https://www.salto-youth.net/tools/toy/elena-stevkovska.6009/ ) And she will support the general learning process. She is a beginner herself in writing funding proposals, and she wants to get more hands-on opportunities.

Do you resonate with this course and want to be part of it?

Any interested applicant must check all the following requirements: 

• Active members or close collaborators of active Youth Organisations (staff or active members, paid or not) who are working regularly with young people. The organisation must have a valid OID number at the moment of applying!
• Youth workers who are in a position to write funding proposals for their organisation.
• High interest in writing more project proposals in the near future
• Good command of the English language (to be able to engage actively and meaningfully in the discussions during the course)
• People older than 18 years and with a legal residence (proven by documents) in the country they are currently residing in. 
• People with residence in one of the Erasmus + Program Countries (EU Member States and third countries associated with the Programme that do not need a visa for Norway) 

Important: 

• The criteria mentioned are not optional or negotiable. We will not respond to any inquiries aiming to challenge these criteria stated previously.  
• If you are not part of an organisation, as an active member, do not apply! 
• If you cannot communicate actively in English, do not apply!
• If you lie in the application process, are selected, and we discover the lie, we reserve the right to cancel your participation in the project and not reimburse any costs incurred until that moment.