Culture Helps Solidarity

Cultural professionals such as artists, curators, museum workers and educators have become key agents of care, resilience and social cohesion. Many continue to support displaced Ukrainians and their communities while navigating their own strain, loss, or fatigue. Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність is opening multiple rounds of Individual Care Grants to support creative professionals and veterans in maintaining their mental health and wellbeing, helping them sustain the care and cultural work they provide to others.

Support focuses on personal well-being rather than project delivery. It may include counselling, trauma-informed coaching, restorative care, or participation in cultural and therapeutic activities that help individuals recover balance and resilience. Grants of up to €1,200 are available to individuals working in arts and culture who support displaced Ukrainians, particularly vulnerable groups such as veterans, and who have themselves been affected by war or displacement.

Cultural work does not stop in times of crisis. Across Ukraine and in countries hosting displaced communities, artists, cultural managers and activists continue to support others while navigating the personal impact of war. The Culture Helps Solidarity programme responds to this reality by offering direct support that enables individuals to sustain their work and wellbeing. The third round of Individual Grants is now open, providing flexible support of up to €1,200 to Ukrainian cultural professionals working with displaced people, refugees and vulnerable groups, including veterans, in Ukraine and across Creative Europe countries.

The grants are designed as personal support rather than project funding. They can be used for wellbeing-related needs such as psychological counselling, trauma-informed coaching, restorative care or participation in cultural and learning activities that support resilience. Applicants must be aged 18 or above, have been affected by war or displacement, and be actively engaged in cultural or community-based work supporting others. The selection process prioritises clarity of need, relevance to wellbeing, and the potential for the grant to strengthen the applicant’s ability to continue their work.

The call is open from 27 April to 18 May 2026 (13:00 Amsterdam time / 14:00 Kyiv time), with an online information session taking place on 5 May. This is part of a rolling series of calls running until 2028, offering repeated opportunities for support. Culture Helps Solidarity is co-funded by the EU Creative Europe programme and implemented by the European Cultural Foundation with Insha Osvita, zusa and the VETERANKA Movement.

This application round has now closed due to an exceptionally high level of interest. We have reached the maximum number of applications we are able to process in this round. While we understand this may be disappointing, we want to ensure an optimal allocation of resources, a fair review process and the dedicated attention each application deserves.

Please note that the next application round will open on 27 April 2026. New application rounds are launched approximately every six weeks, followed by a three-week assessment period. This means that there will be multiple opportunities to apply throughout the project period. The upcoming launch dates are:

Round 3: 27 April

Round 4: 8 June

Round 5: 25 August

(with more rounds announced soon)

If you were unable to submit your application in this round, we encourage you to apply in one of the upcoming rounds.

This application round has closed due to exceptionally high interest. We have reached the maximum number of applications we can process in this round. While we understand this may be disappointing, we want to ensure an optimal allocation of resources, a fair review process and the dedicated attention each application deserves.

Please note that the next application round will open on 16 March 2026.