Up to UAH 1 Million: UCF and MHP-Gromadi Launch a Grant Competition for Cultural Projects
MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation, in cooperation with Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF), proudly announce the launch of a new grant competition, Culture in Focus for Communities. This initiative will bestow grants ranging from UAH 500 thousand to UAH 1 million upon cultural projects.
Now embarking on its eighth grant season, Ukrainian Cultural Foundation has unveiled a myriad of programs designed to invigorate culture and creative industries. Among the initiatives for communities slated for 2025, is the Culture in Focus for Communities competition, commencing on 9 January. The competition endeavors to provide the cultural initiatives to communities beyond the confines of major cities and regional hubs. This project aims to safeguard cultural heritage, champion regional values, foster Ukrainian identity, and cultivate shared values that resonate profoundly in times of war.
“For seven consecutive years, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation has steadfastly supported projects that rejuvenate culture and empower local initiatives,” UCF Executive Director Anastasia Obraztsova proclaimed.
“In late 2024, in concert with MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation, we codified our shared vision through a Memorandum of Cooperation. This pact affirms our collective resolve to amalgamate ideas, resources, and efforts to enhance cultural life in areas where the synergy of business, government, and community lays the foundation for a thriving, cohesive cultural ecosystem. Our primary goal is to make culture accessible, modern, and close to community residents through the joint lot of Culture in Focus for Communities within the UCF grant program “Culture. Regions
The competition covers all regions of the country, with a total budget of UAH 10 million, half of which is provided by MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation.
Cultural revival is an imperative that cannot wait. It stands as our formidable response to contemporary challenges, including Russian aggression. This is why MHP-Gromadi Foundation, in tandem with our strategic partner MHP, champions endeavors that preserve our unique identity: local museums, book publishing, Ukrainian cinema, and the arts. Our decade-long work in communities has provided us with deep insights into their needs. Culture encompasses not just art but also people, their stories, traditions, and futures. To unlock this potential and make culture accessible and close to every resident, we have established this competition. This is our contribution towards helping communities flourish and become more resilient through their distinct cultural heritage
Oleksandr Pakholiuk, Director of MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation
Project participants can apply for grants ranging from UAH 500 thousand to UAH 1 million, contingent upon co-financing that must constitute at least 10% of the project’s budget.
The competition is open to local governments, legal entities of all forms of ownership, and individual entrepreneurs operating in locations other than regional centers and the city of Kyiv. An applicant must have been in operation for at least one year before the competition’s commencement and possess experience in executing similar cultural projects.
The competition will support projects in the following fields: visual and audiovisual arts, performing and stage arts, cultural heritage, literature, cultural and creative industries.
Project priorities include:
- Innovative cultural and artistic initiatives aimed at preserving, developing, and promoting regional cultural heritage to both Ukrainian and international audiences;
- Technological solutions in culture, such as digitizing printed materials, archives, museum objects, and architectural monuments, and employing VR, AR, 3D modeling, and other technologies to create new and update existing exhibitions;
- New local initiatives, including those conserving intangible heritage;
- Creation of innovative and accessible spaces for creativity and leisure;
- Partnerships between cultural and tourism organizations, local governments, and international institutions.
Applications will be accepted until 24 February 2025 and must be implemented within the current year. Detailed information on the application conditions and deadlines can be found on the official website of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
MHP-Gromadi is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that launched its activities in 2015 to help communities solve their social, economic, and environmental issues. Foundation operates in 13 regions of Ukraine and in over 700 cities and towns. Since the beginning of full-scale invasion, the Foundation has been systematically supporting people in the war zones: Ukrainian defenders, communities; charitable institutions that care for orphans and the elderly, as well as people who have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the war. One of the important vectors of the Foundation’s operations is supporting cultural initiatives (publishing books, producing movies, helping local museums, etc.). Since the beginning of the full-scale war, MHP-Gromadi has allocated more than UAH 80 million for the said.
Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF) is a state investor in the development of cultural and creative industries in Ukraine. The institution was established in 2017 under the Law of Ukraine “On Ukrainian Cultural Foundation”. Support for individual, national, and international cultural and artistic projects is carried out on a competitive basis within seven sectors: audio art, visual art, audiovisual art, cultural heritage, literature, performing and stage arts, cultural and creative industries. During seven years of its operation, the Foundation has financed 2,717 projects. The amount of funds invested is over UAH 1.6 billion, and the number of the audience covered by Foundation is 53 million people.