The RCF focuses on supporting local citizen engagement and CLIs working on climate action, regeneration, just transition, community empowerment, diversity, and inclusion. These initiatives, typically at the village or neighbourhood scale, bring together local people concerned about climate and ecological challenges to take collective action within their communities.

What is a Demonstrator?

• Demonstrators are existing, innovative, local community-led initiatives working on climate action. They should:
  • Have a track record in innovation and regeneration,
  • Have a physical presence and be place-based with potential to host events and visitors,
  • Have capacity to provide outreach support to Pathfinder Communities (during the call to engage with marginalised communities and after the call to improve their outreach capacity)

Objectives

• This Call for Proposals (CfP) seeks to fund projects that align with the objectives and priorities of the Regenerative Communities Fund Initiative, the Funding Fairer Futures Action and the DEAR Programme, as well as with the missions of the National Hubs. The aim is to have a geographic balance with three (3) demonstrators per participating country for a total of fifteen. The final number will depend on the number, quality, and relevance of the applications.
• Specific objectives of the Demonstrators
  • To be empowered, established community-led initiatives (CLIs) that serve as showcase examples of transformative social innovation and collective action for regeneration, sustainability, and a just transition.
  • To inspire and support the emergence of local CLIs specifically in marginalised communities and strengthen national outreach, communication and mobilisation capacity.
  • To demonstrate the real-life impact, the contribution and potential of CLIs for creating a regenerative & just world and inspire policy makers and other communities.
  • To strengthen connections, share knowledge (stories, lessons learned, methods, resources and good practices) as well as providing direct support to Pathfinders communities.

Funding Information

• ECOLISE will provide a maximum grant of €13,333 per selected demonstrator.
• All proposed project budgets must fall within the eligible range of €10,000 to €100,000, regardless of the funding source.

Benefits for Subgrantees

• Capacity building: They will provide training (in-person and online) along with tailored support, on key topics such as project management, finance, HR, organisational management, fundraising, inclusivity, and gender. The goal is to help strengthen your internal policies and practices, enhance organisational and project delivery capacity, and share useful toolkits and resources.
• Campaigning and Advocacy: You will receive capacity-building support in advocacy, policy development, and campaigning strategies. You can contribute and engage in the FFF Just Transition Campaign, share impactful stories, raise awareness, and develop skills to host Local Policy Dialogues as part of the European Day of Sustainable Communities.
• Community of Practice: ECOLISE, in close collaboration with the hubs, will organise peer-to-peer support, collaborative learning for Demonstrators through regular online exchanges in a Community of Practice (CoP). External experts may also be invited to provide input on specific topics to enhance subgrantees knowledge and skills.
• Fundraising Support: They will provide fundraising training to encourage and train demonstrators to seek for other funding opportunities and develop financial sustainability beyond FFF.
• Network Weaving and Collaboration: You will have the opportunity to participate in both online and in-person events designed to foster value exchanges and build meaningful relationships. As a Demonstrator, you will become part of the ECOLISE network, connect with diverse community-led initiative movements across Europe, and be empowered to enhance your strategic engagement, strengthen collaboration, and deepen connectivity.
• Visibility, Communication and Mobilisation: You will have access to communication and mobilisation workshops including training on how to speak to the media. Your organisation will benefit from added visibility and recognition through the ECOLISE and the FFF consortium communication channels.
• Collective Impact: Join forces for greater collective impact, catalysing and empowering citizen engagement and local community-led initiatives in collective action for regeneration, sustainability, and a just transition. Be actively involved in the promotion of subsequent funding calls for Pathfinder Communities, particularly among marginalised and underserved communities.

Project Duration

• Demonstrators project duration is 22.5 months from December 2025 to October 2027.

Eligible Activities

• Types of eligible activities:
  • Communication activities
  • Training events
  • Network development events
  • Awareness raising activities
  • Youth engagement activities
  • Community building and engagement activities
  • Environmental, sustainable and climate action
  • Advocacy activities
  • Showcasing activities, e.g. inspirational visits

Expected Outcomes

• Host visitors and share best practices as innovative and inspiring examples of community-led initiatives, serving as reference points for Pathfinder communities.
• Disseminate information about the subgranting process and provide support to Pathfinder communities.
• Support peer-to-peer learning, including capacity-building activities, training sessions, and resource exchanges to strengthen and sustain other CLIs.
• Coordinate inter-community networking to promote collaboration, mutual learning, and the exchange of knowledge across initiatives.
• Organise an annual local showcase event and policy dialogue as part of the EDSC, supported by the Hubs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must:
  • be a non-profit legal person: a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) or an association of CSOs constituted in accordance with the legislation in force in the country
  • be established in one of the 5 European countries hosting the National Hubs selected during the 1st Call: Croatia, Finland, France, Portugal, Spain
  • not be a beneficiary of a grant (neither lead, nor co-applicant, or affiliated entity, nor associates or contractors) in the frame of the European Commission's DEAR programme
  • not have the financial, administrative or operational capacity to compete directly for EU funding
  • declare that they have not received and are not expecting to receive financial support from another project resulting from the EC DEAR 2022 CfP EuropeAid/173998/DH/ACT/Multi
  • be organisations with a physical demonstrative space that have the potential to host visitors and provide support to sustainable community-led initiatives

For more information, visit ECOLISE.

https://ecolise.eu/call-for-demonstrators/