Considering that within the framework of the existing cultural system civil society organizations at the national and subnational levels can secure funds mainly for programme implementation, financial support in this programme area is intended for operational costs, that is for costs related to those permanent operational activities of the organization which form the basis for any cultural and artistic activity.

These include costs such as fees for the work of managers, producers, programme/project managers, financial administrators, office managers and other programme participants, financial-administrative costs, office rental costs, overhead costs, communication costs, etc.

The cultural and artistic programme represents the basis for obtaining support for organizational development, and it can be realized in any artistic discipline or cultural activity in the field of contemporary arts and culture, regardless of which of the following five cultural functions it refers to: creation, production, distribution, preservation, education**. Programmes can be realized in the country and abroad, in a physical (open / closed) or virtual space. The programme can be implemented independently, in partnership with other actors from any area and sector (civil, public, private) in the country and/or abroad or through cooperation and exchange with members in formal and informal networks.

In the application submitted to this programme area, organizations can encompass all their cultural and artistic activities in the field of contemporary arts and culture that they intend to undertake throughout the year.

Specific Objectives:

• To encourage employment and improvement of working conditions: this programme aims to enhance employment opportunities and improve working conditions within civil society organizations active in the contemporary arts and culture .
• To promoting year-round programme activities: encourage and support programmes that are aimed at implementing year-round programme activities.

In this Programme Area, four amounts of support are defined that applicants can request: 5,000; 10,000; 18,000 and 25,000 euro, depending on the needs of the organization, the submitted programme proposal and the formal conditions that the applicant fulfills. In addition to different amounts of the support, the Foundation awards two types of support in this Programme Area: one-year and multi-year. When filling out the application form, the applicant chooses the amount and type of support he is applying for. As a rule, multi-year support is awarded to a certain number of the best-placed applications in the ranking list.

** The definition of six cultural functions (creation, production, distribution, preservation, education, management) is based on the Eurostat Report of the ESSnet-Culture (European Statistical System Network on Culture) project, established by the European Commission and Eurostat in their 2012 "Essnet-Culture: European Statistical System Network on Culture - Final Report." which is available here.