Criteria for funding applications

General information about the support we give

We ask you to make sure that you have read the criteria before handing in your proposal. It would be a shame if you invest your time in an application that does not meet our criteria.

Het Actiefonds only supports specific protests and campaigns. Those can be part of lengthy project, but we do not give ongoing support.
The maximum grant size is €2,500 per project. Our average grant size is between €750 and €2,000.

We get together for the decision-making process every month. This means that there is no deadline for handing in your application. But do make sure to file the application at least a month before your protest takes place. In case it is not possible to plan the protest weeks in advance because it responds to un unforeseen situation, we can treat your proposal with urgency.

For your convenience we also provide our application form as a downloadable Word document. If you fill in the offline form, please email it to project-hetactiefonds@protonmail.com.

General criteria

What we fund

• Grassroots activist groups that strive for a sustainable and socially just world in which people and the environment are valued above economic interests
• Direct actions, such as demonstrations, blockades, occupations, strikes, revolts, revolutions and other creative forms of (non-violent) confrontational protest
• Protests that pressure authoritarian and oppressive regimes, aiming for political change
• Politically controversial and radical projects that have difficulty finding funding elsewhere
• Protests that are part of a long term strategy aimed at systemic change

What we do not fund

• Groups that try to exclude other progressive movements
• Conferences, seminars, workshops, debates or other meetings, unless they clearly aim to prepare for political direct actions
• Humanitarian projects, healthcare or emergency aid
• Campaigns or other educational projects that only focus on awareness raising or advocacy
• Micro-credit programs or income generating projects
• Structural organisational costs, like wages or rental costs
• Juridical procedures, unless these are part of a broader activist campaign
• Projects through third parties; we want to cooperate directly with the groups we support
• Political parties or religious organizations
• Projects with a total project budget of more than €20,000
• We have a strong preference for organizations with an income of less than €100,000 per year

Additional criteria for urgent applications

In some cases it is not possible to plan your protest weeks in advance, because of sudden political or societal developments. Therefore it is possible for us to treat your application as urgent, in which case we will make a decision within days. For urgent applications, we handle the following criteria:

•  Your project responds to a sudden political or societal event and is therefore time-bound.
• The protest has not been planned yet; this option is specifically meant for unforeseen situations, not for last minute funding of activities that are already prepared.
• The requested amount does not exceed €250.

Examples of what we fund

To see what kind of protests we fund, visit this page.

FAQ

• Do we have to be a registered NGO to be eligible to apply?
  No, anyone who is planning to organize a protest is eligible for our funding. However, while discussing your project we also check if the project is feasible, based on what experience and network the applicant has.
• Can we discuss my application with someone from your team?
  That is possible, you can get in touch with us by emailing to info@hetactiefonds.nl should you have any questions regarding the application procedure, or if you are not sure if your project fits our criteria.
• We don’t have a safe bank account that we could use. Are there different ways to transfer the funding?
  Yes, there are alternative ways to make the transfer securely. Please contact our financial administration at sanne@hetactiefonds.nl.
• Is it possible to apply for funding anonymously?
  Partially, if you are concerned about your privacy we can treat your application as confidential. We will not save any of your data, and it will only be viewed and discussed by our team of designated region specialists using encrypted software. However, we need to know some personal data before we can make any payments.
• Can we apply for funding after our action took place?
  No, we do not fund retroactively. Please make sure you apply for funding at least a month before your action is planned (preferably even earlier). If your action has an urgent character due to sudden political developments, you can send in an urgent application until a few days before the action takes place. Please note that this option is only intended to respond quickly to unforeseen situations.
• Can we appeal the decision to not grant our application?
  No, the decision that we make regarding your application is final.