• Eligibility at a Glance: Who We Fund and Who We Don’t
  • Organisations Eligible for Funding
  • Organisations Not Eligible for Funding
• Funding at a Glance: Where and What We Support and What We Don’t
• Evaluating at a Glance: What We Are Looking For and What Falls Short
• Funding at a Glance: The HLF Approach to Grantmaking

Kindly note: The information below will be refined over time, but it offers a solid initial overview of what we aim to achieve together through the HLF. Please stay tuned and continue to refer to this page for updates.

Eligibility at a Glance: Who We Fund and Who We Don’t

ORGANISATIONS ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING

The HLF Steering and Grants Committee has decided that the HLF will fund humanitarian work carried out by legally registered, locally led organisations or initiatives with a recognised presence in their communities. This includes all categories of ‘local organisations engaged in humanitarian work’.

We use the term ‘local organisations engaged in humanitarian work’ deliberately—particularly in the context of localisation, for the following reasons:

• To broaden the scope to include grassroots and community-based actors.
• To respect the diversity of local responses, especially in contexts where humanitarian action is not clearly separated from other forms of support.
• To align with localisation principles, which emphasise inclusion of local actors regardless of whether they hold formal humanitarian status.

To be eligible, organisations must meet a set of minimum criteria defined by the HLF.

Organisations are not required to be formally affiliated with humanitarian clusters, but their work must clearly align with and contribute to humanitarian objectives, and they must operate according to humanitarian principles (humanity, neutrality, impartiality).

Organisations value the humanitarian imperative and work according to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality (no military support).

They have been operational for at least two years and demonstrate experience in specific areas of humanitarian response.

They have an established team of at least two staff members with clearly defined functional roles (excluding consultants and private entrepreneurs/FOPs), and their CVs demonstrate a minimum of two years’ experience in a relevant field.

Their team includes at least one person with responsibility for MEAL. This does not need to be a full-time MEAL position; it may be a staff member who carries MEAL responsibilities alongside other tasks, in recognition of the limited capacity of smaller organisations to allocate dedicated staff for this function.

Funding eligibility is additionally based on defined ranges of annual organisational budgets, corresponding to the three grant sizes offered by the HLF during its pilot phase, which runs until December 2026.

• Organisations that are eventually invited to submit a proposal for a €100,000 grant are expected to have an annual budget in the last calendar or fiscal year of approximately €250,000 at minimum and €625,000 at maximum.
• Organisations that are eventually invited to submit a proposal for a €250,000 grant are expected to have an annual budget in the last calendar or fiscal year of approximately €625,000 at minimum and €2 million at maximum.
• Organisations that are eventually invited to submit a proposal as a single partner for a €800,000 grant:
  • They are expected to have an annual budget in the last calendar or fiscal year of approximately €2 million at minimum and €4 million at maximum.
• Organisations that are eventually invited to submit a proposal as a consortium with a maximum of three partners for a €800,000 grant:
  • Please note that we aim to actively encourage and explicitly invite consortium-led registrations, as they are more likely to expand access to funding for organisations that may not otherwise be eligible or competitive on their own.
  • The organisation signing the agreement with the HLF is expected to have an annual budget in the last calendar or fiscal year of approximately €2 million at minimum and €4 million at maximum.

For all organisations registering for the HLF:

• Organisations are expected to have an annual budget of no more than €4 million and no less than €250,000.

To be eligible, organisations must meet the definition of a legally registered, locally led organisation or initiative as set out by the HLF.

A civil society organisation, non-governmental organisation, or community-based entity that is:

• Legally registered and operating within the country where the funding or project activities take place (in this case: Ukraine).
• Established and led by individuals who are citizens or permanent residents of that country (in this case: Ukraine).
• Governed independently, with decision-making authority resting primarily with local leadership; and
• Primarily accountable to local stakeholders and communities, not to a parent organisation outside the country.

Exclusion Clause:

• Organisations that are locally registered but function as offices, subsidiaries, branches, sub-units, or affiliates of international NGOs, donor agencies, or multilateral institutions—and/or maintain formal ties, such as governance or decision-making arrangements that limit their operational independence from the international entity—do not qualify as local organisations under this definition, regardless of their local registration status or local staffing.

ORGANISATIONS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING

The following types of legally registered, locally led organisations or initiatives are not eligible for funding under the HLF pilot phase, which runs until December 2026:

• Organisations that fall outside the scope of the above criteria and definition.
• Organisations with an annual budget in the last calendar or fiscal year exceeding €4 million or falling below €250,000.
• Organisations that, either in policy or practice, discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, physical ability, or sexual orientation.
• Organisations that promote religious beliefs or proselytization.
• Organisations actively involved in political campaigns or lobbying.
• Organisations solely focused on development cooperation without demonstrated humanitarian engagement.

Funding at a Glance: Where and What We Support and What We Don’t

Needs-Based Funding That Extends Beyond Geographic Priorities

Staying true to its locally led model, the HLF in its pilot phase running until December 2026, prioritizes funding according to needs identified by partners. Severe needs may exist among conflict-affected populations in areas that are not fully reflected in national or international data. Therefore, in line with the principles of impartiality and a needs-based approach, the HLF will provide funding across all geographic areas of Ukraine where humanitarian needs are clearly demonstrated and substantiated by credible, context-specific information provided by the partner.

Flexibility That Goes Beyond, While Including the Cluster System

The HLF embraces a flexible approach that values the diverse ways in which, especially, smaller civil society actors contribute to humanitarian response—often in coordination with, but not limited to, formal structures. While strict alignment with the humanitarian cluster system is not required, the HLF recognizes its central role in humanitarian coordination.

Accordingly, the HLF priority areas for the pilot phase—all of which can be supported by Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) as a cross-sectoral modality—have been informed by the cluster system to ensure both relevance and complementarity. However, the HLF allows flexibility—projects do not need to strictly align with cluster classifications and may span different thematic areas. Local partners are encouraged to engage with the priority areas based on their expertise and understanding of local needs, even beyond the cluster system. Funded interventions should be as self-contained as possible, with a clear plan to ensure their continued functionality beyond the implementation period.

Safe, Protected and Healthy Lives

Within the framework of the HLF, ‘Safe, Protected, and Healthy Lives’ plays a lifesaving and life-sustaining role. It encompasses essential interventions that safeguard and protect the life, health, and physical and mental well-being of people affected by crisis—grounded in the principles of the Sphere Humanitarian Charter.

• In Ukraine’s humanitarian cluster system this priority area is linked, among others, to the Health, Protection and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Clusters as well as to the Child Protection and Gender-Based Violence Sub-Clusters.

Safe and Dignified Temporary or Transitional Accommodation for Displaced and Vulnerable populations

This area plays a life-sustaining and protection-enhancing role for people in need by safeguarding rights, promoting inclusion through meaningful participation in decision-making, and supporting stability, recovery, and social cohesion in challenging environments. Potential projects could aim to improve the management and quality of temporary or transitional accommodation settings—such as transit or IDP centers, or shelters for vulnerable groups. These efforts align with the Sphere Standards and global CCCM guidelines.

• In Ukraine’s humanitarian cluster system this priority area is linked, among others, to the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster.

Winterisation and Seasonal Vulnerability

‘Winterisation and Seasonal Vulnerability’ interventions play a lifesaving, life-sustaining, and risk-reducing role in humanitarian response, protecting crisis-affected populations from the harsh impacts of extreme weather—particularly during winter months. These efforts are essential for ensuring physical safety and health in environments where exposure to cold, damp, and seasonal hazards can rapidly escalate into life-threatening conditions.

• In Ukraine’s humanitarian cluster system this priority area is primarily addressed, among others, under the Shelter and Non-Food Items (SNFI) Cluster. While the SNFI Cluster leads winterization efforts, other clusters also contribute: Health Cluster, WASH Cluster and Protection Cluster.

Inclusive Learning and Education in Emergencies

‘Inclusive Learning and Education in Emergencies’—both formal and non-formal—plays a vital role. It empowers learners, fosters resilience, reduces barriers for marginalised groups, provides safe and equitable access to education, and offers stability during times of crisis. It also lays the foundation for recovery and long-term development—regardless of gender, age, ability, ethnicity, legal status, or displacement situation. These efforts are grounded in the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and the INEE Minimum Standards for Education.

• In Ukraine’s humanitarian cluster system this priority area is linked, among others, to the Education Cluster.

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INEE and partner agencies often refer to the full 0–24 age range when discussing the scope of education services in emergencies, depending on the context and type of learning provided (formal, non-formal, or vocational)

Cross-sectoral modality: Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA)

HLF prioritises CVA, unless clear reasons exist for it not being appropriate, as a cross-sectoral modality to address diverse needs in a flexible, dignified, and efficient manner. CVA empowers crisis-affected individuals, households, (and communities in the form of Group Cash Transfers) to make informed choices based on their own priorities, circumstances, and preferences—supporting autonomy and promoting more locally appropriate outcomes.

Funding at a Glance: The HLF Approach to Grantmaking

The HLF deliberately includes capacity strengthening as natural part of every grant. Local partners can access both Programmatic Funding for their humanitarian activities and Capacity Strengthening Funding for their organisations, which together make up the total grant amount—plus an additional 7% for programme support costs.

Organisational Capacity Strengthening funding specifically covers the following areas:

1. Strengthening Your Humanitarian Programming
2. Strengthening Your Organisation: Strategy, Management, Governance
3. Strengthening Your Organisation’s Financial Management & Sustainability
4. Strengthening Your Organisations’ MEAL
5. Strengthening Your Organisation’s Communications
6. Strengthening Safeguarding, Protection & Inclusion
7. Enhancing Staff Safety & Security
8. Investments in strengthening the capacity of other local actors or in improving your own organizational capacity in relation to peers and partners with the aim to strengthen the wider ecosystem of local actors
9. Tangible Goods
10. Other: To be defined by you and then reviewed in consultation with HLF staff.

Excluded from this are:

• Personal development without organisational relevance
• Costs related to excessively high standards

Evaluating Grants at a Glance: What We Are Looking For and What Falls Short

This table outlines the criteria the Grants Committee will use to assess your project, should you proceed to the final Project Selection Phase.