Youth Alliance – Krusevo invites the civil society organisations (CSOs) from North Macedonia which have an innovative idea and support programs for youth-led social enterprises on local level to apply to this Call for Proposals, whose specific objective is supporting civil society programs for youth led social enterprises.

Project: RAISE CSOs - Resilient and Inclusive Social Entrepreneurship Pathways for Youth with local grassroot CSOs in North Macedonia

Donor: European Commission

Sub-Granting Authority: Youth Alliance - Krusevo

Total budget of the Call: 82.850,00 EUR (including the co-finance from the grant applicants)

Call Publication Date: 01.08.2025

Application Submission Deadline: 05.09.2025, by 17:00 hour

Email for submitting applications: info@youthalliance.org.mk

The RAISE CSOs project, led by Youth Alliance – Krusevo in partnership with Centre for Research and Analysis – NOVUS and The Association for Research, Communications and Development PUBLIC aims to enhance the capacity of grassroots Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in North Macedonia to promote social entrepreneurship as a tool for socio-economic integration of young people into the labour market. One of the main components of the project is a sub-granting scheme for financial support to Civil Society in North Macedonia, whose specific objective is supporting civil society programs for youth led social enterprises.

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ABOUT THE CALL

This call seeks to support CSOs across North Macedonia, which through their actions will improve the living conditions of a minimum of 1000 young people, especially vulnerable groups such as Roma, women, people with disabilities, and the long-term unemployed who are far from employment. It aims to expand economic participation opportunities for these groups by supporting the survival rate of 30 social enterprises. The project ideas are expected to strengthen and improve the capacity of local grassroots CSOs to promote social entrepreneurship as a tool for the socio-economic integration of young people in the labour market of North Macedonia.

Applicants should clearly indicate in the proposal the ways they plan to ensure the sustainability of their actions after the project implementation period. The creation of local networks and partnerships with different stakeholders (local CSOs, ecosystem partners, policymakers, public officials, businesses) in the targeted area, as an indicator of sustainable project development, is encouraged under this call for proposals.

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FINANCIAL ALLOCATION

The overall indicative amount available under this Call for Proposals is EUR 82.850,00 including the co-finance from the grant applicants. The Sub-Granting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Grants requested under this Call for Proposals are subject to co-financing.

• The grant may cover a maximum of 90% of the total eligible costs of the action.

Size of Sub-Grant: Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall in one of the LOTs:

LOT 1: Maximum amount: EUR 7.500.00

Recommended for:

• Organizations with an annual budget below EUR 30,000;

• Grassroots CSOs and newly established organizations;

• Entities with limited prior experience in managing EU or donor-funded projects;

LOT 2: Maximum amount: EUR 10,000.00

Recommended for:

• Organizations with an annual budget above EUR 30,000;

• CSOs with a stable team, operational systems, and experience in project implementation

• Entities with a record of managing external funding and donor-supported actions

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ELIGIBILITY OF ACTIONS

The duration of the project awarded under this call for proposals should be 8 months, while actions must take place across North Macedonia.

Types of actions: The proposed strategies should be designed to achieve the objectives outlined in this call. They must include, but are not limited to, the following types of activities:

• Initiatives that support the socio-economic development of local communities, with a particular emphasis on the economic empowerment of young people in the targeted project areas.
• Activities that leverage the knowledge, skills, and traditional capacities of local human and material resources for active mentoring and support of youth-inclusive social enterprises established and operating. 
• Interventions that promote social cohesion, inclusivity, and stronger linkages within and between communities for support young people employment and the social enterprises.
• Programs that facilitate integration and enhance employment opportunities, particularly for marginalized youth groups.

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TARGET GROUP

Please note that the eligible target group under this call are young people from 15 to 29 years old. Participation of other relevant stakeholders participating and contributing to the action and all other groups over 29 years of age is also possible within planned activities, only if the purpose of that activity falls directly under the goals and objectives of this Call for Proposals.

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Documents to be completed:

• Annex A: Grant Application Form (Word Format)
• Annex B: Budget Proposal Form (Excel Format)
• Annex C: Logical Framework Form

Supporting Documents must be submitted with the application:

• Scanned Confirmation of Registration (in PDF/JPG format) issued by a relevant public authority
• Statute and the Establishment Act of the CSO (in PDF/JPG format)
• Scanned copy of the financial statements from the last year (2024) signed by audit or the financial statements requested from the Taxation Office (just for LOT 2)
• Scanned Declaration by the Applicant (in PDF/JPG format). The Declaration is available for print within the application form.
• CVs of key project team members, including relevant qualifications and experience aligned with the proposed project activities (in PDF format)

For additional information and criteria, review the Guidelines for Grant Applicants. In addition, all annexes and documents are attached below as a zip file. Complete applications must be submitted on the following mail address: info@youthalliance.org.mk, by 05.09.2025 (Friday), 17:00 hour local time. Any application submitted after the deadline will automatically be rejected.

The applicants who will require additional clarifications, can submit their questions via email: anelija@youthalliance.org.mk, no later than 10 days before the deadline for submission of applications (by 26.08.2025). 

In addition, we invite all interested to attend the Informational session that will take place on 15.08.2025 (Friday) at 12:00 hour local time, via the Zoom platform. You may join the session on the following link:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89087016300?pwd=HO3J50aDxNQYIWmjADB20pPdWiCKVa.1; Meeting ID: 890 8701 6300; Passcode: 572131

Please find the Guidelines for Grant Applicants and the Annexes on the following links:

• Zip 1 file for LOT 1
• Zip 2 file for LOT 2