What does it mean to be a good grantmaker? In their book Modern Grantmaking, Gemma Bull and Tom Steinberg argue that responsible funders should be driven by human-centred design — paying close attention to those who seek their grants, learning from them continuously, and making their lives easier rather than harder. At Civitates, this is not a philosophy we admire from a distance. It is one we are actively trying to live up to.
Our 2025 grant-making cycle was shaped directly by feedback gathered from applicants following our 2024 open calls. Here is what we did — and why, writes Samuel Sigere.
A two-step process
True to our public commitment after the 2024 calls, we introduced a two-step process for our core funding: a short concept note first, and a full proposal only for those shortlisted. For civil society organisations and independent media already stretched thin, a lengthy application is a barrier in itself — a concept note lowers that threshold. We complemented this with dedicated webinars for shortlisted applicants. But we know there is more to do: 57% of applicants needed more than five full days to complete a proposal. Simplifying our forms further remains a priority.
Reaching organisations outside our circles
Diversity of applicants starts with diversity of outreach — and our 2024 survey made clear we had more work to do. In 2025, we mobilised our network of funders, grantees and partners to amplify our open calls. For our Media and Tech & Democracy portfolios, two thirds of applicants at both stages were applying to Civitates for the first time. In Italy, this connected us with organisations that had never previously been on our radar. But reach is only part of the picture: for many organisations, applying in English remains a real obstacle, and we are actively exploring how to reduce that barrier further.
Fairer due diligence
We acted on applicants’ feedback that our due diligence requirements were disproportionate, making the process more proportionate to the size and track record of each organisation. We worked with the Network of European Foundations, our host, to tailor our due diligence processes to the size of the organisations. Yet our 2025 Italy call was a reminder of how much further we need to go. As one applicant put it, our questionnaire still felt better suited to large, well-established associations than to the grassroots organisations we said we were looking for.
Sharing the decision
We deepened our participatory grant-making model by involving national experts and former grantees directly in the evaluation of proposals and decision-making process. Their knowledge of local civic spaces, political realities and organisational landscapes complements the expertise of our foundation partners and the Civitates team in ways that no internal process alone can replicate. Decisions about who receives funding are better when those closest to the work are genuinely involved in shaping them.
Beyond the grant
Grants matter — but they are rarely enough on their own. In 2025, we brought new grantees together to learn from one another and forge connections across borders — in Pécs for our Civic Power portfolio, in Athens for Media, and in Ljubljana for Tech & Democracy. In an increasingly hostile environment for civil society and independent media, solidarity is a necessity. These gatherings laid the groundwork for the first Civitates Forum in 2026, our most ambitious effort yet to build a community of practice across our network.
Security is part of that resilience too. We added it to our learning and wellbeing programme, complemented by an additional €5,000 flexible grant for all core-funded partners to spend as they see fit. When the space for civil society shrinks, the least a funder can do is help its partners stand firm.
Our 2025 cycle was built on listening and acting. As Bull and Steinberg put it, good grant-making is “the opposite of doing a job once and then ticking it off as ‘done’.” We are not done — but we hope we are moving in the right direction.
This article is part of Civitates Annual Report 2025, which will be published in May 2026. To discover more stories like this one, stay in touch by signing up for our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn.
