Combating the rise of anti-democratic forces
As civic space, the quality of public debate and media plurality withered in many places in Europe in 2024, the resolve of Civitates and its foundation partners to defend liberal democracy strengthened. Seven new Foundation Partners joined the pooled fund; we launched a series of grant-making rounds; our team grew to four; and we absorbed vital lessons which are now guiding our support for our partners.
In 2025 we will build on this progress.
Grantmaking
In 2025 we will roll out open calls across all our sub-funds, starting with an open call in our media portfolio in January and an open call in our tech and democracy portfolio in February. The exact dates are still being finalised, and will be communicated in due course.
Unlike in 2024, we will adopt a two-step application process: requesting a short concept note initially, before asking for full proposals from shortlisted applicants.
To become the exceptional grantmaking organisation we aim to be, we will continue to test and improve our processes, including by trialling new decision-making approaches, for instance, by inviting alumni to be part of grant selection committees.
Capacity building
The contexts in which our grantees work often differ, but they face many of the same challenges.
Bringing them together so they can share their expertise can help build their power and resilience, and that of civil society across Europe.
To that end, in 2025, we will organise events and provide capacity building, being a catalyst for civil society and funder partners to learn from each other.
In the Spring of 2025, for instance, we will hold a meeting for our Media fund grantees, and in the Autumn will bring our Tech & Democracy cohort together with the European AI and Society Fund community. We will also lay the groundwork for our first ever Civitates community gathering in 2026 that will bring together grantees from all the three sub-funds. We also want to invest more time and resources in surfacing and sharing the lessons that our partners and ourselves are learning through our successes, or the lack thereof, so that the field can adjust
Growing the pot
We will work hard to increase our grant making budget, and expand and diversify the range of Civitates funder partners.
One way we will do so is through human storytelling: highlighting our partners’ remarkable work on the ground as they battle against the tides of disinformation, and strive to increase civic space and arrest democratic decline. We will also consider taking funders and potential funders to visit grantees in their countries, so they can see their essential work first-hand.
This is an overview of how we plan to deliver our 2024-2026 strategy, while still being nimble enough to respond to events in an uncertain, volatile world.
Elections will take place in Germany, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Poland in 2025. Hugely consequential EU policy decisions are in the offing, including regarding the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the new Multi-Annual Framework (CERV). A new administration is about to take office in the US, and the threats of populism, autocracy and polarisation appear to be accelerating.
At such a critical juncture, we’re proud and excited to continue working with such inspiring partners and funders.
