“We share a commitment to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and to honour those who stood against it.”
-- Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust
Criteria and Procedures
Your Application
Prior to writing or submitting an application to IHRA’s Grant Programme, please refer to the information in the following documents. Please note that IHRA adopted a new Grant Programme 2015-2018 with some significant changes to its funding strategy. All new elements are marked in the Grant Guidelines document below.
2017 Grant Guidelines for Applicants
2017 Grant Checklist for Applicants
Click here to access the online application system for the IHRA Grant Programme. Applicants must open an account and submit a project summary and budget before the submission deadline, i.e. by 7 December 2016. Please also pay careful attention to the mandatory attachments, which must be submitted with the application and may take time to assemble.
Note the following rule on financial reporting of IHRA grantees:
Any project above € 30,000 requires, in its financial report, an independent audit report, the costs for which shall not be provided by the IHRA. Any project under € 30,000 requires, in its financial report, an independent audit report, the costs for which may be provided by the IHRA to a maximum of 10% of the cost of the IHRA grant. The audit shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards identifying the IHRA contribution in this audit report and shall be submitted to the IHRA.
Should you have any questions that are not addressed by the documents or the FAQs below, please contact the Permanent Office at info [at] holocaustremembrance.com.
Grant Review Process
Once the application period closes, all eligible project applications are reviewed by the members of the Funding Review Committee.
IHRA’s Funding Review Committee (FRC) is composed of representatives from the IHRA Chairmanship, the Budget Committee, and experts from the Academic, Education, and Museums and Memorials Working Groups. Three external experts appointed by the IHRA Plenary in the fields of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research are also members of the FRC.
FRC members evaluate all project applications individually in preparation for the FRC’s annual meeting in March. At the FRC meeting, members conduct an in-depth review and discussion of each application before making suggestions for funding.
The FRC’s suggestions for funding are subject to approval by the delegations of IHRA’s 31 member countries. All applicants are notified of IHRA’s funding decisions around the end of April or early May.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who is eligible for an IHRA grant?
IHRA calls for grant applications from organizations and institutions in the field of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research. Applications from all countries are welcome.
An organization may apply for funding in successive years for substantially different projects. According to the “Sunset Rule” the same project may be funded up to a maximum of three times by IHRA.
IHRA is unable to provide financial support for the following types of activities: capital projects or physical construction of memorials, commemoration events, individual research, literary works, music, theater, fine and plastic arts productions, film, video, and photographic development or production, or monographs and individual life stories.
Projects consisting of study visits or teacher trainings, as well as projects whose target groups are exclusively children and/or students, are not eligible for funding.
IHRA funds can only be granted for not-for-profit activities.
2. Can I apply outside of the application period or obtain an extension past the deadline?
IHRA’s Grant Programme operates on an annual basis and applications are accepted only once per year. The application period under the Grant Programme 2017 runs from mid-September to 31 December 2016.
Applicants are required to open an account and submit a project summary and budget for approval by 7 December 2016. Opening an account in the final two weeks of the application period is not possible.
IHRA can only consider fully complete applications submitted through the online application system. Unfortunately extensions past the deadline of 31 December at 23:59 Central European Time cannot be granted.
3. Can I submit attachments after the application deadline?
All required attachments must be submitted with the application prior to the deadline in order for the application to be considered complete. Please note that recommendation letters must be sent directly to the PO by the recommending individual or institution. Please use the template for recommendation letters provided in the online application system.
4. Does IHRA require translations of documents required in the application?
Yes, applicants must provide English translations of required documents submitted in other languages. In some cases an abstract translation of a document (such as an organization’s annual report) may suffice.
5. When are grant applicants notified of the funding decisions?
Applicants are notified of IHRA’s funding decisions around the end of April or beginning of May.
6. When can projects begin?
For the 2017 call, projects must have a start date between 15 May 2017 and 15 May 2018.
7. When can successful applicants start receiving funds?
Upon receipt of the funding notification at the end of April/beginning of May, successful applicants will be required to submit a logical framework and confirmation of co-funding before funds can be allocated. Some other specific conditions of grant allocation may also be stipulated before the release of funds. Upon fulfilment of these conditions a grant contract is issued and successful applicants will be able to receive the initial installment of 70% of the annual allocation. Successful applicants should note that it may take some time to receive the first installment of funds via bank transfer after the paperwork has been completed.
8. What does the multilateral element require?
In order to be eligible for funding, project proposals should demonstrate a strong multilateral dimension in terms of the target groups benefiting from the project. Projects should aim to target groups from at least two different countries. These beneficiary groups can be from the applicant’s country and a second country, or from two countries other than the applicant’s country.
9. What is the role of the project partner?
Multilateral project partnership is strongly encouraged under IHRA’s Grant Programme. Proposals should clearly demonstrate the involvement of at least one project partner from a country different from that of the primary applicant. In order to be considered a “project partner,” the partnering organization should be involved in developing the concept for the project proposal. A contract or letter of partnership should be provided with the application.
Project partners differ from participating organizations in that participating organizations are involved in the project, for example by providing services or participating in conferences and events, but do not have the same level of engagement as a formal project partner.
10. Is secure co-funding necessary prior to applying for an IHRA grant?
IHRA’s Grant Programme requires that at least 50% of the total budget for a project application must be covered by sources other than IHRA.
It is not necessary to secure all co-funding prior to applying for an IHRA grant, however, successful applicants must procure the required co-funding within one year of funding approval in order to receive the initial installment of 70% of the annual allocation.
11. Does IHRA fund teacher trainings?
IHRA’s Grant Programme seeks to fund projects that reach high-level multipliers such as political decision makers, government officials, journalists, and educational policy makers. After a number of very productive years of supporting teacher training initiatives, IHRA no longer funds projects targeting teachers under the current Grant Programme.
IHRA does not encourage applications whose target group is limited to “teacher trainers.” Projects designed to target teacher trainers should also include other multipliers. If teacher trainers are among the target groups, proof of their affiliation with an official institution for teacher training is required.