Volunteering in support of humanitarian aid operations

The European Solidarity Corps has announced a call for proposals titled "Volunteering in support of humanitarian aid operations" for the year 2026, identified as ESC-HUMAID-2026-VOLUN. This initiative is part of the ESC Humanitarian Aid Volunteering Unit Grants, under which a total budget of approximately €10.6 million is allocated. The call is currently open, with applications accepted until April 23, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The primary aim of this call is to support projects that provide young volunteers aged 18-35 from EU Member States and associated countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Türkiye, North Macedonia) to engage in humanitarian aid activities in third countries facing ongoing humanitarian crises. Projects must focus on improving living conditions for those in need and fostering sustainable and inclusive development. Volunteers can participate individually or in teams, with team activities lasting from 2 weeks to 2 months, and individual volunteering lasting from 2 to 12 months. The volunteering roles are non-remunerated and rigorous training is required.

Eligible applicants include organizations involved in humanitarian aid across EU Member States and associated countries. Projects must be implemented in third countries where humanitarian aid operations are occurring, ensuring a geographic focus that separates participant recruitment from project implementation. The proposal submission is a single-stage process without preliminary evaluations.

The funding mechanism operates as unit grants aimed at supporting specific volunteering activities, without requiring co-funding from applicants. Projects must adhere to key humanitarian principles such as neutrality and the principle of "do no harm." While precise success rates for grant approvals are not disclosed, the structure favors compliance with eligibility criteria over competitive scoring.

The application process is outlined in detail, including the necessity for multiple organizations to form a consortium, with at least two supporting organizations and one host organization in the crisis-affected country. The evaluation of submissions will follow established criteria focused on the humanitarian impact and organizational capability.

Overall, this call supports young people's active participation in humanitarian efforts through structured volunteering opportunities, contributing to both personal development and community resilience in affected regions. Participants are expected to provide meaningful support in emergency contexts while gaining invaluable experience and skills.

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is offering a call for proposals titled "Volunteering in support of humanitarian aid operations" with the call identifier ESC-HUMAID-2026-VOLUN. This call falls under the ESC-HUMAID-UN ESC Humanitarian Aid Volunteering Unit Grants action type, utilizing the ESC Unit Grant [ESC-AG-UN] Model Grant Agreement. The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline model.

The call was published on November 27, 2025, and the deadline for submitting applications is April 23, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The objective of this call is to fund projects that facilitate the transition from humanitarian response to long-term sustainable and inclusive development, contribute to strengthening the capacity and resilience of vulnerable or disaster-affected communities, reinforce disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction, link relief, rehabilitation, and development, and ensure a high level of safety and security for volunteers. Projects should also include complementary activities to increase the quality and impact of the action on local communities and facilitate the active involvement of local staff and volunteers.

The scope of this call focuses on volunteering under the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (Humanitarian Aid Volunteering), which takes place in third countries where there are ongoing humanitarian aid operations. This action provides opportunities for young people aged 18 to 35 to contribute to society through short-term or long-term volunteering activities aimed at improving the living conditions of people in need. Volunteering is a full-time, non-remunerated activity, requiring at least 30 and no more than 38 hours per week. Projects must adhere to the humanitarian aid principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as the ‘do no harm’ principle.

The admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout, which are described in the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries and other eligible conditions are also detailed in the call document.

The evaluation and award process will follow the criteria, scoring, thresholds, and processes described in the call document. The indicative timeline includes the following: publication of the call on November 27, 2025; application deadline on April 23, 2026; evaluation period from April to September 2026; information to applicants in October 2026; and signature of the grant agreement in December 2026.

The available budget for this call is 10,595,000 EUR for the year 2026.

Applicants can find call documents and annexes, including the call document itself, application form templates (Standard application form (ESC) available in the Submission System), a calculator (ESC UN HUMAID), and participant quality label information (ESC). Guidance documents include the ESC Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreements (MGA), specifically the ESC Unit MGA. Additional documents include the ESC Annual Work Programme, ESC Regulation 2021/888, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

For partner search announcements, LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics.

To start the submission process, applicants should access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button, selecting the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement.

For help related to this call, applicants can contact EACEA-SOLIDARITY-CORPS@ec.europa.eu. Additional support resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk for technical issues, and the Online Manual for step-by-step guidance through the Portal processes.

In summary, this call for proposals aims to support humanitarian aid operations through the European Solidarity Corps by funding projects that involve young volunteers in third countries. The projects should focus on improving living conditions, strengthening community resilience, and adhering to humanitarian principles. The call provides a budget of 10,595,000 EUR and follows a single-stage submission process with a deadline of April 23, 2026. Applicants are encouraged to consult the provided documents and resources for detailed information on eligibility, evaluation criteria, and the submission process.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the context of the European Solidarity Corps and Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, eligible applicants are likely to be organizations involved in humanitarian aid, NGOs, and potentially public bodies capable of managing and coordinating volunteering projects. The call targets projects that facilitate the active involvement of local staff and volunteers, suggesting that organizations with experience in volunteer management and humanitarian operations are suitable applicants. Further details on eligible applicant types would be found in the call document.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically "ESC Humanitarian Aid Volunteering Unit Grants." This is indicated by the "Type of action" field which states "ESC-HUMAID-UN ESC Humanitarian Aid Volunteering Unit Grants" and the "Type of MGA" field which states "ESC Unit Grant [ESC-AG-UN]".

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, the mention of partner search announcements and the possibility for LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants to publish partner requests suggests that consortia are possible and perhaps encouraged, but not necessarily mandatory. The call document should be consulted for definitive information.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The volunteering activities take place in "third countries where there are ongoing humanitarian aid operations." This indicates that the geographic scope of the beneficiaries is international, specifically focusing on countries outside the EU that are experiencing humanitarian crises. The eligibility of the applicant organizations is not explicitly stated, but it is implied that they must be based in countries eligible to participate in the European Solidarity Corps programme, which typically includes EU member states and associated countries. The "Eligible Countries" section in the call document should provide more specific information.

Target Sector: The target sector is humanitarian aid. The call focuses on "Volunteering in support of humanitarian aid operations" and aims to "improve living conditions of people in need" in "third countries where there are ongoing humanitarian aid operations." The projects should contribute to strengthening the capacity and resilience of vulnerable or disaster-affected communities, reinforcing disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction, and linking relief, rehabilitation, and development.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned by name. However, the call specifies that the volunteering takes place in "third countries where there are ongoing humanitarian aid operations." This implies a global scope, excluding EU member states, and focusing on regions experiencing humanitarian crises.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is implementation. The call is for projects that involve deploying volunteers to support humanitarian aid operations. Therefore, the projects are expected to be at the stage where they are ready to be implemented in the field, contributing to ongoing humanitarian efforts.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic "ESC-HUMAID-2026-VOLUN - ESC-HUMAID-UN ESC Humanitarian Aid Volunteering Unit Grants" is EUR 10,595,000. The indicative number of grants is not specified in the provided text, so the funding range per project is variable and dependent on the number of grants awarded.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by the "Open For Submission" status. The call is a "single-stage" application process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support their projects. The grant is intended to fund volunteering activities in support of humanitarian aid operations.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage, as indicated by "Deadline model: single-stage." This means that applicants submit a full proposal by the deadline, and there is no preliminary selection phase.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. This information would likely be detailed in the call document.

Summary:

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) program, specifically targeting "Volunteering in support of humanitarian aid operations" (ESC-HUMAID-2026-VOLUN). The call aims to fund projects that deploy volunteers to third countries with ongoing humanitarian crises to improve the living conditions of people in need. The total budget for this call is EUR 10,595,000. The call is a single-stage application process with a deadline of April 23, 2026. The call document provides further details on eligibility criteria, evaluation, and award processes. The projects should align with humanitarian aid principles and contribute to strengthening the resilience of affected communities. Young people aged 18 to 35 years old have the opportunity to contribute to society by short-term or long-term volunteering activities. The call emphasizes the importance of involving local staff and volunteers to increase the quality and impact of the action on local communities.