Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas - 2026

The European Solidarity Corps is offering a grant opportunity titled "Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas - 2026" under the call reference ESC-SOLID-2026-VTHPA. This program aims to fund projects addressing unmet societal challenges and is particularly focused on enhancing resilience to disasters, fostering positive learning experiences for disadvantaged youth, and promoting intergenerational solidarity. The total allocated budget for 2026 is €5 million.

Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, public bodies, and social enterprises involved in solidarity activities and youth engagement. This includes entities such as youth councils, community organizations, educational institutions, and NGOs working in humanitarian assistance. Individual applicants cannot apply directly; they must participate as volunteers within projects managed by eligible organizations.

The funding mechanism is structured as grant funding via the ESC Unit Grants, which provides non-repayable contributions calculated per volunteer and activity, thus simplifying financial management for smaller organizations. The application process is a single-stage call, allowing direct submissions through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The call opens on December 2, 2025, with a deadline for applications on March 3, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

Projects must be at the implementation stage, with a focus on ongoing volunteer activities rather than research or planning. The specific activities should provide direct benefits to communities, particularly vulnerable populations, while enabling young volunteers to acquire essential skills in civic engagement and intercultural understanding.

There is no explicit requirement for co-funding, making this opportunity accessible, especially for smaller organizations. However, demonstrating financial stability and additional resources is encouraged to strengthen project proposals. The success rates for grants are not detailed in the available information, although historical rates for similar programs often range from 10-39%.

The evaluation process will span from March to July 2026, culminating in grant agreements being signed by November 2026. This opportunity seeks to mobilize young volunteers to support crucial societal needs and enhance their personal and professional development while fostering solidarity and understanding across diverse communities in Europe. Additional resources and detailed guidelines can be found in the call documentation and associated materials.

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is offering grants for Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas (VTHPA) in 2026 under the call ESC-SOLID-2026-VTHPA. This call falls under the ESC-SOLID-UN ESC Solidarity Volunteering Unit Grants action. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is the ESC Unit Grant [ESC-AG-UN]. This is a forthcoming call with a single-stage deadline model.

The planned opening date for submissions is December 3, 2025, and the deadline for submitting applications is March 3, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time. The total budget allocated to this topic is 5,000,000 EUR.

The objectives of the activities by Volunteering Teams in High-Priority Areas are to: address clearly defined unmet societal challenges in the area of enhancing a culture of preparedness and providing relief for persons fleeing armed conflicts and other victims of disasters from natural hazards and human-induced risks, fostering positive learning experiences and outcomes for young people with fewer opportunities, and enhancing intergenerational fairness; promote solidarity across the participating countries; enable young people to gain skills and competences useful for their personal, educational, social, and professional development; provide tangible benefits to the communities within which the activities are carried out; ensure direct contact between participants and beneficiaries to enable skill development; reach out to young people with fewer opportunities, including refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants; promote diversity, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, and EU values; reinforce the capacities and international scope of participating organizations; boost solidarity between different age groups, increase understanding, and combat inequalities; and raise young volunteers’ awareness and understanding of other cultures and countries, offering them the opportunity to build networks of international contacts, to actively participate in society and to develop a sense of European citizenship and identity.

The priorities for the 2026 call include: enhancing a culture of preparedness across the whole of society and providing relief to persons fleeing armed conflicts and other victims of disaster from natural hazards and human-induced risks; fostering positive learning experiences and outcomes for young people with fewer opportunities; and enhancing intergenerational fairness and solidarity.

Regarding admissibility conditions, the proposal page limit and layout are described in the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. The eligible countries are also described in the call document.

The evaluation and award process, including the award criteria, scoring, thresholds, and process, are detailed in the call document. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is as follows: publication of the call on November 28, 2025; deadline for submitting applications on March 3, 2026; evaluation period from March to July 2026; information to applicants in July 2026; and signature of the grant agreement in November 206.

Applicants should consult the call document and annexes, which include the call document itself, application form templates (Standard application form (ESC) available in the Submission System), the Calculator (ESC UN SOLID), 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.

There are partner search announcements available for those looking to collaborate on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

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

In summary, this European Solidarity Corps call aims to fund projects that promote solidarity and address societal challenges through volunteering teams, focusing on preparedness for disasters, supporting disadvantaged youth, and enhancing intergenerational fairness. The call encourages community-based activities, skill development, and the promotion of European values. The application process involves submitting a proposal through the Funding & Tenders Portal, adhering to specific guidelines and deadlines, and consulting the provided documentation for detailed information.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. The text refers to "participating organisations" and mentions the need for a "quality label," suggesting that organizations with a certain level of accreditation or recognition are eligible. Further details would be available in the call document.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically an "ESC Solidarity Volunteering Unit Grant" under the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programme. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is ESC Unit Grant [ESC-AG-UN].

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, the mention of "partner search announcements" suggests that collaboration is possible and perhaps encouraged, but it is not clear if it is mandatory. The call is for "Volunteering Teams," which implies more than one entity.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly stated in the provided text but is described in the call document. Given that it is an EU funding opportunity under the European Solidarity Corps, it is highly likely that the geographic eligibility includes EU member states and potentially other countries associated with the ESC programme.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors:
1. Enhancing a culture of preparedness and providing relief for persons fleeing armed conflicts and other victims of disasters from natural hazards and human-induced risks. This includes disaster preparedness, humanitarian aid, and support for vulnerable populations affected by conflicts and disasters.
2. Fostering positive learning experiences and outcomes for young people with fewer opportunities. This includes education, mentoring, skills development, and social inclusion for disadvantaged youth.
3. Enhancing intergenerational fairness and solidarity. This includes activities promoting dialogue, knowledge transfer, and combating age discrimination.

Mentioned Countries: The text mentions Ukraine in the context of the Russian invasion and the resulting inflow of displaced people into the EU. No other specific countries are mentioned, but the program operates within the EU framework.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is not explicitly stated, but the focus on "activities by Volunteering Teams" suggests that the projects should be at the implementation stage, ready to deploy volunteers and carry out community-based activities.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic "ESC-SOLID-2026-VTHPA - ESC-SOLID-UN ESC Solidarity Volunteering Unit Grants" is EUR 5,000,000. The indicative number of grants is not specified, so the funding amount per project is variable.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, meaning applicants submit a full proposal at once.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support their volunteering activities.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

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.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals under the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) program, specifically targeting "Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas" (VTHPA) for the year 2026. The call, titled "ESC-SOLID-2026-VTHPA - ESC-SOLID-UN ESC Solidarity Volunteering Unit Grants," aims to fund projects that address unmet societal challenges in three main areas: enhancing a culture of preparedness and providing relief for persons fleeing armed conflicts and other victims of disasters, fostering positive learning experiences for young people with fewer opportunities, and enhancing intergenerational fairness and solidarity. The total budget for this call is EUR 5,000,000.

The call is a single-stage application process, with the deadline for submitting applications on March 3, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time. The call was published on November 28, 2025, and the submission system is planned to be opened on December 3, 2025. The evaluation period will take place from March to July 2026, and applicants will be informed of the results in July 2026. The signature of the grant agreement is scheduled for November 2026.

Eligible applicants are expected to be organizations capable of organizing and managing volunteering teams and activities. The projects should provide tangible benefits to communities, ensure direct contact between participants and beneficiaries, reach out to young people with fewer opportunities, and promote diversity, intercultural dialogue, and EU values.

The call encourages activities that contribute to a culture of preparedness for various risks, provide relief to those affected by disasters and conflicts, support the learning and skills development of disadvantaged youth, and promote fairness and solidarity between generations. The call document and related annexes provide further details on the admissibility conditions, eligible countries, evaluation criteria, and the application process.