The Balkan Trust for Democracy is a German Marshall Fund initiative founded in 2003 to support democratic consolidation and Euro-Atlantic integration in Southeast Europe. Its grantmaking route funds civil society projects on democracy and good governance, rule of law, policy dialogue and networking, regional cooperation, and European integration.
The scheme focuses primarily on the six Western Balkan countries and can consider organizations registered elsewhere when their proposed action chiefly concerns one or more of those countries. Recipients carry out their own projects, while the initiative is headquartered at GMF’s Belgrade office.
Benefits & funding
- BTD provides project grants; its current public grantmaking page states no standard award amount.
- Applicants specify the proposed timeframe and budget, including the total requested and any co-funding, in their initial brief.
- The public page states no fixed project duration.
Eligibility
- Civil society organizations legally registered in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, or Serbia may initiate proposals.
- An organization registered in another country may be eligible when its proposed action focuses mainly on one or more of the six Western Balkan countries.
- BTD does not support humanitarian assistance, infrastructure projects, or equipment purchases.
- The route is for organizations, so the site states no individual nationality, residency, degree, experience, gender, or age requirement.
Can you apply?
Open to all applicants
No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.
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Application process
- 1Review BTD’s themes, priority areas, geographic scope, and exclusions.
- 2Email a brief project idea in English to balkantrust@gmfus.org. Include the project title, organization and mission, timeframe, short description, proposed activities, expected outcomes, outputs and impact, and budget.
- 3Do not prepare a full project proposal unless BTD program staff invite the organization to do so.
Program timeline
Ongoing
BTD accepts brief project ideas by email and states no fixed application deadline.
By invitation
BTD program staff may invite an organization to prepare a full proposal.