EUknow.it’s partner Foundations and Associations intervene extensively with interesting initiatives dedicated to European projects.
European projects: the activities of EUknow.it partners
Fondazione CRT, the lead partner of EUknow.it, has been active in European projects for 20 years, with its own activities as well as broader dissemination and capacity building activities. In 2006 and 2008, it published two printed Guides on European projects: aimed at nonprofit organizations and Local Authorities, they shared the spirit of this Guide and were widely distributed.
In subsequent years, Fondazione CRT has implemented as a leader, or participated as a partner or associated entity, in several European projects. It is also at the center of major initiatives on European projects in various areas of innovation and applied research, through OGR-TECH and Fondazione ISI.
Since 2015, Fondazione CRT has been producing as lead partner EUknow.it, the Guide to EU Projects and Funding, known until 2025 as Guide to EU Projects and Funding. It oversees its content, development, partnership and dissemination at local, national and European levels.
The project has always been accompanied and supported by Acri, the association of Italian foundations of banking origin, which shares and facilitates its mission in terms of dissemination and capacity building.
Fondazione CRT and Acri thus interpret, in broad and “systemic” terms, their role as a “bridge” between local organisations and European funds. The Guide is in fact open and addressed to all local organisations in Italy and beyond. It aims to support in a simple and immediate way those who work in European planning, to strengthen the planning capacity of local realities and to spread skills and tools for networking, in Italy and in Europe.
EUknow.it is also a base from which its partners (and others) carry out punctual activities, in the different local organisations and sectors in which they operate: we discover them together in the next paragraphs.
These initiatives are normally aimed at local organisations in each promoting partner’s territory, but are indirectly open to all territories to the extent that partnerships are developed. Contact us to express your interest or for more information.
Resource Attraction: a service to develop of valuable projects
The Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo Foundation has been active for many years in flanking concrete activities in the local organisations with the tools offered by our Guide (of which it is one of the founding partners). In fact, we have already talked in the past about RisorsEuropa, an initiative that provided (in addition to the Guide’s information service) a call for co-financing of design costs, a space for direct co-financing of valuable EU projects, and workshops of free European design, in-depth operational analysis on various issues and aimed at the good formulation of project ideas.
RisorsEuropa has evolved to become a full-fledged area of intervention of Fondazione CRC, called European Projects and Calls. The calls, brought together under the umbrella of Resource Attraction, aim to develop skills and support the participation of local organisations in regional, national and European calls by promoting the implementation of socially useful projects for the growth and development of the province of Cuneo. The two calls for proposals are accompanied by a desk to provide informational and technical support on the subject of European planning.
We point out in particular:
- A call for support for design expenses for regional, national and European programs;
- A call for support for co-financing expenses for the construction and co-financing of projects to be submitted to national and European public calls for proposals;
- the accompaniment desk to provide technical support to local organisations in the three main project phases: information and guidance service, pre-feasibility assessment of the project idea, and accompaniment in finalizing an application for a regional, national or European call for proposals.
The calls are open year-round until Dec. 31.
The desk is always open. Fondazione CRC also works directly in synergy with local and international entities to give rise to new projects and participates in the role of partner or lead partner in projects for national and European calls for proposals. In the year 2026, the publication of a new newsletter will be launched, in collaboration with Percorsi di Secondo Welfare, which will aim to chronicle European planning and its protagonists in the province of Cuneo.
Cariplo Foundation: Co-financing of European Projects and BEEurope
Fondazione Cariplo has been working in the area of European projects for years and has been a partner of our Guide since 2015. It has a dedicated tool for
We devoted a lengthy article to Fondazione Cariplo’s support and co-financing experience. Co-financing European Projects uses a variety of mechanisms: information and training activities on European instruments, accompaniment to planning through a mentoring service and the possibility of accessing a share of co-financing. It accompanies the building of partnerships and European projects, acting as a catalyst for organizations active in the local organisations in the environmental field.
As of 2017, Fondazione Cariplo also supports BEEurope (acronym for “Bet on European Energies”), a system of capacity building tools implemented in partnership with Fondazione Triulza. BEEurope offers tools and services especially dedicated to the Third Sector and Civil Economy:
- Workshops on learning about calls for proposals and writing European projects, with a very practical focus (in-depth knowledge of specific funds, handling forms, etc.);
- Master’s degree in EU projects and funding to train professionals specialized in EU projects and funding search dedicated to the Third Sector (here, as an example, the reference page and the program of the 2024 edition);
- Accompanying service for EU projects and funding, with free support in research and identification of funding opportunities, subsidized cost support in project writing, and the possibility of continued support if the proposal is funded.
Systematizing the positive experiences in the international field activated in recent years by the Foundation’s philanthropic areas, the year 2026 will be characterized by the full intersectorality of the instrument, which will support projects in the environmental, cultural and personal services fields, with a cross-sectoral research component.
SfidEuropean challenges: a pathway to European funds
“SfidEuropee” is an initiative promoted by Fondazione Caritro, Fondazione CR Bolzano, Fondazione Cariverona and the CSV (Volunteer Service Centers) of Trentino, South Tyrol and Verona, Vicenza and Belluno Treviso. In its latest edition, the project partnership was extended to Euregio+, PensPlanProfi and Banca Etica, with new accompanying and co-financing activities.
SfidEuropee is dedicated to the cultural and social realities of the Third Sector in their respective local organisations. It intends to foster the growth of skills useful for participating in European calls for proposals, through a path divided into several stages:
- a cycle of training, dissemination and sharing meetings on how to approach and participate in European projects. The cycle includes online webinars and in-person networking events with experts, panel discussions and workshops;
- an individualized accompaniment course to deepen strategies and approaches and focus on one’s own project idea in light of the opportunities offered by European calls for proposals;
- the opportunity to participate in a call for the selection of project proposals with a European scope. The best proposals receive a grant to support the costs of design and for participation in events and meetings necessary to solidify the partnership and to document in preparation for project submission;
- participants are also supported (with a financial contribution and expert support) in a crowdfunding campaign aimed at covering part of the project implementation costs.
The initiative benefits from the Guide (EUknow.it) as an informative and educational tool.
We have already talked about it at various times when launching the different editions of the initiative, which has since established itself as an opportunity to be followed and not to be missed for those interested in taking a path to EU projects and funding and putting themselves to the test (with due support) through a first project.
For more: the Fondazione Caritro pages dedicated to Sfideuropee and the page on thelatest edition of SfidEuropee (2024).
Europe Desk: a guidance and accompaniment service on European funds
Fondazione CR Firenze offers Sportello Europa, an information, guidance and accompaniment service on the main funding opportunities active at the European, national and regional levels.
The service continuously monitors the opportunities provided by European Programming 2021-2027 and national and regional measures dedicated to culture, social innovation, digital and environmental transition, and initiatives carried out by Third Sector entities, institutions and organizations.
The reference page also offers a list of upcoming European and national calls for proposals, a direct link to our Guide, and links to interesting webinars organized by the Europe Desk service. Our page devoted to webinars and audio and video resources captures a selection of these.
Foundation of Sardinia: cooperation and development in the Mediterranean
For nearly 30 years, the Foundation of Sardinia has been supporting cultural, scientific and territorial development projects, with a particular vocation for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. In collaboration with the Region of Sardinia, Managing Authority of the
Sardinia ForMed. Launched in 2015, it is a university cooperation project that unites the Foundation, the Union of Mediterranean Universities (UNIMED) and the Universities of Sassari and Cagliari. Sardegna ForMed activates mobility corridors for students from 11 universities in the Maghreb, aligned with the Bologna Process, thus enabling about 40 undergraduates (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco) to enroll each year in master’s programs in Sardinia.
The 2024-2027 period benefits from a new three-year agreement: the Foundation funds full scholarships (travel, tuition, canteen services, residence permit), strengthening academic and cultural ties. Also presented to the European Parliament, it is a recognized best practice of educational cooperation.
MEDSt@rts – microcredit for start-ups. The MEDSt@rts project, funded between 2020 and 2022 under ENI CBC MED (pre-NEXT-MED programming), supported the financial inclusion of youth and women in Italy, Greece, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Palestine.
With a budget of €2.5 million, the Foundation, as lead partner, led a consortium with 56 partners in the Mediterranean. The initiative trained 125 aspiring entrepreneurs, supporting 64 of them with €10,000 microcredit, including 26 in Sardinia (15 funded).
It has also created the professional figure of the “microfinance promoter”: training 50 and hiring 18, and has been selected among the “Lighthouse Projects” of the 2014-2020 Interreg program. Dissemination materials (videos, podcasts, success stories) are also available online.
With Sardegna ForMed and MEDSt@rts, the Fondazione di Sardegna is making its mission a reality: to foster international mobility, social inclusion and the strengthening of entrepreneurial skills through the direct involvement of local organisations and their South Mediterranean neighbors.
EUknow.it, Filiera Futura and ASVAPP: a partnership that enhances expertise
EUknow.it was born in 2015 from the initiative of a group of grant-making foundations and, over the years, has evolved into an open and growing network capable of involving partners with sector-specific expertise. This openness has enriched the Guide with content and tools that respond to the needs of those working within European programs and projects. Among the most significant contributions are those of Filiera Futura and theASVAPP, two entities that bring complementary perspectives: agrifood innovation and public policy evaluation.
Future Supply Chain., active since 2020, is an association that brings together 28 members including foundations, universities and trade associations. It works nationwide to promote innovation in the rural and agrifood sector, protecting biodiversity, traditions and knowledge through innovative models and best practices. Its network offers an expert look at European policies and funds dedicated to agriculture, an area that accounts for more than a third of EU programming 2021-2027. Through a partnership with Filiera Futura, the Guide has developed a section dedicated to rural fund programming in Italian regions and publishes articles and monthly updates on rural calls for proposals. This technical partnership makes it possible to delve into a strategic topic and create synergies between agrifood innovation and funding tools.
Alongside this dimension, theASVAPP – the Association for the Development of Evaluation and Public Policy Analysis-brings a scientific approach to measuring the effects of policies and projects. A nonprofit research organization, ASVAPP works nationally and internationally to spread the culture of evaluation through training, outreach and evidence-based studies. Prominent among its initiatives is
These partnerships demonstrate how EUknow.it is not just a network of foundations, but a community that grows by integrating specialized expertise to offer quality content and concrete tools to those working in the world of European programs.
