"Grant for Environmental Education/ESD" Funding Program

The “Grant for Environmental Education” funding program has been in place since 2016 and received additional funding for the 2020 funding period to support environmental education aimed at addressing the climate emergency. For the 2023 funding period, the program was expanded to include Education for Sustainable Development (ESD: environmental education and global learning), and funding was increased once again as part of the “Climate Turnaround” initiative.

The deadline for submitting a grant application is March 31 of each year for projects in the current calendar year, unless otherwise stated on the website. If the requested grant funds do not exhaust the available budget, we reserve the right to accept additional applications after the deadline. Applications submitted by March 31 will be fully considered regardless of when they were submitted. Applications received after that date will be processed provided the funding pool has not yet been exhausted. We recommend contacting us in advance after March 31 to confirm funding availability. Grants will be awarded based on available funds and, after March 31, on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the funding pool has been exhausted, no further grants will be awarded.

There is no limit on the amount of funding. Typical grant amounts range from €200 to €5,000 per year per project.

We expect the ratio of the requested amount to your own available financial resources to be reasonable, or that you or your organization has already successfully carried out a project of this scale. Grants can only be awarded if the project could not be carried out—or could not be carried out to a reasonable extent—without the grant.

You may not submit multiple grant applications for the same project to different funding programs (double funding). Split funding from different funding partners is permitted.

You must maintain complete records documenting the use of the grants.

The funding we provide must be used within the funding period (by December 31 of the application year). You must also specify the project’s start and end dates in your application.

The project may have already begun at your own risk. The project itself may, of course, be long-term or even open-ended.

Regardless of the above deadline, the funded organizations and individuals are generally responsible for complying with the principle of timely use of funds in accordance with Section 55 of the German Fiscal Code (AO).

Yes, you can submit your application via email; a printable version (PDF document) is available for download. Alternatively, you may complete the grant application in writing and submit it by mail. In both cases, the application must be signed. However, it is standard practice to submit the application via the online form without a signature. We do not require an additional submission of the grant application by mail. It is not necessary to present your project over the phone.

The City of Erlangen/BNE Funding provides support to organizations or individuals

• that are recognized by the tax office as nonprofit or charitable OR
• that pursue non-commercial purposes.

Organizations must be headquartered in Germany and operate in Erlangen; the latter requirement also applies to individuals. The activities must be consistent with the City of Erlangen’s funding priorities.

Funding applies exclusively to the specified projects or the current calendar year. There is no entitlement to future funding.

Where possible, a self-funded portion should be included in the total project costs.

It can be provided through the organization’s own funds (membership dues, reserves) or third-party funding from other grant providers (e.g., donations, additional grants applied for).

Parts of the self-contribution may also be provided in the form of volunteer work (valued at 15 € per hour).

Our independent advisory board decides on the allocation of funding. The advisory board typically meets in April of the funding year. Funds are allocated following the model used for cultural funding: Taking into account the total amount of available funding and the applications received, the Office for Environmental Protection and Energy Issues allocates the funds based on technical criteria. This is done in consultation with the Department of Environment and Climate Protection.

The purpose of these grants is to promote sustainable development through education (environmental education and global learning) in Erlangen.

Funding is provided for projects and ongoing initiatives that are guided by the principles of sustainable development, serve to develop sustainability competencies and environmental awareness, and are suitable for enhancing the commitment of various target groups to ecologically and socially just development, as well as for providing impetus for future-oriented environmental and sustainability education.

The following criteria apply:

• Education for Sustainable Development: Does your project convey ecological content in the context of cultural, social, and economic aspects and contribute to the development of the target group’s competencies? Do you take the global Sustainable Development Goals (17 SDGs) into account?
• Relevance and Exemplary Nature: Is your project important for our society and our planet? Is it of significant public interest?
• Impact: What difference does the ESD grant make?
• Sustainability and future orientation: How long-term is the project’s impact? Does your project have an impact beyond the funding period? Is it scalable?
• Clarity and Action Orientation: Does your project engage the heart, hands, and mind?

Other criteria relevant to funding include:

• Overall Concept: Is your project designed holistically and does it even contribute to the implementation of the Whole Institution Approach? Do you take a comprehensive view of sustainability?
• Target Group Focus: Is your project tailored to the respective educational sector, ranging from early childhood education to vocational training (daycare, school, vocational school, college, nonprofit, workplace)?
• Local relevance: Is your project being implemented within the city of Erlangen?
• Impact/Reach: How many people will benefit from the funding?
• Cost-Effectiveness: Will the requested funding be used efficiently?
• Independence: What other resources does your organization have at its disposal? Does it have sound financial standing?
• Transparency: What strategies do you use to communicate the project to the public?

The following, for example, are generally excluded from funding:

• Projects intended to promote economic development, as well as projects designed to generate a profit.
• Projects for which full funding has already been applied for or approved from other sources (duplicate funding), as well as projects that violate legal provisions.

We kindly ask you to ensure that your project funding is visible to the Erlangen community. Please publicize our support—request the city logo and mention us in press releases, signage, social media posts, and similar communications.

We would also like to inform the public about the funding for your project and therefore ask you to provide us, free of charge, with suitable material—including captions (photos, videos, links, etc.)—related to your project for this purpose. By submitting this material, you grant us a simple, unrestricted right of use in terms of location, content, and duration. You assure us that you have obtained the necessary consents from any individuals depicted in the images, if applicable.

The project description and photos may be published on the city’s website. Privacy notices regarding the consent form for the creation and publication of video recordings, audio recordings, and photographs are available at erlangen.de/aktuelles/bne-foerderung .

The organization or individual receiving funding is required to maintain proper accounting records and to retain all invoices and receipts. Funds provided by the Environmental Protection Agency must be used efficiently and economically. The projected expenses and revenues for the project must be reasonable and transparent, as well as realistic and feasible.

Any changes to the intended use of the funds after they have been awarded must be reported to the Environmental Agency immediately via email and approved by the agency. Likewise, for any changes to the project timeline, content, budget, or other relevant aspects—including changes within cost categories—the Environmental Agency’s approval must be obtained via email as soon as the changes become known to the funded organization or individual. The funded organization is obligated to repay the grant funds if they were not used in accordance with the grant application.

Grants that have not been used or that have not been used for the purpose for which they were awarded, as well as those for which verifiable documentation is missing, must be repaid upon request, including interest if applicable. We therefore recommend calculating the expenses and revenues in the application as accurately as possible.

Interest on the amount to be reimbursed shall accrue annually, at a rate that may be three percentage points above the base interest rate, from the date the administrative act becomes invalid. The claim for interest may be waived, in particular, if the beneficiary is not at fault for the circumstances that led to the withdrawal, revocation, or invalidity of the administrative act and repays the amount due within the deadline set by the City of Erlangen/Environmental Office.

Application submission: Must be submitted by March 31 of the respective funding year via the online form (or by email or mail) to the Environmental Protection Agency, unless otherwise specified on the website

Grant notification: will be mailed to the applicant by April/May of the respective funding year

Disbursement of funding: The grant amount will be transferred to the specified account within 12 weeks of the grant decision being issued

Project implementation: must be completed by December 31 of the same funding year

Statement of Expenditures: Must be submitted by March 31 of the following year.

If there are delays in the project’s progress, please contact us in a timely manner. Should any requests for repayment arise, please do not make such payments without being asked.

Written documentation of how the grants received were used, including a financial statement and project report, is required. Please complete the project evaluation form (available at www.erlangen.de/aktuelles/bne-foerderung) and submit it via the online form or by email or mail, signed.