Heritage Volunteers

Who is eligible

This Open Call is intended for heritage institutions and other non-profit organisations that (want to) work with volunteers and contribute to the preservation, management or presentation of (in)tangible heritage. These are organisations in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom that want to professionalise their volunteer policy, or want to implement a professional volunteer policy.

For what?

The plan ties in with one or more of the following themes:

• Innovative ideas to promote the participation and involvement of volunteers in heritage;
• Stimulating (self-development or) professionalisation of the volunteers and the volunteer policy, for example by offering varied activities, promoting a sense of community or an exchange programme with other institutions;
• Investigate in which areas extra added value can be gained from the use of volunteers;
• Guaranteeing preservation of knowledge and its deepening, such as: active knowledge transfers between different generations; active knowledge sharing at collection level; sustainable safeguarding and embedding of knowledge, for example from communities.
• The changing role of volunteers, for example in the role of community builder or ambassador;
• Increasing the diversity within the volunteer pool, for example by collaborating with vocational colleges and students, people reintegrating into the labour market or people without permanent residency;
• The development of activities and facilities, including digital ones, that bring volunteer supply and demand together and the professionalisation thereof. This may concern the structural deployment of volunteers, but also, for example, young people who, according to experience, often step up on an incidental basis;
• Networking and public outreach activities;
• Investments, for example in courses (such as e-learning) for volunteers who become proficient through heritage houses or the Heritage Academy, provided that the results are made permanently available via the platform Erfgoed Vrijwilligers.
• If courses cannot be offered through these organisations, the requesting party must state a reason.

It is also possible to request a feasibility study for plans that tie in with one or more of the themes mentioned above. In this case, one could think of hiring someone with specific knowledge, which will lead to a better policy on the aforementioned themes.

The plans must not only serve in the interests of their own institution, but must also set an example for other institutions in the field of heritage.

How much?

The Mondriaan Fund can contribute with a one-off investment. The total project budget is at least €15,000 and may not contain fixed expenses. The contribution from the Mondriaan Fund is a maximum of 50% of the variable project costs.

For a feasibility study, the contribution is a maximum of 70% of the variable project costs, with a maximum amount of €15,000.

How and when to apply

The deadline is Monday 5 June 2023 before 17:00 (CEST) / 11:00 (AST). Applications can be made via the Mondriaan Fund’s online application system. You will need an account for this. If you do not have account, you can apply for one here. Take into account a processing time of 3 months after the deadline of the application round has passed. A contribution cannot be awarded retroactively.

Conditions

In addition to the general terms and conditions, the following applies to the Open Call for Heritage Volunteers:

• This contribution is intended for heritage institutions and other non-profit organisations that (want to) work with volunteers and contribute to the preservation, management or presentation of (in)tangible heritage in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom (Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba).
• It is not possible to contribute to activities that are already or will be financed from another grant of the Mondriaan Fund, or based on the grant on specific cultural policy or another provision financed from public funds.
• Institutions that are financed from the Heritage Act or the Basic Infrastructure cannot apply.
• The maximum subsidy period is 12 months.
• Institutions endorse the Fair Practice Code (click here to view the animation Fair Practice Code for info and tips), the Governance Code Culture and the Code Diversity & Inclusion. (The fair practice code states the following about volunteers: Taking into account the importance of flexibility in the sector, the ratio of unpaid and paid employees, fringe benefits and equal treatment are closely examined. Offering a volunteer or internship position therefore requires a clear definition of the job, terms of employment and appropriate compensation.)

Assessment

The submitted applications with appendices are checked for completeness by employees of the Mondriaan Fund. If complete and if all formal conditions are met, the applications will be submitted to a committee that will advise on the allocation of an Open Call for Heritage Volunteers contribution. If the recommendation is positive, the advisory committee can make a recommendation on the amount of the financial contribution to be awarded and the period for which it will be provided. Due to limited budget, we unfortunately cannot always honour all positive recommendations. In that case, the board of the Mondriaan Fund asks the advisory committee to rank the positive recommendations in order of priority. This means that it is possible for an application to have been assessed positively, but that no contribution is able to be awarded.

Checklist

In order to process your application, the Mondriaan Fund needs information from you: this includes data that you can enter in the application form, as well as documents that you can upload. Here you will find a checklist that follows the layout of the application form.