150 organizations have been admitted to Phase II of the Mission: Possible open call, part of the BIRDS in BG project, for strengthening strategic development and increasing sustainability. The total amount for which the approved organizations have applied is BGN 10,742,737. 

A total of 268 organizations submitted documents in Phase I. After a preliminary check of administrative compliance, each application was allocated to an evaluation committee consisting of two independent experts. The arithmetic mean value of the totality of the two evaluation protocols of the members of the committee evaluating one proposal formed the final evaluation of a given application. In the event of a difference larger than 30% between the two experts’ evaluations, the corresponding application was examined by a third evaluator, and the average score of the two closest scores was used for its ranking. 

Concepts submitted in Phase I were evaluated using the criteria set out in the Application Guidelines (page 14, in Bulgarian). 

You can see the organizations admitted to Phase II of “Mission: Possible” HERE (in Bulgarian). The list was verified and accepted by the management committee of the “BIRDS in BG” project on 08.08.2023. All applicants were notified in the system and on the associated email. 

Selected applicants will be invited to develop their full concepts within the second stage of the competition. Once they have passed an administrative review, BFW’s program team will review their applications and, if needed or in case of unclarities, will contact them with feedback and guidance for clarifying the concept. 

The feedback from BFW’s team is part of the capacity-building processes for applicants that give them time to resolve unclarities and refine their application for balance and consistency between its parts, concreteness of planned actions for better impact and measurement etc. 

After receiving the final versions of the applications, they will be evaluated following a procedure analogical to that of Phase I (see above). Full details are available here (page 15, in Bulgarian). 

Among the important criteria for the selection of organizations in Phase II will be: 

• priority work in accordance with the values of the European Union; 

• potential/capacity to achieve social/systemic change; 
• participation and leadership in the decision-making of the groups for whose rights the organization works; 
• consistency and coherence of the topics in relation to the planned plans for development and work with the target groups; 
• multidisciplinarity of approaches and addressing intersections between social inequalities; 
• clear strategic plans for organizational development; 
• availability of other financial resources or a clear strategy for diversification of financial resources; 

• expected long-term impact of activities on organizational development. 

Deadlines in Phase II of the program: 

• developing detailed concepts for strategic development and a provisional organizational budget for the planned period by the organizations admitted to the second round until October 2, 2023; 
• Q&A meetings with candidates in phase two if assistance or clarification of concepts is needed – September 19, 20, 21 (applicants are advised to have a final draft of their application before the meetings. They can expect a link with the option to register); 
• evaluation of applications until November 20, 2023; 

• Signing contracts and transfer of funds by December 1, 2023. 

All selected candidates in Phase II will be notified in the system and on the associated email and announced on BFW’s website by 20.11.2023. 

“Mission: Possible” program aims to contribute to the building of an inclusive, sustainable and pro-democratic civil society in Bulgaria by providing financial support to civil society organizations whose main mission and activities are to protect, promote and raise awareness about fundamental rights, EU values, the rule of law and democracy and who work on contested and often neglected topics such as the rights of women, the LGBTIQ+ community and other vulnerable groups, including issues related to the systemic root causes of poverty and inequality in our country. 

“Mission: Possible” is part of the BIRDS in BG project to provide 360-degree support to the civil society sector in Bulgaria, which BFW is implementing alongside its partners from the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL) and Impact Drive Foundation. 

BIRDS in BG project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.