The Mondriaan Fund considers the involvement of volunteers to be of great importance for the support and significance of (in)tangible cultural heritage and craftsmanship. Volunteers are often indispensable for the survival of this heritage and form an important link in preserving knowledge and informing the public. In this way, volunteers contribute to ensuring that heritage is widely supported in society.
Various heritage institutions, ranging from small to large, work with volunteers. Driven by a passion for heritage, these heritage volunteers form communities that are collectively committed to the heritage that is close to their hearts. At the same time, the motives and ambitions of volunteers vary and are subject to change. Therefore, it is important that the demand for and supply of volunteers come together in a professional and appropriate manner, so that structural collaborations between heritage institutions and with other relevant organisations can be created.
With this Open Call, the Mondriaan Fund contributes to plans that promote the commitment and involvement of volunteers in the (in)tangible cultural heritage, taking into account both the interests of the organisation and those of the volunteers. This is about professionalising the volunteer policy and transferring and deepening (substantive) knowledge, values and networks. We are thinking about plans that increase the say and involvement of volunteers in the (in)tangible cultural heritage in an exemplary manner.
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.
The committee judges on the basis of:
- Profile description of the organisation
- Project plan (or feasibility study)
- Budget and coverage plan
- If applicable: commitments from participating organisations
The advisory committee takes the following criteria into account, in relation to each other:
1.The cultural and social context of the plan:
- To what extent does the organisation differ from other heritage organisations that work with volunteers within the same region?
- What is the cultural-historical importance of the (in)tangible heritage that the organisation represents?
- To what extent is the involvement of volunteers in the heritage field promoted
2. The added value of the plans for the organisation, the volunteers and the heritage field:
- To what extent is the plan of importance within the regional and/or (inter)national field of heritage?
- To what extent does the plan contribute to the professionalisation of the volunteer policy?
- To what extent is the plan exemplary or otherwise special? Think of collaborations, methodology, visibility, etc.
- To what extent is the acquired knowledge shared in a sustainable manner within the field of heritage?
3. The urgency of the plan:
- To what extent is the necessity and desirability of the deployment of volunteers envisaged in the plan convincingly substantiated? (see also the explanation about volunteers in the Fair Practice Code).
The advisory committee takes the geographical spread as well as the diversity of the total group of applications to be awarded into account in its assessment.
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.
Tip: Collect the information before you start filling out the online application form. You can upload the attachments as a PDF. Note: please do not exceed the number of pages where a maximum is indicated.
Checklist
Recent and current (maximum 1 year old) extract register Chamber of Commerce
Details pertaining to the organisation (max. 4 pages)
With a concise description of the activities of the institution in the past year, including objectives, target groups, collaborations, public reach and (if applicable) an explanation of the current volunteer policy.
Feasibility study (max. 10 pages)
Mention the title of the feasibility study, the starting date, content of the plan for the feasibility study, any collaborations and the substantive motivation.
If a feasibility study is requested, the Plan mentioned below will not be uploaded and vice versa.
Plan (max. 20 pages)
Mention the title of the plan with an overview of activities to be organised, substantive motivation, planning, explanation of those responsible for content and any collaborating partners involved.
In the project plan, you should at least reflect on the assessment criteria formulated above.
Endorsed Codes
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.)
Specified budget with a balanced financial coverage plan
We ask that you submit the total budget and funding plan and not just the part for which a contribution from the Mondriaan Fund is requested. Click here for an explanation of the budget for institutions.
If applicable
Recent bank statement
If the organisation has not previously submitted an application to the Mondriaan Fund or if the account number has changed since the previous application, please upload a recent bank statement clearly stating the name of the account holder and IBAN. Applicants established in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom can provide a bank statement or other document from the bank stating the name of the account holder and bank account number.
Declarations of consent from invited or participating organisations
Does your application concern a project or programme in which there is substantive collaboration with one or more other organisations? Please upload the signed statements of consent from inviting or participating organisations to submit this application. Please merge all letters into one pdf.
Letters of Acknowledgment of Contributions from Third Parties
Upload as many confirmation letters of third-party financial contributions as possible.
Merge all multiple letters into one pdf.
Offers
For all items above €1,000 you must enclose a quotation. If all requested items/amounts in the budget are less than €1,000, upload the quotes of the most critical items in the budget. Merge all multiple quotes into one pdf.
