Energy-poverty grant
Grants for nonprofit organisations helping financially vulnerable Zeist residents reduce energy use and improve comfort at home.
Denne finansieringsmulighed er i øjeblikket beskrevet på engelsk.
Fund work that helps households use less energy over the long term, live in homes with less cold or overheating and a healthier indoor climate, and understand how to lower their energy bills. Projects can support both tenants and homeowners.
The total budget for this grant is €130,000 in 2027, subject to municipal budget approval. This is a grant for the organisation delivering the activities. Applications are assessed for impact and delivery quality; the budget is not a guaranteed award. The dedicated national energy-poverty funding ends at the end of 2027, after which no structural resources remain for this theme.
Eligibility
- Your organisation must have a legal form, operate without a profit motive and know the target households in Zeist. You must already work with local volunteers and/or community partners familiar with those households, and work well with the main organisation running the municipal energy advice service.
- Focus on Zeist residents with modest incomes and high energy bills and/or moderately or poorly insulated homes. The income guideline is up to 130% of the statutory social-assistance norm. Activities must help make home energy improvements affordable and energy accessible to everyone.
- Activities must be feasible, financially viable and offer sufficient positive impact at reasonable costs and hourly rates. Commercial activities, work already carried out or knowledge already shared or known can be refused. Insufficient relevant expertise or demonstrable cooperation with local sustainability or community partners can also lead to refusal. Multiple applications by one party on the same theme and applications after the budget ceiling has been reached can be refused.
- You must show that the grant is necessary and that activities predominantly benefit Zeist or its residents. Work already substantially provided through another route, unlawful or incompatible public aid, and activities aimed at spreading party-political, religious or philosophical beliefs can be refused. Applicants subject to an outstanding European Commission recovery order for unlawful aid are excluded.
Assessment considers demonstrable impact; monitoring, learning and lasting improvements; knowledge of and experience with the households; involvement of Zeist volunteers; relevant expertise; local partnerships; alignment with existing projects without overlap with other public or community schemes; co-financing or your own resources; and organisational continuity where ongoing services are needed. More own resources score higher.
How to apply
- Status
- lukker 1. nov. 2026
- Lukker
- Vilkår for ansøgningsrunden
- Applications are currently accepted for 2027 activities. Submit before 1 November 2026, meaning by 31 October. The €130,000 budget is subject to municipal budget approval.
Apply through Gemeente Zeist’s official subsidy page, using the organisation application link with eHerkenning level 2+. The page also provides a DigiD route. Submit before 1 November 2026 for activities in 2027: make sure your application is submitted by 31 October. The municipality communicates its assessment and any award before 1 December.
Include an activity plan with financial justification, goals, expected results and the impact on the target households. Provide a budget and funding plan declaring other subsidy or compensation applications for the same activities and their status. A first-time legal-person applicant must also supply its incorporation deed, statutes, previous annual report, annual accounts and balance sheet. If your organisation carries out economic activities, the rules count it as an enterprise regardless of its legal form or how it is financed. In that case, declare all public support already received or expected for these activities and include the required de-minimis declaration; for grants per financial year, report the equalisation reserve, the reserve used to balance annual results.
For awards above €5,000, request final determination of the grant before 1 May after the funded period, or within 12 weeks after completing the activities. Include a report on delivery, cooperation and contribution to the policy goals, plus activity income and expenditure. Awards above €100,000 require a balance sheet with explanatory notes and an independent accountant’s audit opinion. Awards below €5,000 are determined directly, with evidence of delivery due within 12 weeks after execution. At exactly €5,000, the general subsidy rules allow direct determination or an award followed by determination, and the municipality may require evidence of delivery.
The general framework permits awards for up to four years, conditional on annual funding and an updated annual activity plan, but this theme has no structural resources after 2027. Multiyear awards require annual substantive and financial reports, a balance sheet with notes and an independent audit opinion above €100,000.
Notify the municipality immediately if activities or grant obligations cannot be fulfilled. Report relevant changes in organisational or financial relationships, ending the funded activities or dissolving the organisation, and changes to statutes affecting its legal form, directors or purpose promptly in writing. Incomplete delivery or reporting can lead to a reduced award and partial or full recovery of the grant.