3. Budgeting
When requesting money from the EU, bear the following three aspects in mind:
Co-funding, no double financing, the no-profit rule.
The co-financing concept
It is helpful to note that the EU will fund between 70 and 95 percent of your project, 100% financing of your project is very rare and not the rule. Therefore, you should always take into account the required amount of your own co-financing. The EU grant, or a portion of it, might not be awarded until after the activity has been reported, and if considered not eligible, because somehow against the expenditures rules, you might have to take over the cost of this activity, in addition to your own co-financing of the costs for the other activities of your project.
Rule against double financing
This implies that you are limited to using your own funds (or that of other third parties such as private sponsors, national/regional governments, membership fees, etc.) for the purposes specified in your application and you cannot use another EU-funding granted to your entity as source of your own co-financing share. The EU award can typically be combined with state aid and other financial sources, as long as they are not funded by the EU. No funding application may be submitted for the same purpose. Naturally, you are permitted to operate many EU projects contemporarily, but each of them must have unique and different goals and activities.
Non-profit policy
This may not be easy. Your project and your company need to be kept apart. Naturally, your business can turn a profit, but the project can’t. You must declare and disclose any income the project generates, as this could have an impact on the funding.
While writing your project remember to draft …
a. Draft an approximate budget hypothesis
Present an initial estimate of the project budget, taking into account the costs associated with various activities and resources.
b. Make clear all sources of funds
Clearly outline the sources of funds for your project, including any existing financial support or resources. Understanding the available funding sources is essential for planning and budgeting.
c. Calculate gross staff costs
Your staff costs can be part of the project costs in their full entity, i.e. as total gross cost for the employer, included all kinds of benefits and social charges the employer pays to the employee