2023 Behind Meet and Code Grants for Non-profit Organizations

Eligibility Criteria for the Meet and Code Grant

Only charitable non-profit organizations from the following countries are eligible to apply for the Meet and Code grant: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. All submitted digital and coding event ideas should take place within the timeframe of 1 September till 31 October, 2023, and be aligned with the EU Code Week. The events should address children and youth, and must be free of charge for participants. More details in section Funding Criteria for Selecting Submitted Project Ideas’.

Who is Behind Meet and Code?

Behind Meet and Code are the organizing partners Haus des Stiftens fuer Unternehmen und Non-Profits gGmbH (Haus des Stiftens), TechSoup Europe with the respective country partners of the TechSoup Europe network and the main donor partners Amazon and SAP that enable the initiative through financial support and providing resources for nonprofits. Haus des Stiftens is responsible for the initiative and the general management of the project. TechSoup Europe coordinates the funding and operations by the responsible managing country partners of the TechSoup Europe network. TechSoup Europe partners are responsible for coordinating the initiative and selecting the events to be supported in their respective countries. Meet and Code was initially founded by Haus des Stiftens, SAP and Techsoup Europe.

Validating Applicant Organizations

Organizations interested in applying for a Meet and Code grant must first register with Meet and Code and have their status as a charitable non-profit organization validated. This validation will be performed by the TechSoup Europe network partner in the applicant organization’s country.

Authorized representatives of the organization must provide details of their organization and enter a detailed description of the event idea and valid contact details. Each organization is entitled to submit more than one event idea, provided it involves significantly different projects.

Idea Submission Window

Organizations may submit their event ideas between 13.06.2023 and 13.09.2023 inclusive. In order to be evaluated by the local partner, submissions need to be complete with all supporting documents provided and submitted by the close of registration.

Evaluating an Event Idea

Every event idea will be evaluated by Haus des Stiftens or, as necessary, its partner in the TechSoup Europe network. After four weeks, the organization’s representative will be notified by email stating whether the submitted idea will be funded or not.

In the event of an idea being rejected, the local TechSoup Europe partner can – on the non-profit’s request – share the reason for rejection with the person responsible. The organization is able to submit the idea again once it has been revised. Should it be rejected again, the idea can no longer be submitted.

By submitting an idea the applicant agrees that each approved and sponsored event idea will be automatically published on the website www.meet-and-code.org and visible for all users.

Should the publication result in violations of the applicant’s rights, in particular copyrights, trademark rights or other industrial property rights, the applicant shall be solely responsible for pursuing legal claims.

Period for Performing the Funded Events

The funded event must take place from 1 September to 31 October 2023.

Amount of the Meet and Code Grant

Every approved event receives funding of up to 500 euro as start-up support. Haus des Stiftens reserves the right to increase or reduce the amount of funding in individual cases.

Funding Criteria for Selecting Submitted Project Ideas

The following basic criteria apply for the event idea:

1. The submitted event idea seeks to inspire and introduce young people to the world of technology and coding. Events must revolve around the theme of digital skills (coding, robotics, IoT, AI etc.).
2. The event has to be realized between 1 September and 31 October, 2023.
3. The target audiences are children and youth.
4. Every event must address at least 20 children and young people.
5. Participation must be free of charge.
6. The event has to be designed for a minimum of 240 minutes in length. This timeframe can be met in one session or can be divided into several sessions.

Eligible applicants: Only charitable organizations can submit their ideas via their country Meet and Code Website.

1. The events are initiated, managed and run by the submitting non-profit organization itself. The submitting non-profit organization is responsible and liable for everything that occurs during the planning, organization, running and follow-up of the project.
2. The funds are only paid out to charitable organizations able to evidence their non-profit status. Evidence must be provided during the validation process performed by the TechSoup Europe network partner in the applicant organization’s country.

In addition to the basic requirements, the following rules apply for 2023:

Events can be held virtually, partly virtual or on-site.

Funding criteria for on-site events:

1. Events must align with local Covid restrictions and regulations. The submitting non-profit organization is responsible and liable for ensuring compliance with those local regulations.
2. Funding must only be used for the submitted project and charitable purposes.

Funding criteria for online events:

1. Events can be executed virtually or partly virtual.
2. The format of the events can be
   a) A live event, e.g. a webinar or a virtual coding workshop
   b) A non-live event with mandatory participant interaction, e.g. a Massive Open Online Course with live FAQ sessions.

Please note that funding can only be used for event related expenditure, that is:

1. Trainer/s for the workshop
2. A license for online teaching tools or costs for premises
3. Learning materials for participants including curation and shipping, e.g. workings books or hardware
4. Communication to reach potential participants, e.g. flyers, posters, and/or online marketing
5. Professional external support to enable an online event, e.g. technical support.
6. Rent for space needed because of e.g. technical infrastructure

Haus des Stiftens or, as necessary, its partner in the TechSoup Europe network rule at their own discretion about the funding once the selection criteria have been met by the organization.

There is no automatic entitlement to reasons for rejection and also no legal entitlement of the applicant to a grant. Neither is there an obligation to perform when the funding guidelines have been met.

Exclusion Criteria

The following event ideas are excluded from funding:

• Events not developed and implemented in one of the participating countries
• Political or religious initiatives
• Projects benefiting only individuals
• Projects not related to Meet and Code

Duty to Report and other Duties

1. About Funded Events
   Each funded non-profit organization is obliged to answer the reporting survey. The survey consists of two questionnaires, one to be filled out before and one after the event timeframe. There is one survey for each organization, independent of the number of events conducted by such an organization. The survey form will be sent to the email address of the contact person of every granted event before 1 September 2023.

   The survey must include the following information as a minimum:

   • Name of the organization
   • Event title
   • Event location
   • Date of event
   • Nature of the event
   • Number and gender of participants
   • Self-assessment of the level of digitization in the organisation
   • Feedback to the Meet and Code program

   In addition to the reporting survey, there is a participant’s survey aimed at the participants of the event. The funded non-profit organization is asked to conduct this with the participants at the beginning and end of the event. This survey is voluntary.

   When uploading the event idea to the website www.meet-and-code.org and providing information material, in particular pictures and videos or names, the organizations are obliged to observe the applicable laws and to exempt Haus des Stiftens and its partners from all claims of third parties, for example due to infringement of copyrights, trademark rights, other industrial property rights or other rights and to indemnify in this regard. It is pointed out that declarations of consent may be required to safeguard the privacy rights of the persons depicted (especially in the case of minors with the signature of their parents).

   Should Haus des Stiftens become aware of an infringement of third-party rights, the organization is immediately requested to remove or delete the content in question. If the organization does not comply with the request, Haus des Stiftens will arrange for the deletion. Any claims for damages due to the infringement of rights shall be borne exclusively by the organization that provided the content

2. About Using Financial Resources; Donation ConfirmationThe funded organizations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland must provide Haus des Stiftens with confirmation regarding the donation received under the Meet and Code initiative. Funded organizations from other countries may or may not be required to email a specific form to the respective country partners of the TechSoup Europe network confirming their donation.
3. Documentation DeadlineDonation confirmations must be provided by the funded non-profit organization within 14 days of the event completion. The reporting survey must be completed by the funded non-profit organizations within 48 hours after the event has ended.

Public Communication

The project partners are entitled to fully use the above-mentioned reports and survey results, including the information material provided, as well as information on participants and winners of the award with the associated event ideas – as part of their own reporting. The applicant agrees to this by submitting the ideas and providing further information in the course of its participation.

In order to strengthen the idea of Meet and Code, the organizations are obliged to use the Meet and Code logo in their public relations activities related to sponsored events. The correct use of the logo is explained in the style guide. The use of the logo must be documented by email to contact@meet-and-code.org

Styleguide

In addition, we strongly encourage organizations to use the hashtags for the initiative: #meetandcode #codeEU #sap4good and #amazonfutureengineer in their communication in social networks. Meet and Code will provide a social media wall that will list all posts using the mentioned hashtag and present them on the Meet and Code websites.

Responsibilities; Liability

Meet and Code takes place in alignment with the EU Code Week and aims at strengthening this Europe-wide initiative. Therefore, we encourage all funded non-profit organizations to also register their granted Meet and Code events on the EU Code Week website.

The non-profit organization submitting their event idea is responsible for running the project. The partners of the initiative in no way assume responsibility and liability with regard to the project or its implementation. The partners in the initiative are not liable for damage, losses, injuries or non-performance suffered by participants, third parties or legal entities due to registration or implementation of a project. Neither are the partners in the initiative liable for legal obligations on participants in or due to performance of the project, regardless of whether the obligations are linked to funding resources or not.

Partners in the initiative are not liable for damage to computers in connection with or due to participation or the downloading of material in connection with the Meet and Code initiative.

Cancelled Projects; Residual Funds

Should a project not be conducted for whatever reason or residual funds remain after the project has been implemented, the applicant is obliged to report such fact to Haus des Stiftens without undue delay and may suggest similar projects that could be funded by such residual funds.

At Haus des Stiftens’ discretion, any amount of residual funds must be either returned to Haus des Stiftens (or the respective Tech Soup partner organization) or used within the current calendar year in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations for charitable projects similar to the submitted project (programming themes). In the latter case, the applicant agrees to ensure and bear liability that such residual funds may only be used for charitable purposes. In case of using the funds for a similar project, the applicant’s obligation to report on the use of such financial resources without undue delay remains in place.