Entering the module
One sentence: public money is not "taken" — it is won with a plan, spent with discipline and proven with documents.
After this module you will be able to:
- tell where public funds come from and who can apply;
- turn an idea into a project with an objective, activities and a budget;
- see the cash flow of a project and where projects most often fail.
Chapters:
- Where public money comes from
- How to find a call
- From idea to project
- Partners
- The budget
- The cash flow of a project
- Implementation, reporting, checks
- Clean hands → The iron principle of the module
For the youngest · ages 6–7
🐣 The youngest: Some money belongs to all of us together. It pays for parks, playgrounds and gardens. It is given to people with a good plan. Afterwards you show with photos what you have made. Shared money is spent only on the shared thing.
Play together (5 minutes): Draw a plan together for a little garden in the yard or in a pot: what you will plant and what you need. The child marks each thing with a picture. Take a "before" photo, and a week later an "after" one.
A question for the evening: "What nice thing would you make for everyone in our neighbourhood?"
Chapter 1 · Where public money comes from
👧 Child We all pay taxes — even when you buy an ice cream, part of the price goes to the shared pot. With this money the town, the country and Europe make parks, schools and festivals. Some of it is given to people and organisations who come up with a good idea.
🧑 Teenager The main sources:
- EU programmes managed directly from Brussels — Erasmus+, Creative Europe, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV), Horizon Europe, LIFE, Digital Europe. You apply through the European Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal ✔.
- EU funds managed in your own country — the cohesion policy programmes for 2021–2027, run by a national or regional managing authority. You apply through that country's own system ✔.
- National and local programmes — ministries, municipalities, public funds.
- Foundations and donors — private, but with a public purpose.
🧔 Adult The difference between "direct" and "shared" management is practical:
- different rules, portals and application languages;
- different checkers and payment deadlines.
In shared management the EU sets common rules for all Member States (Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the Common Provisions Regulation) ✔, and each country designates managing authorities that publish calls, select projects and monitor them ✔.
The EU plans its budget for seven years at a time (now 2021–2027). That is why calls come in waves. The next framework will change many rules, so current calls should be followed, not remembered.
Example: Bulgaria — EU funds under shared management in Bulgaria are run through the 2021–2027 operational programmes, and applications are submitted through the Unified Management Information System for EU funds (UMIS, ИСУН) at https://eumis2020.government.bg ✔.
Check in your country — look up the managing authority for the programme that fits your idea: the European Commission's Inforegio lists the managing authorities of cohesion policy programmes by country (https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/in-your-country/managing-authorities_en ✔). Then find the national portal where that authority publishes its calls and receives applications.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "European money is for the big players and the well-connected."
- Truth: many programmes are precisely for small organisations, schools and local groups. The obstacle is more often the capacity to write and run a project, not access.
Who profits? Society — if the money goes to results. Organisations with capacity — because few apply well.
→ Continue at the source
- The European Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home ✔
- Managing authorities of cohesion policy programmes, by country (Inforegio): https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/in-your-country/managing-authorities_en ✔
- Example: Bulgaria — UMIS, the information system for EU funds in Bulgaria: https://eumis2020.government.bg ✔
Sources
- ✔ The Multiannual Financial Framework 2021–2027 (European Commission): https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/long-term-eu-budget/2021-2027_en
- ✔ Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 (common provisions for the funds under shared management): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1060/oj
Chapter 2 · How to find a call
👧 Child A call is like a notice: "We are looking for ideas for a cleaner town! We have this much money. Write to us by this date." You have to find it in time and check whether it is for you.
🧑 Teenager Every call says:
- who can apply — NGO, company, municipality, school, individual;
- what the money is for;
- how much there is, and how much one project can ask for;
- by when you must apply.
The first filter is the applicant's eligibility. If you are not the right kind of organisation, do not waste your time.
🧔 Adult Searching is a job in itself: hundreds of calls, on different portals, in different languages. That is why "radars" exist — tools that collect calls and filter them by profile. For EU programmes under direct management the starting point is the Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal, which can be searched by programme, topic and deadline ✔; for shared-management funds, the portal of the national managing authority.
Example: Bulgaria — in Varna, two radars split the work: grants.varnahub.com for NGOs (calls from the European Commission and from UMIS, filtered by the organisation's profile — our tool), and Proecto for companies, run by our partner inVarna.
Check in your country — ask whether your region has a funding radar or newsletter for NGOs or businesses (often run by a regional development agency, a chamber of commerce or an NGO network), and subscribe to the call alerts of your national managing authorities.
Good practice: one person in the organisation follows the calls every week, with a ready "profile" — what we do, with whom, what we have delivered so far.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "We'll apply when we see a suitable call."
- Truth: every call has an opening date and a deadline, and the time between them is limited — how long exactly depends on the programme and is shown in the call itself (the Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home ✔, opened 21.10.2026). If you wait for the call before you start thinking, you are already late.
Who profits? Organisations that have a ready profile, partners and ideas "on the shelf".
→ Continue at the source
- grants.varnahub.com — VarnaHub's funding radar for NGOs (in Bulgarian).
- The Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal — search by programme ✔.
Sources
Chapter 3 · From idea to project
👧 Child The idea is "I want us to make a garden in the school yard". The project is:
- why — we have no green space;
- what we will do — plant 20 trees;
- who — the class and the parents;
- when — in spring;
- how much it costs — seedlings and tools;
- how we will know it worked — photos and a new place to play.
🧑 Teenager A good project starts from a problem, not from wanting money. The chain:
- problem → objective → activities → results → how they are measured → budget → risks.
In the EU this is done with the logical framework (logframe): a table that links the objective to the activities and to the evidence. Evaluators look for logic: do the activities really lead to the objective?
🧔 Adult The European Commission's Project Cycle Management (PCM) method runs through programming, identification, formulation, implementation, evaluation and audit, with a financing decision between formulation and implementation ✔. Three questions the evaluator asks, even if they are not written down:
- Is this needed?
- Can this organisation do it?
- Is it worth the money?
Good project methods follow the same logic: Business Model Canvas + logframe → work breakdown structure (WBS) → budget.
🎓 The academic basis: learning works best just before the decision (Fernandes et al., 2014). That is why this chapter is for the moment when an organisation is actually writing its first project, not a general course.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "A project is written to get money."
- Truth: a project is written to solve a problem. Money is the means — and the evaluator sees this straight away.
Who profits? The community whose problem it is. Consultants who write "for the money" win once. Organisations that write "for the problem" win again and again.
→ Continue at the source
- European Commission — Project Cycle Management Guidelines (2004): https://capacity4dev.europa.eu/library/aid-delivery-methods-project-cycle-management-guidelines-europeaid-2004_en ✔
- The Guide — the logical framework, open courses in project management (next wave).
Sources
- ✔ European Commission (EuropeAid), "Aid Delivery Methods, Vol. 1: Project Cycle Management Guidelines", 2004.
Chapter 4 · Partners
👧 Child Big things are done with friends. One school has the yard, another has biology teachers, a third has parents with tools. Together they make a garden none of them could make alone.
🧑 Teenager Many European programmes require partners from several countries. Then a consortium is formed: one coordinator and partners. Each has a role and a share of the budget. A good partner is not "a name for the signature" but an organisation that will really do its part.
🧔 Adult Choosing partners is risk management:
- the coordinator answers to the programme for everyone;
- a weak partner = late reports = late payments for everyone.
Roles, budget and responsibilities are written into an agreement between the partners. Partnership in a consortium is a separate role, not a consulting one: the partner takes on part of the work and of the responsibility.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "The more partners, the stronger the project."
- Truth: the more coordination. A strong project is one in which every partner is irreplaceable.
Who profits? All partners, if the project is good. The coordinator carries the most risk.
Chapter 5 · The budget
👧 Child A budget is a list: how much each thing will cost. Seedlings — this much, tools — this much, a sign — this much. You cannot write "for things — €1,000".
🧑 Teenager In projects, costs are:
- eligible — the programme pays for them;
- ineligible — for example recoverable VAT for some applicants, fines, costs before the start ✔ (according to the programme's rules).
They are split into direct costs (linked to the activities: project salaries, travel, materials) and indirect costs (overheads — often as a flat percentage) ✔. Many programmes use lump sums and unit costs: they pay for a result delivered, not for every invoice ✔ (Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, Art. 53). Some require co-financing — part of the costs is yours.
🧔 Adult The budget is the second place where the evaluator checks realism: too low — "they won't manage it"; too high — "inflated". The rule: every budget line → an activity → a result. With lump sums the risk moves from the document to the result: if the result is not achieved, the amount may not be paid, even if the money has been spent ✔.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "We'll ask for more and save later."
- Truth: an inflated budget loses points in the evaluation, and unspent money is returned.
Who profits? A realistic budget — the project. An inflated one — nobody.
→ Continue at the source
- The guide of the specific programme (for example the Erasmus+ Programme Guide) — the rules on costs ✔.
Sources
- ✔ Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, Articles 53–56 — simplified cost options.
- ✔ The EU Financial Regulation — Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, recast as Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 (in force since 29.09.2024, applies from 30.09.2024; 2018/1046 repealed — Articles 279–280, official text, CELEX 32024R2509, 21.10.2026): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj
Chapter 6 · The cash flow of a project
👧 Child Sometimes the town gives part of the money at the start, and the rest only when you show that you have made the garden. So you need money to start with and to last until the end.
🧑 Teenager The typical order:
- advance payment — part of the amount at the start;
- you work and pay;
- interim report → interim payment;
- final report → check → final payment.
Percentages and deadlines differ for every programme ✔. Months can pass between "I spent it" and "they paid me back".
🧔 Adult This is where most first projects fail: profit ≠ cash (Module 8) applies to projects too. The organisation has to pre-finance costs between payments — with its own money, a bridging loan or help from a partner. Therefore:
- a monthly cash plan for the project;
- a reserve;
- a separate account;
- attention to VAT — whether it is eligible and when it is refunded.
In Pecuvo:
- the project is a space with a budget by line;
- every cost comes from the accounting system (ACE) with the project on the line;
- the weekly balance shows how much money there is until the next payment.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "We've won the project — the money is ours."
- Truth: the money comes in parts, late and after evidence. Without a cash plan a good project can bankrupt the organisation.
Who profits? Banks — from bridging loans. Organisations with a reserve — from the calm to deliver.
→ Continue at the source
- Module 8 — The eight iron principles of cash flow.
Chapter 7 · Implementation, reporting, checks
👧 Child When the garden is ready, you show photos, the receipts and the list of children who planted. Someone comes to check. If everything is as you promised — well done!
🧑 Teenager A report has two parts:
- content — what was done, results, evidence;
- financial — costs, documents, payments.
The check can be on paper or on the spot. An audit can come even years after the end of the project — that is why documents are kept according to the programme's rules ✔.
🧔 Adult A financial correction is a reduction or recovery of funds because a rule was broken:
- an ineligible cost;
- a breached public procurement procedure;
- a missing document;
- double funding.
The best protection is the system from day one: a budget by line, a project code on every accounting line, a folder of evidence for every cost, one person responsible for reports. That is exactly what the Pecuvo ↔ ACE link does.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "The report is written at the end."
- Truth: the report is gathered every day. At the end it is only put in order.
Who profits? The organisation that keeps order — it wins the next project, because it has a proven track record.
→ Continue at the source
- The programme guide — reporting and checks ✔.
Chapter 8 · Clean hands
👧 Child The money for the garden belongs to everyone. You cannot buy something for yourself with it. That would be like taking from the class's shared piggy bank.
🧑 Teenager Three rules:
- no conflict of interest — you do not give project work to your own company or to a relative without clear rules;
- no double funding — the same cost is not paid by two programmes;
- no false documents.
Breaches are not "mistakes" — they may be crimes.
🧔 Adult Misuse of public funds is prosecuted by national authorities and investigated by OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office; anyone can report suspected fraud with EU money to OLAF ✔. Each Member State also has an anti-fraud coordination service (AFCOS) that works with OLAF (Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013, Art. 12a(1), inserted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2223) ✔. Module 17 has a motto: "The book 'How to Get Rich Quick' is sold as a set with the Criminal Code." Flow 5 is trust that society gives you. It is lost only once.
Example: Bulgaria — in Bulgaria, reports of irregularities with EU funds can also be sent to the Directorate for the Protection of the EU's Financial Interests at the Ministry of Interior (AFCOS, АФКОС), which has an online "Submit a report" form ✔.
Check in your country — find your national AFCOS (often in the ministry of finance or the interior) and the irregularities contact of the managing authority of your programme; OLAF's reporting page works from every EU country.
Myth → truth
- Myth: "Everybody does it."
- Truth: not everybody. And those who "do it" often pay later — with corrections, court cases and reputation.
Who profits from honesty? Everyone who applies after you — because trust in the programmes is preserved.
→ Continue at the source
- OLAF — the European Anti-Fraud Office: https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu/olaf-and-you/report-fraud_en ✔
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 (OLAF investigations), Art. 12a (anti-fraud coordination services), as amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2223: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/883/oj ✔ · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/2223/oj ✔
- Example: Bulgaria — AFCOS (Ministry of Interior): online form "Submit a report" for irregularities with EU funds (Information centre → Reports): https://www.mvr.bg/afcos ✔ (opened 21.10.2026; in Bulgarian).
The iron principle of the module
A project is a promise to society with a budget. Promise only what you can deliver, pay for until the next payment, and prove.
- 👧 Child: "Can I show where every coin went?"
- 🧑 Teenager: before you apply — are you eligible, do you have partners, do you have time?
- 🧔 Adult: do you have a monthly cash plan for the project, a reserve for pre-financing and a document system from day one?
Your step in Pecuvo: open a project space with the budget by line. In the accounting system (ACE) every line gets the project code. Watch the weekly balance and how many weeks the money lasts until the next payment.
Check yourself (3 questions per level)
- 👧 1. Where does the money for shared things come from? 2. What must a project have besides an idea? 3. Can you buy something for yourself with project money?
- 🧑 1. What does every call say? 2. What is the difference between an eligible and an ineligible cost? 3. Why is a good partner "irreplaceable" and not "a name for the signature"?
- 🧔 1. Why do first projects often fail on cash flow? 2. What is a financial correction and how is it prevented? 3. How are the logical framework and the budget linked?