Grants paid to associations

Verified 01 January 2024 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)

Associations can obtain subsidies on request. They may be granted in cash or in kind. They are granted for purposes of general interest (e.g. access to culture). If the grant exceeds a certain amount, the recipient association and the granting agency must enter into an agreement. The association must also, above a certain threshold, keep accounts which the State may control. We present you with the information you need to know.

A grant may be awarded by the following administrations and bodies:

  • State
  • Local and regional authorities
  • Public administrative establishments
  • Social security institutions
  • Public industrial and commercial establishments
  • Other bodies responsible for the management of an administrative public service.

Any association declared and registered in the SIRENE directory may apply for a grant for:

  • to carry out an action or investment project,
  • contribute to the development of activities,
  • or contribute to the overall financing of its activity.

For some grants, the association duty hold a ministerial approval.

Please note

one cultural association may not receive a public grant.

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General case

To submit a grant application to an organization, you must use the following form:

Association: application for a grant

City Policy

If you are an association acting as a priority neighborhood and wish to obtain a grant for city policy, you can apply online or by mail.

Youth and sports

Your grant application falls under one of the following schemes:

  • Fund for the Development of Community Life (FDVA)
  • Support for approved associations Youth and popular education (JEP Partnership)
  • National Sports Agency (formerly CNDS)

You must apply online for a grant:

Application for a grant by an association

Protection of the environment

If your grant application falls under the partnership Association for the Protection of the Environment - Regional Directorate for Environment, Planning and Housing, you must apply online through your association account.

Application for a grant by an association

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General case

Where the subsidy exceeds 23,000, the administration or the body which awards it duty conclude an agreement with the beneficiary association.

This Convention duty define the purpose, amount, conditions for payment and use of the grant.

The following templates can help:

Model multi-annual agreement of objectives with an association

Simplified model for a multi-annual agreement of objectives with an association

Subsidies for improvements, construction, acquisition of social rental housing

The obligation to enter into an agreement does not apply to organizations receiving subsidies for the improvement, construction or acquisition of social rental housing.

Where the grant is to be used for a specific action, the association must provide the body which is providing the grant with a financial statement.

This document must prove that the expenditure incurred is in accordance with the purpose of the grant. It must be transmitted within 6 months after the end of the exercise for which the grant was awarded.

To prepare the financial report, you must use the following form:

Association: Grant financial reporting

The granting agency must communicate the budget, the accounts of the association, the grant application, the agreement and the financial statement to any person who so requests.

The use of grants awarded by the State, a regional or local authority or a public establishment may be subject to controls:

  • by the granting authority,
  • and senior accountants of the Treasury, the General Inspectorate of Finance, certain inspection bodies and the Court of Auditors.

These financial controls are intended to verify that the grants have been used to achieve the objective set.

Warning  

misuse of a subsidy is considered a breach of trust. In this case, the association's leaders could face up to 3 years in prison and 375,000 of fine.

An association must draw up annual accounts if it receives one or more grants in cash the aggregate amount of which exceeds €153,000.

These accounts must contain:

  • a balance sheet,
  • an income statement,
  • and an annex.

Warning  

if the association does not comply with this obligation, its leaders may be fined €9,000.

The association duty appoint at least one auditor and an alternate. It must also publish its annual accounts and the auditor's report to the JOAFE: titleContent.

These publications must be carried out within 3 months following approval of the accounts by the legislative assembly.

You need to do this online:

Publication of the annual accounts of associations, foundations and endowment funds

These documents shall be published in electronic and searchable form for free.

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