The Provincial Council of Bizkaia has distributed 8.25 million for development cooperation

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia has approved grants totaling 8,250,000 euros for non-profit organizations to finance cooperation for development, awareness-raising and education for social transformation, specific actions to be carried out in impoverished countries and in Bizkaia, and processes linked to the strategic framework. The decision is contained in Provincial Order 4826/2026, signed on August 11, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette of Bizkaia (BOB) number 157, on August 19, 2026.

The grants were awarded by the Provincial Deputy for the Department of Employment, Social Cohesion and Equality, Teresa Laespada Martínez, under a competitive process within the 2026 call of Provincial Decree 138/2025 (December 29, 2025). As established by said decree, the grants were awarded to the best applications according to the scale, respecting the budget limit.

Distribution of grants and beneficiaries

The grants are divided into four chapters, and the main beneficiaries are NGOs and associations in Bizkaia. For cooperation projects for development (Chapter II), grants of approximately 120,000 euros were awarded, among others, to the organizations Kultura, Communication y Desarrollo, Zabalketa, Paz con Dignidad, Farmacéuticos Mundi, Setem-Hego Haizea, Manos Unidas, UNICEF-Comité Español, Bizilur, Entrepueblos, and ADECO.

For awareness-raising and education projects for social transformation (Chapter III), grants of approximately 45,000 euros were received by, among others, Bizilur, Ingeniería Sin Fronteras, Economistas Sin Fronteras, Gernikatik Mundura, Gernika Gogoratuz, Paz y Solidaridad de Euskadi, and Zehar-Errefuxiatuekin.

Specific actions and strategic framework

For specific actions to be carried out in impoverished countries and in Bizkaia (Chapter IV), grants of approximately 15,000 euros were awarded among the organizations Birbana, Besarkatuz, Unissons Nous, Matiz, PAREKIDE, Rio de Oro Durangaldea, Joxemi Zumalabe Foundation, and Finanzas Éticas Euskadi.

For processes linked to the strategic framework (Chapter VII), five grants of 900,000 euros were awarded to the organizations Justicia Alimentaria, Médicos Mundi Bizkaia, Alboan, Entreamigos-Lagun Artean, and Médicos del Mundo Euskadi, in countries such as Bolivia, Guatemala, Mesoamerica, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Senegal.

Rejected applications

Annex II lists the rejected applications for two reasons:

• A) Due to exhaustion of funds, such as Mundukide, MPDL, Enraiza Derechos, and Músicos Solidarios Sin Fronteras.
• B) Those that did not achieve the minimum score, among others CoLibres, Euskadi Cuba, Camino al Barrio, Asocolvas, Bihotzez, and Agua de Coco.

Grants will be paid from the Department 09, Section 06, Program 232115, Economic 451.00 and 751.00, Project 2007/0038 budget line, in the 2026 budget year. The decision has a significant impact on the Bizkaia GGKE and associations, as it finances hundreds of initiatives for development cooperation and social transformation, focusing on gender equality, climate justice, and human rights.

Source: Official Gazette of Bizkaia, number 157, August 19, 2026, section I, pp. 1-17 (official reference: BOB-2026a157-(I-986)).