Ourense publishes the guidelines for neighborhood grants of up to 4,000 euros

The Ourense City Council published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense on October 2, 2026, the regulatory bases for subsidies to neighborhood associations for the operation and implementation of citizen participation programs and activities. The grants, managed by the Department of Citizen Participation, may not exceed 75% of the budget of each project nor 4,000 euros per applicant. The publication, included in section IV of Local Entities, bears the reference 352628 and registration number R. 2.231.

The bases are developed within the framework of the General Subsidy Ordinance of the Ourense City Council, Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Subsidy Law, and Law 9/2007, of June 13, on Subsidies of Galicia. The declared objective is to promote and consolidate neighborhood associations and citizen participation within the municipal area, supporting leisure, festive, cultural, and sporting activities that improve coexistence and do not have specific municipal aid.

The funding will be charged to the budget item 120 9240 48956, Subsidies to Neighborhood Associations, and the granting will be processed under a competitive bidding regime. The bases enter into force the day following their publication in the BOP and will remain in effect until their modification or repeal.

Who can apply and who is excluded

• Neighborhood associations with their own legal personality that carry out their activity in the municipality of Ourense.
• Entities registered in the Municipal Registry of Citizen Entities prior to the publication of the call.
• Associations that have justified the municipal subsidies of the previous year and are up to date with tax obligations to the Council, the AEAT, the Department of Economy and Finance of the Xunta de Galicia, and Social Security.

Excluded, among others, are activities already funded in other municipal calls, those of a political, partisan, or confessional nature, those that maintain a collaboration agreement with the Council, and those with a cost lower than 400 euros or a requested amount lower than 250 euros. Expenses for alcoholic beverages will also not be subsidized, in application of Law 2/1996, of May 8, on drugs.

Evaluation criteria

The Evaluation Commission will assess the applications based on a maximum of 100 points:

• Project or activity: up to 60 points, with special weight for stable programs over punctual actions (up to 10), socio-educational content (up to 10), and attention to vulnerable sectors such as childhood, the elderly, and unemployed persons (up to 10).
• Financial effort external to the Council: up to 30 points.
• Execution in collaboration with other associations from the municipal registry: up to 5 points.
• Promotion of the Galician language: up to 5 points.

Applications that do not reach 15 points in the project section will be dismissed without evaluating the remaining criteria. Indirect costs may not exceed 20% of the total justified cost of the activity.

Deadlines, justification and payment

The deadline for submitting applications will be 10 business days from the day following the publication of each annual call in the BOP, through the City Council’s electronic General Registry. The resolution corresponds to the Councilor for Citizen Participation within a period of three months, and administrative silence is understood as a dismissal.

• Deadline for justification and payment request: December 30th of the year of the call.
• Eligible expenses: those incurred between December 1st of the previous year and November 30th of the year of the call.
• Advance payment: possible disbursement of 50% of the amount, upon a reasoned request from the entity.
• Waiver of aid: 15 days from the notification of the grant.
• Appeals: optional appeal for reversal before the City Council within one month or contentious-administrative appeal within two months.

The call is of direct interest to the city’s neighborhood movement, which will have a stable framework to finance its operation and activities, with a limit of 4,000 euros per entity and the obligation to provide at least 25% of the cost of each project.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense, October 2, 2026, section IV. Local Entities (official reference: 352628 / R. 2.231).