Dutch Foundation for Literature grant targets declining reading skills, reserves support for Caribbean projects

THE HAGUE--The Dutch Foundation for Literature has opened applications for its Reading Promotion grant scheme, offering funding to organizations that develop non-commercial projects aimed at stimulating reading and reading enjoyment across the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Applications for the first 2026 round must be submitted by Friday, February 20, 2026. The scheme is being promoted against the backdrop of declining reading and reading skills, a trend the Foundation links to broader social consequences because reading supports social participation, personal development, and critical thinking.

Eligible organizations can apply for grants ranging from €25,000 to €50,000. The Foundation is seeking projects that add value to what already exists, including initiatives with innovative concepts, digitally pioneering approaches, new collaborations, work in new areas, or projects that reach underserved target groups.

Projects can take many forms, including reading clubs, digital initiatives, creative writing workshops, performances, and activities aimed at intermediaries such as educators and supervisors. Projects that are purely or mainly focused on technical reading skills are not eligible under the scheme.

The Reading Promotion scheme includes specific safeguards intended to ensure that support reaches the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The regulations provide that, before other awards are made by ranking, the highest-scoring applications will be honored first for at least one Caribbean project in Papiamento or Papiamentu, and at least one Caribbean project in English, alongside a project in Dutch Sign Language.

The scheme also includes a more accessible co-financing threshold for Caribbean-based organizations. While applicants generally must finance a portion of total project costs from their own funds or other sources, the minimum co-financing requirement is 10% for organizations based in the Caribbean, and also for projects in the Caribbean led by a European Netherlands organization working with a local collaborating partner.

The grant is open to cultural institutions, cultural organizations, and legal entities active in the Kingdom that produce and implement reading promotion or literary education activities. Schools, universities, and municipalities cannot apply under this scheme.

For 2026, the Foundation lists two application rounds, with the February 20, 2026 deadline aimed at projects expected to start from July 2026 onward.

The Foundation points to the role of grant support in enabling partnerships and execution of reading-centered activities in the region. One example is Biblionef, which has highlighted how support from the Dutch Foundation for Literature helped make its Caribbean reading festival work possible through collaboration with local partners and the translation of plans into concrete programming.

The Dutch Foundation for Literature supports literature in Dutch, Frisian, Papiamento, and Dutch Sign Language, and promotes high-quality, diverse literature nationally and internationally.

Organizations interested in applying are encouraged to review the scheme requirements and prepare the required project plan and budget documentation in advance of the deadline.

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