Education grants · Estonia
€100,000 grants for education in Eastern Estonia · Narva, Estonia.
Russian-speaking minority communities along the eastern border, with the country's lowest secondary-completion rates.
Context
Narva is Estonia's third-largest city, on the Russian border, with a population that is around 95% Russian-speaking. For decades the city's schools taught primarily in Russian; a 2024 reform began transitioning all public education to Estonian as the language of instruction.
The transition is necessary for long-term opportunity inside Estonia — but it has, predictably, created an attainment cliff for students caught mid-curriculum and for teachers asked to switch the language they teach in. Secondary completion in Narva is well below the national average, and vocational pathways for young people in the east are thin.
The Foundation looks for organisations doing the unglamorous bridging work: Estonian-language tutoring, vocational pathways, after-school programmes that keep teenagers engaged through the language transition.
Funding priorities
What we'd fund in Estonia.
A non-exhaustive list. Bring us what your community needs and we will read the application carefully.
- Estonian-language tutoring for students mid-transition.
- Vocational training pathways for school-leavers in Ida-Viru county.
- Teacher development for educators newly teaching in Estonian.
- After-school programmes that keep teenagers engaged through the transition.
Eligibility
We fund registered organisations only — NGOs, schools, and social enterprises — whose work is education-focused, broadly defined, and whose project operates in Eastern Estonia · Narva, Estonia.
Applicants need to be able to submit a short monthly progress report in English or French. We do not fund religious instruction, political campaigning, or for-profit ventures.
Apply when the first round opens.
Applications open in early 2027. Read the full criteria and join the waitlist now — we will email you the day applications open with a direct link to the form.
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