Related videos:
The Junta de Andalucía, in Spain, opened a call for grants aimed at non-profit organizations that assist Andalusian individuals and their descendants residing abroad in situations of extreme need, with an initial allocation of 100,000 euros, which can be increased to 150,000.
The Tourism Board and Andalucía Exterior published the announcement last Friday in the Official Bulletin of the Junta de Andalucía (BOJA no. 60), and applications must be submitted within a period of twenty business days from that date, which means the deadline is approximately April 24.
Entities legally established as non-profit organizations that operate outside Spanish territory and provide social, health, or similar assistance to Andalusian residents abroad will be eligible for these grants.
The final beneficiaries must reside permanently outside of Spain, hold or be able to obtain the Andalusian Card for Residents Abroad, and lack sufficient economic resources to meet their basic needs.
The maximum amount that can be granted per application will be 40,000 euros, and the aid will be awarded on a competitive basis.
Applications must be submitted exclusively via electronic means using the official form available in the Catalog of Procedures and Services of the Junta de Andalucía.
The period for executing the subsidized activities will run from January 1 to December 31, 2026.
The initiative is part of a policy to support Andalusian citizens abroad, particularly the descendants of emigrants who arrived in America in the late 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century.
In the case of Cuba, it is estimated that tens of thousands of Andalusians settled there during that period, although their presence dates back to the 15th century.
For this reason, the call is especially relevant for the Caribbean country, where a large community of descendants of Andalusian emigrants resides.
Several organizations on the Island have the capacity to apply for these much-needed aids at a time when the country is facing a profound economic crisis exacerbated by 67 years of communist dictatorship.
According to the portal El vigía de Cuba, there is the Asociación Andalucía Cuba, the Centro Andaluz de La Habana, and the Sociedad de Beneficencia de Naturales de Andalucía y sus Descendientes, institutions that have maintained the connection between Andalucía and the Spanish community on the Island.
The Andalusian Center of Havana, founded in 1919, is the main institutional reference for that community.
Applications will be evaluated based on criteria such as the entity's experience in social care projects, its management capacity, available human resources, the technical quality of the project, and cross-cutting aspects such as gender equality, environmental commitment, and support for people with disabilities.
The instruction and resolution of the procedure shall correspond to the General Directorate of Andalucía Global, with a maximum period of six months to resolve from the end of the application submission deadline.
This call falls within a broader Spanish autonomous policy aimed at supporting emigrants and their descendants: Asturias granted nearly 150,000 euros to 833 beneficiaries in 2024, of which 606 were Cubans.
On its part, Castilla y León distributed 120,000 euros among 344 beneficiaries in Cuba in 2022.
Filed under: