Draft state budget for 2026 provides 63.9% increase in funding for cultural fund
The draft state budget of Ukraine for 2026 provides for a 63.86% increase in funding for the Ukrainian Cultural Fund (UCF) compared to 2025.
According to draft law No. 14000 of September 15, UAH 410.8 million is planned to ensure the functioning of the UCF, in particular, the Fund's implementation of project support measures, which is UAH 160.1 million more than in 2025.
"But this is not the end: we continue to work on attracting funding from international partners and socially responsible businesses. We already have preliminary agreements with the international program "Partnership for a Strong Ukraine" and the British Council Ukraine on co-financing competitions. Two regional military administrations have also expressed interest and preliminary readiness to open joint LOTs following the example of Zaporizhia. Another partnership initiative is in the preparation stage," said UCF Executive Director Anastasia Obraztsova on Facebook, commenting on the draft budget.
As reported, the state budget for 2024 provided for UAH 215.7 million for the UCF, and the state budget for 2025 provides for an increase in funding for the UCF by 16.2%.
Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy stated that today (2025) the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation can satisfy only 12-13% of what the cultural community expects.
On March 20, Obraztsova proposed to legislatively fix the Fund's funding at a level of at least 0.1% of the general fund expenditures of the state budget for the previous year, to finalize regulatory legal acts to support long-term projects, and to regulate the process of developing and approving priority areas of the UCF's activities.