You can get financial support for a professional meetup, a workshop or a study of the startup scene in Portugal. That is what Portugal’s Community Fund is for — a programme run by the 351 Portuguese Startup Association with the support of Critical Software. The fund helps small communities hold events and share experience. But it does not pay for the development of an individual company’s product.
What exactly can you propose?
The fund supports initiatives that help entrepreneurs find peers, gain new knowledge and exchange experience. For a meetup, a workshop or a small educational project of this kind, a community can usually get up to 250 euros. Research and analytical work on the entrepreneurial scene is supported too. The main criterion is benefit to the community, not the promotion of a single business.
Can you apply without registering a company?
Yes. Even a group of colleagues with no registered company or association can apply. Startup founders, small organisations, incubators, schools and non-profit associations can also ask for support.
Applications from corporations, large startups, service providers and other big organisations are not accepted. The programme is designed first of all for small independent communities, and it is their initiatives that it supports.
The fund accepts ideas from different cities across Portugal, not only from Lisbon and Porto. The programme page sets no separate conditions on the organiser’s citizenship.
What does the fund pay for?
The nationwide programme explicitly names food and drinks for guests. Other organising costs may be covered too, but there is no detailed list. Venue hire, a speaker’s fee or the printing of materials are best agreed in advance. Another kind of help is contacts of partners who are willing to provide a service or resource for free — a room or equipment, for example.
The total budget of Portugal’s Community Fund is 10,000 euros. Half is shared among initiatives in Lisbon and Porto, the rest among other regions of the country. For projects that the organisers consider especially useful for the startup scene, the amount can exceed the usual limit. The website gives no exact criteria for that decision.
When you apply, prepare a short budget: list the costs of the event and the resources your team already has. Note separately what help partners are ready to give. This lets the fund’s organisers see what support is really needed.
There are separate options for Lisbon
For projects in the capital there is another option — the Lisboa Community Fund. 351 Startups runs it together with the municipal platform Lisboa Innovation. Here too you can ask for up to 250 euros, and the rules on expenses and payments are set out in more detail than in the nationwide programme.
In the Lisbon programme you can ask for help with venue hire, a speaker’s fee, promotional materials and refreshments. Other expense items need prior approval. Applications are reviewed as they come in. The organisers try to reply within 14 days, so it is better to apply early.
The Lisbon fund has two ways of paying. The supplier can invoice 351 Startups directly. Or the organiser pays first and then asks for the costs to be reimbursed. That requires the original invoice, proof of payment and an invoice from the applicant addressed to 351 Startups. The documents should be submitted within 30 days of the expense. The money is transferred once the result is confirmed: for a meetup you need an event page with the date, venue, number of participants and partner logos.
Promotional materials must carry the 351 and Lisboa Innovation logos. The community itself must be listed on the Lisboa Innovation platform. The fund’s page still shows the 2025 budget, so it is best to check the current call separately.
Which projects have a better chance?
First of all, the fund supports events with free admission. Paid meetups are not explicitly ruled out, but free participation gives an application an advantage. The organisers are also particularly interested in events that make the entrepreneurial scene more accessible to people with different backgrounds.
As for topics, projects with a social or environmental benefit are welcome, as are initiatives that support diversity. That said, you can apply with an idea from any industry.
The organisers are assessed separately. Volunteer-run and independent teams have an advantage, as do communities that have not used the fund’s support before.
How do you prepare an application?
Start with one sentence: “We want to bring together these people so that they can…”. Then name a concrete result for those who attend. For example: “work out how to find their first customers” or “meet local entrepreneurs”.
Next, describe the format and the venue. Give the expected number of participants, the hosts and the way you will invite guests. Add a short budget: what needs to be paid for and what resources you already have. If you are doing research, explain who will be able to read it and use the result.
You can apply on the Portugal’s Community Fund page using the Apply now button. In the Startup Portugal listing the programme appears among the open calls. However, the 351 Startups website gives no exact closing date for applications. If your initiative takes place in Lisbon, compare the terms with the Lisboa Community Fund.
Where can you find such meetups if you want to come as a participant?
Before organising your own meetup, it is worth going to other people’s. That way you can see different formats and meet the organisers. Here is where to look:
- Portugal Tech Week — from 6 to 15 November 2026. The website lists more than 265 free events in different cities, from Braga and Porto to Faro and the Azores.
- Coworking Thursdays — a free working day in a coworking space, in a new place every week: in Lisbon, Porto, Braga and other cities. You need to sign up on the website.
- The 351 Startups calendar — events supported by the association itself.
- Opportunities & Events on the Startup Portugal website — events, competitions and programmes with deadlines. Portugal’s Community Fund is currently on this list among the open calls.
- Innovation Scene and Adamastor — two combined calendars of startup events with a filter by city.
