What is the Berlin Congress Fund for Sustainable Meetings?
The Congress Fund for Sustainable Meetings is a funding programme initiated by the city of Berlin to support the meetings industry in the state of Berlin. It was originally initiated as the "Congress Fund Berlin" during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to enable events to take place in Berlin and strengthen the industry despite high requirements and additional costs. With the 4th amendment to the guidelines, the focus of the programme is now placed on sustainability and the meetings industry in Berlin is actively supported in organising sustainable conferences and congresses. This applies to both analogue and hybrid or decentralised events. Funding is available for events in Berlin that take place by 31 December 2025 and whose applicants have a registered office, place of business or branch in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Together with the city, we encourage event planners to implement planned B2B events in Berlin conference hotels and event venues in accordance with the sustainable criteria of the Sustainable Event Scorecard. Only events that fulfil the sustainability criteria will receive funding. This is intended to strengthen sustainable event and company management and support Berlin's goal of climate neutrality by 2045 as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The digitalisation of the event industry is also being strengthened. The funding programme therefore provides special support for events that take place interactively as face-to-face events at various locations in Berlin and/or online. This takes into account the fact that hybrid or decentralised events are associated with a higher workload and higher costs than analogue events. At the same time, the decentralised event approach can be used to test innovative conference formats that take place in the state of Berlin.
A financial subsidy of max. 35 euros per participant attending the event is planned.
With the "Congress Fund for Sustainable Meetings" programme, we are actively strengthening the event industry and Berlin's MICE sector together with the city.
Who can apply to the Congress Fund for Sustainable Meetings?
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Legal entities under private and public law
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Partnerships with legal capacity (e.g. associations/societies, businesses, agencies, institutes, and other organisations)
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self-employed and freelancers
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Organisations and individuals acting on behalf of the event organiser
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with a registered office, permanent establishment or branch office in the Federal Republic of Germany
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Only events that have been planned and organised according to the criteria of the Sustainable Event Scorecard.
Which events are eligible for funding?
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Exclusively events designed for a professional, industry or trade audience (B2B), e.g. conferences, congresses, seminars, and further training
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A professional motivation can also be assumed if the event serves the further training of persons in the context of an honorary position
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Events in the State of Berlin in an event space booked subject to a fee
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Min. 50 in-person attendees (excl. trade fair exhibitors, service providers, own staff)
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Single day and multi-day events with a net event duration of at least 4 clock hours/per day
Funding is not available for events in the applicant’s own rooms or for B2C, cultural or private events.
Five steps to funding
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Fill out the application form: The application documents should be submitted to www.ibb.de/kongressfonds at least two weeks before the event begins
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Start of project: Initially, the maximum amount of funding is calculated provisionally since it depends, among other factors, on the actual number of in-person attendees at the event.
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Funding notification: The maximum amount of funding is specified in the notification of funding. This depends, among other things, on the number of participants and the eligible expenses.
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Final Statement: After completion of the event, the proof of use must be submitted to IBB.The required components can be found in the factsheet.
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Payment: Payment will be made to the account specified by the grantee.
Please note: The funding is dependent on a range of factors. As a matter of principle, visitBerlin does not undertake the checking of funding eligibility. For questions relating to eligibility, contact the service provider commissioned by the State of Berlin (Land Berlin). The information provided here is for guidance only.
