Everything You Wanted to Know About Submitting an Unsolicited Project Proposal

The International Renaissance Foundation announces dozens of grant competitions each year to support a wide range of civil society initiatives. We also consider unsolicited project proposals. This mechanism is intended, among other things, to give organisations an opportunity to submit socially beneficial initiatives for consideration outside the specific priorities of our grant competitions.

Step 1. Review the Programme Priorities

The procedure for submitting unsolicited project proposals is somewhat different from the grant competition process. Grant competitions usually have a clearly defined topic, priorities, and application deadline. Submitting a project outside a specific competition means that you are not bound by a particular deadline or competition topic.

The International Renaissance Foundation has global strategic priorities and objectives that are implemented through five main programme areas. These priorities and objectives should be taken into account when submitting a project:

• Human Rights and Justice: promotes efforts to hold Russia accountable for war crimes, supports the continuation of justice sector reforms in Ukraine, and protects fundamental freedoms.
• Social Capital: builds and strengthens communities that underpin an open society and creates conditions for civic dialogue and social cohesion based on democratic values.
• Civic Resilience: addresses gaps in support and protection for internally displaced people, war veterans, and families of those killed in the war, while promoting cohesion, integration, and inclusion at the community level.
• Democracy and Good Governance: helps sustain a resilient democracy in Ukraine and makes Ukrainian governance more transparent and accountable.
• Europe and the World: supports European integration as a means of advancing effective reforms in democracy, human rights, good governance, and the rule of law, drawing on best practices.

If you have a project idea, the first step is to familiarise yourself with the information on the Foundation’s website about its strategic priorities and the priorities of individual thematic programmes. You can find this information in the “Programmes” section of the website.

Tip: Before filling out an application, we recommend contacting the relevant Foundation programme team in advance. Briefly describe your project idea, its target audience (who it is intended for and who it aims to help), and its objective. You can find programme contacts in the “Team” section of the website.

Step 2. Complete the Application Form

The next step is to complete the application form. The International Renaissance Foundation uses one standard application form for both competitive grant calls and unsolicited project proposals. You can download it from the “Grant Competitions” section of the Foundation’s website.

In the application form, you need to describe your project’s goal, objectives, relevance, target audience, implementation risks, and expected results. When completing the form, keep in mind that if your project is approved for funding, the content of the application form becomes part of the grant agreement. This means that everything stated in the application must be delivered within the timeframe you have specified.

In addition to the application form, you need to complete and submit:

• a detailed project budget (the budget template is also included in the application package);
• the organisation’s statutory documents (an extract from the Unified State Register and the organisation’s charter);
• CVs of project team members (if you plan to engage external experts who are not part of your organisation’s staff);
• letters of support or memoranda of understanding (if the project involves cooperation with a community, government authorities, or other organisations);
• any other supporting documents required by the specifics of your project.

Important: If your project already has, or will receive, partial funding from other donors, you can apply for co-financing to cover the remaining costs. In this case, you should clearly indicate in the project budget which expenses will be covered by other sources of funding and provide the same information in the application form.

If you have no previous experience preparing funding applications, we recommend reviewing the guidelines and instructions we have prepared.

Project proposals must be submitted through the online system. Key information is available on the Foundation’s website in the “Grant Competitions” section. This is the only way to submit a project for consideration and receive feedback from a Foundation representative on the status of your application. There is no need to email project proposals to us or print out applications and bring them to our office.

Within one week of submitting your project proposal, you will receive a notification confirming its registration in the system. If a Foundation representative identifies technical errors during the initial review, the application will be returned for revision. We therefore recommend regularly checking the email address used to register your organisation’s account in the e-competition system, as automatic notifications may sometimes end up in the Spam folder.

Unsolicited project proposals are subject to more flexible timelines than applications submitted through grant competitions, which have clearly defined submission deadlines. This gives you additional time to revise and improve your application, but we do not recommend unnecessarily delaying the process.

Step 3. Wait for the Decision

For unsolicited project proposals, there is no fixed date for announcing the results of the review. As a rule, reviewing an unsolicited application takes one to two months. This timeframe is due to the Foundation’s decision-making process, which involves two stages. First, the application is assessed by Foundation staff. At the second stage, it is reviewed by the Expert Council of the programme to which the project was submitted.

In some cases, projects are also reviewed by the Foundation’s Board. You can learn more about these procedures in our video.

The International Renaissance Foundation does not publish information on the reasons for funding decisions or details of the discussions of submitted projects by the Expert Council or the Board.

Step 4. Signing the Grant Agreement and Reporting

Based on the decision of the Expert Council or the Board, the Foundation notifies the applicant whether the project proposal has been approved for funding or whether the grant application has been declined. If approved, a grant agreement is signed with the applicant, and the grant funds are transferred to a separate account of the organisation.

Throughout the project, the Foundation monitors its implementation, progress towards the stated objectives, and the use of grant funds. After the project is completed, the organisation submits detailed narrative and financial reports, which are reviewed by the Foundation’s staff. Key projects are additionally subject to independent audits.

In summary, submitting an unsolicited project proposal follows a somewhat different process from applying through a grant competition. First, you need to familiarise yourself with the Foundation’s programme priorities, available on its official website. Next, you complete the application form, budget, and any other relevant supporting documents. The next stage is waiting for a decision by the Expert Council or the Board on your application. The final stage is signing the grant agreement and reporting on your organisation’s activities and the implementation of the project.