Grant Recipients

A good grant proposal starts with a clearly defined problem and an explanation of why it is important. You need to set out a specific objective and demonstrate what results you plan to achieve. The proposal should include a realistic action plan with defined stages and deadlines. It is important to justify the budget and explain what the funds will be spent on. It is also worth demonstrating the expected impact of the project and its benefits for the target audience.

Who decides whether to support or reject a submitted project, and how is this decision made? How does the Foundation ensure that conflicts of interest are prevented? And how can one become a new partner and grantee of the Foundation? Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, explains all this.

This article examines the seven most common mistakes that lead to grant applications being rejected — ranging from ignoring the formal requirements of the call for proposals and failing to tailor applications to different donors, to an unsubstantiated budget, applications written entirely by ChatGPT, a lack of public information about the organisation, unrealistic ambitions and a failure to understand the very purpose of the project.

This material provides an inside look at the entire grant competition process — from the inception of an idea within the Foundation’s programmes and the internal approval of terms and conditions, through a two-stage evaluation of applications (internal and external, involving an anonymous Expert Council, and, for large budgets, the Board of Directors as well), right through to the signing of the agreement, phased funding, project support and the final report, on the basis of which the Foundation decides whether to continue the competition.

The video provides a step-by-step explanation of the structure of the Fund’s application form — the summary, description of the problem, objectives, target audience, implementation plan, resources, expected outcomes, risks and post-project activities, as well as the conditions for submitting non-competitive projects and the role of partner organisations.