Over $230 million in grants across 35 years, more than 1,000 projects funded since February 2022 alone, and a position as the largest independent funder of civil society in Ukraine – that is the International Renaissance Foundation. Most Ukrainian NGOs know the name, yet far fewer understand how the foundation works, what it funds, and how to actually apply.
This article offers a detailed profile of the International Renaissance Foundation: who it is, how it relates to the Open Society Foundations network, what its five programme areas cover, what conditions applicants must meet, and which three calls remain open in 2026 with verified deadlines.
| Founded 1990, Kyiv |
Grants since 1990 over USD 230M |
Nearest deadline 8 May 2026 |
Who can apply NGOs and CSOs only |
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Who is the International Renaissance Foundation
Founding and status
George Soros established the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) in April 1990 – before Ukraine had formally declared independence. Although IRF operates as a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation under Ukrainian law, it also sits within Soros’s global Open Society Foundations network. This duality is central to understanding how the foundation works: it runs entirely from its Kyiv office and follows Ukrainian legal norms, while drawing on the global strategy and resources of one of the largest philanthropic organisations in the world.
The foundation’s headquarters sit at 46 Sichovykh Striltsiv Street, Kyiv. Before the full-scale invasion, IRF also ran regional offices in Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Dnipro. Today, the organisation centralises all operations in Kyiv. Oleksandr Sushko serves as Executive Director.
The relationship with Open Society Foundations
IRF and the Open Society Foundations are not the same entity, though they share both organisational ties and financial connections. George Soros created Open Society Foundations in the United States in 1984, and the organisation now funds a network of more than 30 national and regional foundations worldwide. IRF serves as the Ukrainian member of that network.
In practice, this distinction matters a great deal for applicants. IRF independently defines its competition themes and criteria, and its own Expert Councils and Board make all funding decisions. The global Open Society strategy sets broad priorities, but IRF announces, manages, and finances competitions entirely from Kyiv. As a result, applicants must submit through the IRF website – not through opensocietyfoundations.org.
Five Programme Areas: What IRF Funds
The entire IRF portfolio is structured around five thematic programmes, each with its own priorities, competitions, and programme managers
1. Human Rights and Justice
This programme works to hold Russia accountable for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. It also funds Ukraine’s legal aid system, drives justice reform, and protects fundamental freedoms. Notably, this is the programme with the most urgent open deadlines in 2026: two competitions close in early May.
2. Democracy and Good Governance
This programme helps Ukraine preserve democracy under wartime conditions, promotes transparency and accountability in public administration, and advances civil society participation in policy-making. Additionally, the Impulse project – which supports young organisations in war-affected regions – also runs within this programme.
3. Europe and the World
This programme treats Ukraine’s European integration as a vehicle for deeper reforms in democratisation, human rights, governance, and the rule of law. Beyond domestic reform, it also works to strengthen Ukraine’s international voice in global discussions, including direct civil society engagement in EU accession negotiations.
4. Social Capital
This programme builds and strengthens communities as the backbone of an open society. In particular, it funds cultural and educational initiatives in de-occupied and frontline territories, expands international solidarity with Ukraine through diaspora communities abroad, and promotes long-term social cohesion.
5. Civic Resilience / The Resilience Lab
This programme builds civil society organisations’ capacity for resilience and recovery. IRF implements the Impulse project here together with the East Europe Foundation, with financial support from Norad (Norway) and Sida (Sweden). As a result, this programme currently runs one of the most active IRF grant lines, with wave deadlines throughout 2026.
Funding Conditions: What Is Covered and What Is Not
Who can and cannot apply
IRF awards grants exclusively to non-profit and charitable organisations that hold registration in government-controlled territories of Ukraine. This rule represents a fundamental difference from most international scientific foundations: individual applicants – researchers, freelancers, or activists – cannot receive grants directly from IRF. The organisation, not the individual, always stands as the grant recipient.
| Who can apply | Who cannot apply |
| Civil society organisations (CSOs) | Private individuals |
| Charitable foundations and organisations | Political parties |
| Associations and unions | Religious communities and organisations |
| Registered organisations with operational experience | State and municipal enterprises |
| Organisations prepared to publish an annual report | For-profit business entities |
The organisational transparency requirement
IRF enforces an important condition that many first-time applicants overlook: the foundation maintains an organisational openness policy for all grant recipients. Specifically, every applying organisation must publish an annual content or financial report in open access online. IRF treats this published report as a quality marker and evidence of organisational reliability. Accordingly, organisations without a public annual report face significantly lower chances of success – regardless of how strong the project proposal itself may be.
Typical coverage and limitations
IRF covers project activities, staff salaries, project-related rent and operational costs, communication activities, and public events. However, the foundation does not fund humanitarian aid, commercial activities, or projects that fall outside its strategic priorities. Furthermore, IRF’s Expert Councils and Board issue final decisions – the foundation does not share the grounds for rejection with applicants.
Open IRF Calls in 2026
Three open mechanisms with confirmed deadlines, verified on the IRF website as of 1 May 2026
1. Two Competitions under “Human Rights and Justice”
Organiser: IRF, Human Rights and Justice programme | irf.ua · Who can apply: Ukrainian NGOs registered in government-controlled territories
Competition 1: Establishing facts and accountability
This competition supports projects that work to establish objective facts and ensure the fair accountability of those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression in Ukraine. Specifically, IRF funds documentation efforts, legal analysis, strategic advocacy, and judicial initiatives in this field.
| Grant amount: | up to UAH 2,000,000 | duration up to 12 months |
| Deadline: | 8 May 2026, 15:00 Kyiv time |
Competition 2: Protecting fundamental freedoms
This competition focuses on protecting civilians and providing legal aid to individuals whose rights the armed conflict has violated. In addition to direct legal assistance, IRF funds projects in legal education, access to justice, and the protection of vulnerable groups.
| Grant amount: | up to UAH 4,000,000 | duration up to 12 months |
| Deadline: | 11 May 2026, 15:00 Kyiv time |
2. Impulse Small Grants Competition (rolling waves)
Organiser: IRF + East Europe Foundation | funded by Norad (Norway) and Sida (Sweden) · Who can apply: Local and regional CSOs from 15 oblasts
What the programme supports
Through the three-year Impulse project, IRF funds local initiatives in recovery, inclusivity, gender equality, and environmental sustainability in communities that military operations have hit hardest. In 2026, IRF expanded the geographic coverage by three additional oblasts, bringing the total to 15: Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, and Cherkasy.
Wave format and deadlines
The competition runs in several waves per year. If an organisation misses one wave, it can submit a proposal in the next round. Applicants register all proposals through the IRF Electronic Competition portal in .doc/.xls/.pdf format. IRF then announces results approximately six weeks after each deadline.
| Grant amount: | up to UAH 1,500,000 | up to 12 months |
| Next deadline: | 27 August 2026, 15:00 Kyiv time – final wave of 2026 |
3. Non-competitive Projects (rolling mechanism)
Organiser: IRF | irf.ua · Who can apply: Ukrainian NGOs with significant innovative ideas aligned with IRF priorities
IRF also accepts project proposals outside its announced competitions – provided the idea is socially significant, innovative, and genuinely aligned with the foundation’s strategic priorities. Unlike a competitive call, a non-competitive proposal carries no fixed deadline or required theme, but applicants must provide an especially strong justification of relevance. Organisations use special non-competitive application forms, available for download at irf.ua. IRF typically takes 1–2 months to review such proposals; however, the foundation does not share the grounds for its decisions with applicants.
| Deadline: | Rolling – proposals can be submitted at any time throughout the year |
| Forms: | Non-competitive project application form (download at irf.ua) |
Summary Table: Open IRF Competitions 2026
| Competition | Amount | Deadline | Programme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facts and accountability | up to UAH 2,000,000 | 8 May 2026 | Human Rights and Justice |
| Fundamental freedoms protection | up to UAH 4,000,000 | 11 May 2026 | Human Rights and Justice |
| Impulse Small Grants (next wave) | up to UAH 1,500,000 | 27 Aug 2026 | Civic Resilience / Democracy |
| Non-competitive projects | Individual | Rolling | Any IRF programme |
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