Glossary
What is an unsolicited application?
An unsolicited application is a grant request sent to a funder that did not invite it or publish an open programme. Some trusts welcome them, many small trusts rely on them, and others state that they do not consider them. The funder's website, register entry and accounts usually say which.
Also called: cold application, uninvited application, speculative approach.
An unsolicited application is a grant request sent to a funder that did not invite it and has no open programme for it. Funders divide three ways. Some run open programmes and welcome applications from anyone eligible: Garfield Weston Foundation accepts applications all year round and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation accepts expressions of interest on a rolling basis. Some have no programme but consider letters as they arrive, which is how many small family trusts operate. Others fund only organisations they approach: the Tudor Trust's grant-making page on 26 October 2026 said "We do not have a traditional, written application process" and that invitations follow conversations with current grant partners and the trust's own research.
Why it matters when applying. Sending an application to a funder that will not read it costs a day of work and sometimes a relationship. The signals are usually public. A website that says "we do not accept unsolicited applications" settles it. Where there is no website, the trustees' annual report inside the accounts filed on the charity register often states the grant-making policy in a sentence, and a list of the same recipients every year suggests a closed circle. Which UK trusts accept unsolicited applications, and how to tell sets out the full method, and how to read a grant-making trust's accounts shows where the policy statement sits.
What OpenGrant shows. Each funder page answers "does this funder accept unsolicited applications?" for funders with live schemes in OpenGrant's sources, based on whether the scheme is open to applications or by invitation only. For register-only trusts with no scheme listed, the page says so, and the accounts are the next step.
Example. A fictional homelessness charity shortlists twelve trusts from GrantNav. Four websites rule out unsolicited approaches, three trusts have open programmes, and five have no website. It reads the five sets of accounts, finds two that state they consider applications from charities in their county, and writes to those two.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if a trust accepts unsolicited applications?
- Check three places in order. The website, if there is one, usually says "we do not accept unsolicited applications" or gives an application route. The trustees' annual report in the accounts often states the grant-making policy. OpenGrant's funder page shows whether the funder has an open scheme in its sources and answers the question for funders with live schemes.
- Is it worth sending an unsolicited application?
- Only where the funder has not ruled it out and the fit is strong. Many small family trusts have no programme and consider letters as they arrive, so a short, well-researched approach is their normal route. Where a funder says it does not accept unsolicited applications, as the Tudor Trust does in effect, an approach wastes your time and theirs.