UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women issues annual Call for Proposals

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women is pleased to announce its 2015 Call for Proposals in support of promising approaches to prevent and end violence against women and girls.

Civil society organizations and governments are invited to apply for funding through the 19th grant cycle (2015), as of 12 January 2015. The deadline for submitting initial and brief concept notes is 29 January 2015, 23.59 EST (GMT–5).

Despite the adoption of a multitude of policies, laws, and action plans to address violence against women and girls, millions remain at risk without protection, access to critical services, or opportunities to seek justice. In many countries, strategies to advance prevention and interrupt the cycle of violence remain non-existent. In order to address serious gaps in the realization of national and international commitments to end violence against women and girls, the UN Trust Fund focuses on supporting laws, policies and action plans by expanding the quality and quantity of support available for on-the-ground and results-based implementation of effective programmes.

The UN Trust Fund is managed by UN Women on behalf of the UN system. Since its establishment by the UN General Assembly in 1996, it has been an important source of support to women’s, grass-roots and other civil society organizations, nurturing innovation, catalyzing change and mobilizing key actors and constituencies – from community to national and international levels. By providing grants, it contributes to raising awareness about the issue, advocates for development and implementation of laws grounded in human rights standards, promotes access to services and develops capacity of its grantees for continued progress. Grantees engage diverse actors, such as women’s, men’s, adolescents and youth groups, indigenous communities, religious and traditional leaders, human rights organizations and the media in action to stop violence against women and girls.

To date, the UN Trust Fund has supported 393 initiatives in 136 countries and territories with almost USD 103 million in grants.

The UN Trust Fund relies on the voluntary contributions of UN Member States, non-profit organizations, foundations, the private sector and concerned individuals. Its governance and grant-making is guided by consultative committees comprised of UN agencies, leading experts from civil society and other key stakeholders.

Funding requests can be made for a minimum of USD 50,000 to a maximum of USD 1 million, depending on the size of the organization, for a duration of two to three years.

After providing a brief concept note, this year all applicants can proceed immediately to submit a full-fledged proposal for their project. The UN Trust Fund will inform all applicants when the full-fledged proposal portal opens so they can continue with the final stage of the application process.

For further information, please see application guidelines. Applications can be made in English, Spanish or French, via the UN Trust Fund’s online grants management system.