(4 April 2016)- The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women invites civil society organizations and governments to apply for funding through the 20th grant cycle (2016). The deadline for submitting concept notes is 4 May 2016, 23:59 EDT (GMT–4).

Since its creation, the UN Trust Fund has awarded USD 116 million to 426 initiatives in 136 countries and territories. Its current portfolio consists of 111 grants in 76 countries and territories totaling USD 57 million.

The UN Trust Fund’s annual call for proposals accepts multi-year grant applications for up to USD 1 million. With its 20th funding cycle in 2016, the UN Trust Fund will fund organizations that qualify for funding under one of three categories: The three programmatic areas of the UN Trust Fund Strategic Plan 2015–2020, the “special window” addressing violence against women and girls in the context of the current refugee crisis and under the “by invitation only” category. In all cases, emphasis will be placed on the applicant’s ability to clearly articulate the contextual challenges, expected, specific and measurable results and strategies to achieve them, with a focus on tailored approaches and interventions to adequately address the proposed form of violence.

The ideal proposal will include references to rigorous and documented evidence to justify the investment on the basis that the approach is likely to be effective in addressing violence against women and girls at the local or national level. As the UN Trust Fund aims to expand the global knowledge base on ‘what works’ to end violence against women and girls, applications from organizations piloting, testing, up-scaling or replicating evidence-based innovative and promising results-based approaches that carry the promise of broader application are also welcome.

For more information on applying visit: http://www.unwomen.org/en/trust-funds/un-trust-fund-to-end-violence-against-women/application-guidelines