Call for Proposals
The 2025 Call for Proposals of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women and Girls (UN Trust Fund) is now CLOSED.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. When did the 2025 Call for Proposals open and close? What was its focus?
The 2025 Call for Proposals, Resourcing Resilience – Investing in Civil Society Leadership to End Violence against Women and Girls, opened on 18 September 2025 and closed on 19 November 2025. It provides four-year grants, including core and flexible funds, to civil society organizations working to address violence against structurally marginalized women and girls. This Call seeks to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of frontline organizations so they can deliver critical, essential services, advance prevention and drive transformative change, even in the face of growing challenges.
2. How many organizations applied? How many will be selected for funding?
The UN Trust Fund received 3,925 applications from 128 countries, requesting USD 2.1 billion, a new historic high, representing a 36% increase compared to the 2023 Call for Proposals. The UN Trust Fund expects to allocate up to USD 20 million through this Call across two cohorts of grantee-partners to be awarded in 2026 and 2027, and continues to mobilize additional resources for more grants.
3. What is the selection process like?
The UN Trust Fund awards grants through an open, independent, and competitive process. Applications are assessed against standardized criteria by independent experts and regional and global advisory committees, with the participation of CSOs, experts and UN agencies. Only shortlisted applicants are invited to submit a full proposal. Final funding decisions are made by the Global inter-agency Programme Advisory Committee and are subject to submission of a satisfactory full proposal and organizational capacity assessment.
4. What are the selection and prioritization criteria?
Proposals are assessed based on the organization’s profile and capacity, including its experience and expertise in ending violence against women and girls, as well as the quality, relevance, coherence, and potential impact of the proposed initiative and its alignment with the 2025 Call priorities.
The 2025 Call prioritizes initiatives that create lasting change for women and girls who face the greatest barriers. It supports intersectional approaches that address violence while upholding strong ethical and safety standards, promoting fair partnerships, managing risks, strengthening organizations and movements, and being backed by realistic and well-planned budgets..
Priority is given to women’s and girls’ rights organizations, women-led, constituent-led, and small organizations, as well as organizations that have not previously received funding from the UN Trust Fund.
5. When will I know if my proposal was selected or not selected?
All lead applicants have been notified of the selection outcome in May 2026 through an email to the email address used to register in the online application platform (GMS). Information about the grants selected for the 2026 cohort will be announced in the third quarter of 2026.
6. Can I receive specific feedback on why my proposal wasn't selected?
Due to the very high number of applications received, the UN Trust Fund is unable to provide individual feedback on unsuccessful applications. Instead, we have developed a grant-writing tipsheet that offers general guidance and supports organizations in strengthening future applications.
Check out our tipsheet here. (PDF/Docx)
7. Who else can fund my organization or application?
Organizations may find the following resources useful to identify other funders and strengthen their fundraising strategies:
- The UN Trust Fund has prepared an Alternative Sources of Funding list (2026) here (PDF/Docx)
- Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) Who Can Fund Me? database: https://www.awid.org/feminist-funding-resources. A searchable directory of 200+ funders that support gender justice work across regions and sectors.
- Getting the Money We Need - A 101 Guide on Fundraising for Small Grassroots Organisations (AWID)
- Justice Funds is a bi-weekly, curated list of funding opportunities for social justice projects in the Global South.
- The ImpactMapper’s 2025 Funding Database features 270+ grant opportunities, searchable according to users' needs including areas for issues funded, regions, type of fund, type of funder, if funds are open to the public or only for current grantees or if funds are a result of endowment increases, spend downs or emergency responses. You can subscribe for free to access the database here: https://2adk9.share.hsforms.com/2vhy81FnYSICJ7Ebw7SDa6w
Explore the Demand Data Analysis of the Call for Proposals 2025 here.
