UN Trust Fund to End

Violence against Women

2022 call for proposals
Call Opens: 23 November 2022
Deadline For Submissions: 11 January
2023 
2022 CALL FOR PROPOSALS OVERVIEW  

What?
Project concepts on ending violence against women and girls experiencing intersecting forms of discrimination. 
 For all applicants - investing in strengthening preparedness and organizational resilience.
 Special focus for applicants working in protracted crisis setting.

Who?   HOW TO
Women’s rights organizations and local civil society
organizations led by and for marginalized women and girls APPLY?
https://grants.untf.unwomen.org 
with proven expertise on EVAW.
Apply in
How English, French
and Spanish  
long?
3 years.
How Much?  When to apply?
Budget between US $150,001 and US $1,000,000 for all Call opens:  23 November 2022
organizations. Small organizations have the option to apply Deadline: 11 January 2023, 11.59 pm
for a small grant of up to USD 150,000.
 1. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women
AGENDA
2. The 2022 Call for Proposals
3. Eligibility Criteria
4. Ineligibility Criteria
5. Mandatory Document
6. Guiding framework

7. Selection Process 
8. How to write a quality Project Concept?
THE UN TRUST FUND TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Our Vision

“A world of global
solidarity in which all
women and girls live free
from all forms of violence
and enjoy and exercise
their human rights.”

For more information, visit: untf.unwomen.org

CONTEXT
Crises increasingly Complex, Longer,
Overlapping
Increasing the number of people in need of assistance and protection.

Disproportionate impact on women and girls, aggravating different forms of VAW/G,

particularly most marginalized women and girls.

Need to strengthen
Need to end violence  Need to support women
preparedness and
against women and girls  CSOs/WROs’ capacities to
organizational resilience of
experiencing intersecting provide EVAW/G response in
frontline CSOs/WROs with
forms of discrimination. protracted crisis.
EVAW/G expertise.

Organizations working in
All applications, including special focus on protracted crisis
protracted crisis setting
THE UN TRUST FUND WELCOMES PROPOSALS:

Submitted by Civil Society Organizations, particularly women-led and women’s

1 rights organizations and local civil society organizations led by and for marginalized women and
girls, with proven expertise in ending violence against women and girls (EVAW/G).

2 Demand-driven and needs-based proposals.

Focused on marginalized women and girls experiencing intersecting forms of harm

3 and discrimination.

Guided by the UN Trust Fund’s values and principles in embodying UN Women’s EVAW
4 Programming Principles and Investing in strengthening preparedness and organizational resilience.

5 Aligned with the 3 UN Trust Fund Outcomes areas.

SUBMITTED BY CSOS/WROS WITH PROVEN EXPERTISE IN EVAW/G

All applicants should have proven expertise and experience in implementing

projects
in the field of EVAW/G. 
Applications from women’s rights organizations, women-led organizations, constituent-
led and grassroot women’s organizations will be prioritized.
Documentation is required. 

Women's rights organizations Women-led organizations Constituent-led organizations

Core work is in the field of Led by members of the group it

women’s rights, gender equality, Governed and led by women. represents and/or sets priorities
the elimination of violence driven by its constituents’
against women, or sexual and experiences and needs.
gender-based violence. Constituent group must be/
A minimum of 61 per cent represent a majority of the overall
Reflected in mission and of leadership positions held staff, board, & volunteers in all
vision statements.    by women.   levels of the organization (61%).
CSOS/WROS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA – SEE
ELIGIBILITY CHECKLIST:
Legal Registration & expertise
Civil society organizations with 5 years of experience working on violence against women and girls. On exceptional
1
basis, 3 to 5 years can be accepted and a formal letter should be attached 
 
2 Legal status and registration: the applicant must be a legally registered entity in country-ies of implementation.

5 years of legal existence. On exceptional basis, 3 to 5 years can be accepted and a formal letter should be attached. 
3
Applying organizations must attach proof of legal registration (or legal status) as part of the grant application.

Country coverage: countries and/or territories listed in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
4 Assistance Committee’s (OECD DAC) list of official development assistance (ODA) recipients.
1 to 3 countries.

Demonstrated capacity for operational, financial and human resources management: 

5 • Operational and human resources
• Certified Financial Statements and Organizational Audit Reports for the last 3 years (2019, 2020, 2021)

Previous and existing UN Trust Fund grant recipient: Organizations that have received a grant are eligible only if their
6 grant has been programmatically and operationally closed by March 2023. 

7 Prevention from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment policy (in place or take
measures to develop one)
CSOS/WROS MANDATORY DOCUMENTS
The following documents need to be submitted as part of the
application
Legal Registration documents for applicant and co-implementing partner(s):
 Applicant must be legally registered 
 Either the main applicant or at least one of its co-implementing partner(s) must be legally registered in the country or
territory of implementation
      Note: articles of incorporation are not proof of legal status

Certified Financial Statements (CFRs) and Audit Reports (ARs) for 2019, 2020 & 2021:
CFR - is one that has been reviewed, approved and signed by the person authorized to sign financial documents for the
organization. This can be someone from within the organization or an outside firm.
AR - is one that has been issued by a certified, independent auditor. In addition to external auditors, organizations can also
employ internal auditors.

Supporting documents for women’s rights, women-led organizations and constituency-led organizations

e.g. mission, constitutions, by-laws, organigrammes 
INELEGIBILITY CRITERIA
The following are NOT eligible to apply for a grant: 

Interventions in a country not listed in the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients. 

Organizations whose work and mission/vision statement do not focus on nor explicitly

mention gender equality and EVAW.
Organizations that do not have a legal status in the country or territory of
implementation, and neither do any of its co-implementing partners. 

Government agencies or institutions. 

UN agencies or UN Country Teams. 

Private individuals and Private sector entities.

Organizations currently implementing a UN Trust Fund grant (unless it ends before

March 2023).
CSOS/WROS PARTNERSHIPS & IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

• Organizations can only apply once under this Call for Proposals, either as the main
applicant organization or as a co-implementing partner.  

• No more than four formal co-implementing partners (who receive funding).

• The lead applicant is entirely responsible for the grant management and for making
sure implementing partners meet the UNTF requirements. 

• Formal Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) among all partners to define roles and
responsibilities are recommended.
DEMAND-DRIVEN AND NEED-BASED PROPOSALS

• Applications should be designed and fully implemented by CSOs, in line with their own
assessments of the particular needs in their context. 

• Proposals should be based on a thorough analysis of the needs of the most marginalized

women and girls, or those experiencing intersecting forms of violence. Preferably, it
should be informed and/or led by the constituents themselves.  
FOCUSED ON MARGINALIZED WOMEN AND GIRLS EXPERIENCING
INTERSECTING FORMS OF HARM AND DISCRIMINATION  

• Proposals should be focused on particularly marginalized women and girls and those

experiencing intersecting forms of discrimination, in the targeted context or community. 

• For example (but not exhaustive) women and girls with disabilities, displaced and refugees,
living with HIV and/or AIDS, indigenous, from ethnic minority, lesbians, bisexual and
transgender, queer/questioning and intersex, experiencing racial discrimination and/or
injustice, rights defenders, in the lowest-income groups, women and girls with low literacy
levels. 

Critical importance of being specific:

• which groups you are working with and why;
• the specific forms of violence you will focus on and why;
• where you will be working and why; and
• how you are equipped to work with and respond to these groups and their needs.  
APPLYING INTERSECTIONAL APPROACHES FOR ADDRESSING VAW/G

Race & Ethnicity

Ability

Religion

Gender
Sexual Orientation

Socio-economic status

Source: Adapted from UN Women (2019).

UN Trust Fund’s presentation available here.
BASED ON EVAW PROGRAMMING PRINCIPLES

All proposals are expected to be based on the following EVAW Programming Principles:

1. human rights-based approaches 6. responding to diversity

2. operating under ethical guidelines 7. operating within the ecological model
3. ensuring gender responsiveness 8. working in partnership
4. employing culturally appropriate measures 9. ensuring survivor-centered and empowering
5. addressing specific forms and settings of approaches
VAWG 10. drawing on existing evidence

Information on how to apply the EVAW principles can be found in the FAQ and in this
presentation.
STRENGHENING PREPAREDNESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE

Applicants are encouraged to invest in building their preparedness

to adapt and
be able to pivot to potential disruptive events and crises.
For example: risk assessments, risk mitigation plans to support adaptative and flexible
programming.

 Questions in the application form will guide organizations on how to address the above. 

Additional information on strengthening preparedness and organizational resilience can

be found in the FAQ.
THE 3 UN TRUST FUND STRATEGIC AREAS
All proposals should aim to address one or more of the 3 UNTF
Strategic areas:

1. Improve access for women and girls to essential, specialist, safe and adequate
multisectoral services.

2. Improve prevention of VAW/G through changes in behaviours, practices and

attitudes.  

3. Increase effectiveness of legislation , policies, national action plans and

accountability systems to prevent and end VAW/G.

Scan to read the

UN Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan
SPECIAL FOCUS ON PROTRACTED CRISIS

• In parallel, the UN Trust Fund is including a special focus to EVAW/G in the context of protracted crises. 

• Protracted crisis are defined as structural, longer-term situations resulting from a combination of multiple
factors. Protracted crises are where a significant proportion of the population is  acutely vulnerable to death,
disease, and disruptions in livelihoods over a prolonged period of time.

• Protracted crises are characterized by recurrent natural disasters and/or conflict, long-lasting food crises,
breakdown of the economy or livelihoods and insufficient institutional capacity to react to the crises
themselves. 

• If your application has a special focus on ending violence against women and girls in a protracted crisis, please mark the
‘special focus’ box in the online application (Project Overview, under Project Profile)

• Please respond to the additional questions that are specific for the special focus. 
MULTI-COUNTRY PROPOSALS

This year, call for proposal welcomes multi-country proposal, up to three countries.

Given the focus on movement building that should be integral part of a multi-country Project Concept, it is
expected that those applicants demonstrate :

A history of contributing to feminist movement building;

An explanation of how the proposed project will contribute to existing local/regional feminist movements
and leverage feminist voices to end violence against women and girls at supranational or regional level;
and 

An articulation of how the proposed project will strengthen capacities and enhance partnerships of

women’s rights organizations across the selected project countries, including those representing
marginalized groups, for collective action. 

Strategies for collective action to win popular support and bring about sustained change, e.g. combining

research, advocacy, coalition building, training, investing in feminist leadership, media and campaigns, etc.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Project Concept submission
(in English, French or Spanish only)
Applications longlisted by independent
EVAW/G Experts
Applications shortlisted by United Nations
inter-agency advisory committees at the
regional and global levels 
Pre-selected grantees develop a detailed
Project Proposal     In 2021, 37 applicants received a grant, out
The application should be completed on the
online Grants Management System (GMS) in
French, Spanish or English at:
https://grants.untf.unwomen.org
For specific questions, please write directly to
the UN Trust Fund at untfgms@unwomen.org
The selection process is very competitive.
of 1396 applications.
FUNDING PARAMETERS
ü Small grants amount: Up to US$ 150,000 – can be requested only by small organizations with annual
budget of less than US $ 200,000 (on average);
ü Large grants amount: US$ 150,001 – US$ 1 million – can be requested by all other CSOs

• Organizations should consider their own operational and absorptive capacity when submitting a funding

request. 
• In general, an organization cannot request a grant amount more than 3 times its annual organization
budget (using last 3-years average organizational budget). We will assess absorptive capacity against financial and
audit reports as well as annual organization budget information submitted as part of the application.

ü Grants implementation duration: 3 years

While all applicants – whenever possible – are encouraged to make financial and/or in-kind contributions, it is
not a requirement to do so. 

Once submitted, the total budget requested cannot be decreased or increased, however, budget lines may be
modified as long as the budget is in line with the approved programme strategy or strategies
SPECIAL BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
Organizational resilience support

 Personnel costs => up to a maximum of 30% of direct activity costs 

 General operating and other direct costs => up to 3% of direct activity costs
All general operating costs for running an office, such as utilities, office rent, bank charges, office stationery, communication and other
costs which cannot  be mapped to other expense categories.

 Self-care => up to US$ 5,000       

To support each organization in taking care of its staff members’ physical and emotional health           

 Contingency budget line => up to 3% of direct project activity costs

To address unforeseen requirements [extreme currency movements and inflation; other special programming and emergency issues on
the ground]
*May only be used with the prior written authorization of the UNTF 

 Capacity development => mandatory US$ 15,000 for capacity development and knowledge exchange activities. 

 Core funding for small grants ONLY => up to a max. of 7% of direct activity costs (in addition to standard 8%)
SPECIAL BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

Ineligible expenditures
 Infrastructure, unless this is specifically justified by inclusivity needs. 
 Purchase of any type of large vehicles (i.e. cars, boats, etc.). 
 Furnishing of service facilities, shelters or short-stay homes, unless those are specifically for a facility established or
utilized for the purpose of the project. 
 Monetary incentives for participation in trainings, workshops, etc. or honorariums to outlets/journalists for publishing
articles. 
 Costs that can be financed by other funding sources in the country or by the government
 Sub-granting (grants awarded using funds provided under the agreement with the UN Trust Fund). 
 Loans (funds extended for the purpose of investment/ return of capital) and debt servicing. 
 Duties, taxes and charges, including VAT, that are recoverable/deductible by the organization. 
 Non statutory bonuses, provisions, reserves or non-remuneration related costs. 
BUDGET CATEGORIES

I. Direct Project Activities

1. Trainings / Seminars / Workshops 

2. Audio Visual & Printing Production 

3. Travel 

4. Contractual Services / Consultants 

5. Materials and Goods 

6. Other  - [To cover items that do not belong under any other category] 

            

            
BUDGET CATEGORIES
II. Management Activities
1. Personnel - [Maximum 30% of grant requested] 
2. Equipment 
3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning [All related costs including travel, consultants, etc.] 
4. Final Evaluation  - [Mandatory US$10,000 for those requesting up to US$150,000 - include in Year 1 ;
optional but encouraged US$20,000 for those requesting US$150,001 or more – include in Year 3 ] 
5. Capacity Development  - [Mandatory US$ 15,000 in Year 1] 
6. Self/collective care - [Maximum US$ 5,000] 
7. Audit  - [Mandatory 3.5% of grant requested - include in Year 1] 
8. Contingency Costs - [Mandatory 3% of direct project activity costs - include in Year 3] 
9. General operating and other direct costs - [Maximum 3% of direct project activity costs] 
10. Indirect Costs  - [Maximum 8% of direct project activity costs] 
11. Core Funds for Small Women’s Organizations - [ONLY for those requesting US$150,000 or less:
Maximum 7% of direct project activity costs] 
HOW TO WRITE A
QUALITY PROJECT
CONCEPT?
PROJECT CONTEXT
AND PROBLEM

Start with analysis of the situation based on research,

consultation and discussion.
A N A LY S I S

• Who are the women and girls your project aims to work
with?
• What forms of discrimination might they be facing and
why does this put them at particular risk from violence? 
• What forms of violence are they facing?
• What are the specific intersectional risks and barriers for
some of the women and girls you will work with?
• What evidence is there to support your problem
analysis?
S T R AT E G I E S A N D
R E S U LT S

1. Project results

2. Strategies

3. Theory of change
S T R AT E G I E S A N D
• The project results should explain the overall change you wish to make
through the project – the long-term change in the lives of women and
girls you want to see and the the short-term changes that would
R E S U LT S

contribute to this?

For example: Women and girls with disabilities in x place are better protected from
intimate partner violence and are able to access post violence services by X. 

• Strategies: should be the ‘how’ or ‘what’ are you going to do to achieve

the goal. For example, advocacy,  training, prevention work to change
social norms. It must be clearly explained and linked to the project goal.
 What methodologies?
 Do you have evidence the strategies will work in your context?
 Do you have experience doing this?
THEORY OF CHANGE
Threats to & Threats to &
opportunities for opportunities for

RISKS

If…. then If…. then

OUTPUTS OUTCOME IMPACT

ASSUMPTIONS
Under the assumption Under the assumption
that that
INVOLVING YOUR BENEFICIARIES AND CREATING PARTNERSHIPS

 Women and girls at risk or survivors of violence are the experts of their own situation
(ex: intersectional issues).
 They are Rights Holders to be involved in every stage of your project, including project
design.

Who will you work with to achieve the project goal? 

 How will views of the women and girls the project focuses on be integrated and what
role will they play? 
 What is your partnership strategy?
 If you plan to reach a community which is not your traditional constituency, will you
partner with an organization that will provide expertise and provide reach to these
communities?
CONSIDERING
RISKS

• Assessment of risk

• Ethics and safety risks

• Working with ‘at risk’ populations

CONSIDERING RISKS

Risk Analysis and Mitigation Measures: Provide an assessment of risks and

how you plan to assess, monitor and mitigate these risks. 

The risks can be external (ex: climate disaster) or related to your intervention
(ex: community backlashes).

Describe the ethical and safety protocols to ensure “do no harm" and  survivor
centred approaches.

Particularly relevant if your project targets at-risk women and girls or survivors. 
TIPS

In your application, when asked about the forms of violence you are going to address and your
targeted groups, be specific.
DO NOT tick boxes without analysing specific problems, needs and strategies to address those.

To match this, there should be a budget which is specific and

appears realistic according to your absorptive capacity.

Make sure there is  coherence between strategy and goal.

Do not try to do too much and overstretch yourself! 

THANK YOU!
For specific questions, please write directly to
the UN Trust Fund at: untfgms@unwomen.org