A/HRC/23/17 E/CN.6/2013/8 stakeholders; evidence-based interventions; meaningful investments in monitoring and evaluation; and systems to document knowledge and lessons learned. It also underscores the potential for scaling up successful initiatives, while emphasizing the development of national capacities to foster sustainability. 40. The demand for grants from the Trust Fund has increased exponentially over the past five years. During its sixteenth grant-making cycle (2011-2012), the Trust Fund was able to meet less than 1 per cent of the total amount requested in grant applications (total requests amounted to $1.06 billion). In any given year, the Trust Fund has been able to meet less than 5 per cent of the demand for resources to address violence against women and girls. 41. In 2012, the Trust Fund awarded $8.4 million in new grants to 12 initiatives in 19 countries. Grants distributed in the sixteenth grant-making cycle are expected to reach over 1.9 million beneficiaries between 2012 and 2015. The largest number of grants distributed in 2012 went to Latin America and the Caribbean region, with Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Central Asia and cross-regional programmes each receiving an equal number of grants, followed by the Arab States. In terms of the value of grant distribution, programmes from Latin America and the Caribbean were awarded the greatest amount of funds (23 per cent), followed closely by crossregional programmes (20 per cent); Africa (18 per cent); Europe and Central Asia (15 per cent); and Asia-Pacific and the Arab States (12 per cent respectively). The vast majority of new grantees (75 per cent) are civil society organizations, followed by governmental organizations (17 per cent) and United Nations country teams (8 per cent). 42. The number of Member States contributing to the Trust Fund showed a significant increase from 24 in 2011 to 33 in 2012, reaching the largest number of contributing Member States since the establishment of the Trust Fund in 1996. Through its contributions, the Trust Fund serves as a barometer of the commitment of the international community to advancing efforts for the elimination of violence against women. These new partnerships represent a step towards the achievement of the goal set by the Secretary-General through the UNiTE campaign to raise, by 2015, $100 million annually for the Trust Fund grant-making cycle. For its sixteenth grant-making cycle, the Trust Fund benefited from the generous support of 17 Member States: Australia, Bahrain, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, South Africa and Switzerland. In 2012, Johnson & Johnson was the leading private sector partner of the Trust Fund, while the United Nations Federal Credit Union made its second contribution to the Fund. From the non-profit sector, Zonta International has reaffirmed its commitment to the cause of the Trust Fund with its eighth consecutive contribution, while the United Nations Women for Peace initiative and the Universal Peace Federation made their first contributions to the Trust Fund in 2012. The work of the Fund was also supported by national committees for UN-Women in Austria, Finland, Iceland, Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Around the world, committed individuals have also embraced and supported the cause of the Trust Fund through their contributions. 43. Grants awarded in 2012 continue to support work along the thematic and priority areas identified by the Trust Fund, with some grantees partnering with and building on the achievements of past grants from the Trust Fund, and others 14 12-64357