Grants

An Overview of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Grant Process

DOJ has three grantmaking components, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and Office of Justice Programs (OJP).  OJP has six program offices that administer grants:

• Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
• National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Office of Sex Offender, Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART)
• Office of Victims of Crime (OVC)
   

The website for each grantmaking component and program office contains detailed information about funding opportunities, publications, and other available resources (e.g., training and technical assistance).
 

Grants.gov is an excellent source of information on federal grants—across all federal agencies—including active DOJ grant funding opportunities.  You can search open opportunities as well as forecasted, closed, and archived opportunities.  The Grants.gov mobile app is another useful resource to search and subscribe to grant notifications.  Visit https://www.grants.gov/connect for more information or download the mobile app from the App Store or Google Play.  

Most agencies/organizations will be interested primarily in discretionary grant programs  where awards are based on competition (competitive program); however, some agencies can be eligible recipients of certain DOJ formula grant programs (e.g., Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program).  Agencies and organizations interested in DOJ grant funding opportunities are encouraged to subscribe to receive custom email notifications about specific grant opportunities.  These notifications will provide you with the most up-to-date information on a specific funding opportunity.  To create custom notifications, you must first register for a Grants.gov account.  To register for a Grants.gov account, please visit https://www.grants.gov/register and click the red box labeled Get Registered Now at the bottom of the page, which takes you to https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/register.faces. 

This YouTube video provides a tutorial on registering for a Grants.gov account, as well as setting up an agency/organization profile if you plan to apply for a federal grant.  Once you establish a Grants.gov account, you will then be prompted to link your Grants.gov account to a Login.gov account, which is a secure sign in service that can be used across applicable federal government systems.  Generally, it is a good idea to link these accounts as they will support your agency’s applications across federal government grant solicitations and help you better manage a number of usernames and passwords needed to access federal government websites.  Follow the prompts to link your accounts.

After you log in to Grants.gov, you can subscribe to custom notifications.  More information on customizing notifications can be found through this link.  You must first be signed into your Grants.gov account to create custom notifications. 

More information about DOJ grants can be found on the websites for the DOJ grantmaking components and program offices.  To stay connected, you can subscribe to receive notifications about new grant opportunities[3] as well as other information.  The following are links to subscribe to notices generated by the DOJ grantmaking agencies.

• OJP
• COPS Office
• OVW

GRANT APPLICATION EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

As soon as possible and ideally before a solicitation is announced, agencies/organizations should start learning about grants, to include account access to application portals, tips for developing a grant strategy, and creating and filing application materials.  The websites listed below may be useful educational resources.

• DOJ Grant Application Submission Checklist
• Grants.gov Quick Start Guide for Applicants
• JustGrants Training: Application Submission
• JustGrants: Weekly Training Webinars
• Grants.gov Learning Center
• Grants.gov YouTube Channel

In addition to these educational materials, BJA has developed the following training webinars and tutorial videos:
 

Workshop 1: Grants 101 (24 minutes)  Link to watch

Understand key components of grants and start applying for grant funding.
Tutorial Video: Forming an Internal Grant Working Group (3 minutes)
 

Workshop 2: Grant Strategy Development (24 minutes) Link to watch

Be proactive and strategic by developing a grant strategy.

Tutorial Video: Developing a Grant Strategy (7 minutes)
 

Workshop 3: Identify Funding Sources (19 minutes) Link to watch

Learn where and how to locate funding opportunities to match agency/organization needs.

Tutorial Video: DOJ Program Plan (9 minutes)

Tutorial Video:  Searching for Private Funding (3 minutes)
 

Workshop 4: Grant Writing (23 minutes) Link to watch

Combine a grant strategy with potential funding to begin drafting a concept paper.                       

Tutorial Video: Reading a Solicitation (4 minutes)

Workshop 5: Grant Implementation (19 minutes)  Link to watch

Receive steps and tips for effective public and private grant award implementation.

Every grant solicitation outlines the various processes and documents required to apply for a federal grant funding opportunity.  It is imperative that you review the solicitation carefully to determine the required documents, process of applying, deadlines to apply, allowable/unallowable costs, and other key considerations.  Most solicitations also include a checklist to help you keep track of the required documents.  Deadlines to apply for competitive solicitations, which includes the timeframe in which application documents must be filed, are firm and all application materials must be submitted prior to the listed deadline. 

Please be aware that submitting a grant application for a DOJ grant program is a two-part process.  DOJ grant applicants must submit the first part of the application in Grants.gov by the specified deadline and then complete the rest of the application in JustGrants by the specified deadline.  Agencies/organizations must adhere closely to the requirements and deadlines of both systems (as outlined in the solicitation), which are often not the same.  In order to submit application materials, agencies/organizations must create accounts in JustGrants and Grants.gov.  If you have not already done so, we recommend verifying whether your agency has accounts and if not, take steps to proactively establish those accounts.  It is never too early to register on and/or confirm your agency/organization has working access to these systems.

It is important to note that certain processes must take place before an applicant can apply through the Grants.gov and JustGrants portals.  For instance, potential applicants must first register in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), is a government-wide registry for organizations doing business with the Federal government.  SAM.gov centralizes information about grant recipients and organizational information.  Grants.gov uses SAM.gov to establish organizational authority for its users and to provide unique entity identification (UEI) numbers.  (SAM registration must be renewed annually.) 

Every applicant must have a UEI number in order to create and submit an application.  If your agency/organization does not have a UEI number, you are strongly encouraged to request one (and register it) as soon as possible.  The federal government issues UEI numbers in SAM.gov, and there can be delays in obtaining a number during the height of grant season.  Please do not delay in requesting one if you think your agency/organization may seek to apply for a DOJ grant.  CAUTION:  Some agencies have found their way onto a fraudulent SAM.gov website.  At no time will any government agency ask you to pay a fee to obtain a UEI number or apply for a grant.

If your agency already has accounts in Grants.gov, JustGrants, and SAM.gov, we recommend that you login as soon as possible and make sure that your profile and user roles have been correctly created/updated/renewed.  The following websites can be useful for better understanding the process for applying for a DOJ grant:

• JustGrants: Training on Applications Submission
• JustGrants: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Grants.gov: How to Apply for Grants
• YouTube Video: Intro to Applying on Grants.gov
   

State Administering Agencies (SAAs)

Many formula grants are awarded directly to state government and through a State Administering Agency (SAA).  The SAA administers the process and distributes the grant funding to subawardees.  This link provides more information on finding the SAAs in your state.

Grant Awards
Each grantmaking component provides information on grant awards, including information on accepting a grant award, reporting requirements, drawing down on funds through the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) portal, and making grant award modifications, among other topics.  The following may be useful links:

• OJP Recipient Resources
• COPS Office: Compliance and Reporting
• OVW: After Receiving OVW Funds

Data on Grant Awards
Publicly available data on DOJ grant awards can be found through various .gov websites.  The links below will provide you additional information on how to find that information.
 

• Searchable Map of OJP Awards since FY 2021: This website is an interactive map that has options to filter data.  After visiting the link, hover over the map and select the applicable state.  You can filter data by fiscal year, city, solicitation title, and other options. 

• COPS Office: The COPS Office provides data on grant awards program and fiscal year.
   
• OVW: OVW provides data on grant awards by state, program, and fiscal year.
   
• USAspending.gov: USAspending.gov contains data on awards, including grant awards, across all federal agencies.  After setting the specific search filters (e.g., state, county, city, fiscal year, agency), data is displayed on a table.  The tab labeled “Grants” provides data on grant awards.