OVW Fiscal Year 2021 Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking on Campus Program Solicitation | O OVW 2021 47006

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2021 47006

The OVW Fiscal Year 2021 Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking on Campus Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), authorized under 34 U.S.C. 20125 and listed under CFDA 16.525. It is designed specifically to help colleges and universities build stronger, more coordinated campus responses to interpersonal violence, with an emphasis on improving safety, accountability, and survivor-centered support. The solicitation focuses on the realities of campus life, where incidents may involve students, staff, faculty, or visitors, and where effective prevention and response often require multiple departments and community partners working together rather than operating in silos.

At its core, the program encourages institutions of higher education to develop and strengthen three major areas of work. First, it supports enhancing campus security and investigative strategies so reports of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking are handled consistently, promptly, and effectively. This can include improving policies and procedures, strengthening investigative capacity and coordination, and ensuring that those responsible for responding to reports understand trauma-informed approaches and victim safety considerations. Second, it aims to expand and improve victim services for campus-related cases, recognizing that survivors may need confidential advocacy, safety planning, medical and mental health referrals, academic and housing accommodations, and help navigating campus and criminal justice processes. Third, it prioritizes prevention education and awareness programming, supporting efforts that help reduce perpetration and victimization through education, bystander engagement, and sustained campus-wide cultural change rather than one-time events.

Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education, with an additional eligibility category noted as "others" depending on the specific clarification in the solicitation. The funding instrument is a grant, categorized under Law, Justice, and Legal Services. For FY 2021, OVW anticipated making approximately 52 awards, with an award ceiling of $750,000 per award. The opportunity was posted on January 12, 2021, with an original application deadline of March 2, 2021, reflecting a relatively short application window that typically requires applicants to have partnerships, project plans, and internal approvals organized early.

OVW also ties this program to broader accountability and results expectations through its Measuring Effectiveness Initiative, which includes performance measures that track how funded activities contribute to program goals and outcomes. Applicants and award recipients are generally expected to collect and report data that demonstrates progress, such as improvements in coordinated response practices, training and prevention reach, enhancements in victim service access, and system changes that strengthen institutional capacity over time. The solicitation points applicants to OVW program information pages, VAWA performance measurement resources, and examples of effective approaches highlighted in OVW reporting to Congress, including the 2018 Biennial Report, to help institutions model projects on strategies that have shown promise in real-world implementation.

Overall, this grant opportunity is aimed at helping campuses move beyond compliance-only approaches and toward comprehensive, coordinated, survivor-centered systems that prevent violence where possible and respond effectively when it occurs, while building lasting institutional infrastructure through partnerships, policies, training, victim services, and evidence-informed prevention efforts.

• The Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2021 Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking on Campus Program Solicitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.525.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 12, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 02, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 52 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O OVW 2021 47006

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