Grants Information
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Grants Information

Many agencies and labs have found that applying for and receiving grant money is a good way to finance their purchase of an M-Vac™ system. We want to help our customers learn where to look for these grant opportunities as well as how the process works. Grants are often available for only a short window of time (often two or three months from initial posting to the application deadline) so it is important to look at the websites often. There is also some preparatory work that can be done anytime in order to make the specific application process go faster once an opening shows up.

A change was made for grant applications for 2021 which involves having two deadlines for every application. The first deadline is with the Grants.gov and it is for submitting the SF-424 (a 3-page basic information form) and the SF-LLL (a 1-page lobbying activities disclosure) forms in grants.gov. The second deadline is for submitting the full application in JustGrants. You won't be able to submit the main application in JustGrants if the grants.gov forms aren't already submitted.

Here are links to likely grants that are currently open:

  • Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative. Current deadline is March 14, 2025. This initiative is funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and "provides grant funding, training, and technical assistance (TTA) support to law enforcement agencies addressing violent crime challenges in rural areas." One of their support areas is "improving investigations." They specify that an allowable grant expense is "Forensic evidence tools and services for identifying suspects..." In their FAQs, they offer specific templates and tips on how to write your proposals. "Awards will be in the $25,000 - $150,000 range. Technology requests, including hardware, software, and installation costs are capped at $90,000 per award."

Here are some key places to look often for new postings. Several of these have the option to subscribe to a periodic email update service that helps you stay apprised of new openings.OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Enhancing Investigation and Prosecution of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking (EIP) Initiative - Solicitation. Grants.gov deadline is April 30, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern. JustGrants deadline is May 2, 2024 at 8:59 PM Eastern. In their description of this program, the OVW says this solicitation "is designed to promote, and evaluate, effective policing and prosecution responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking." It "encourages law enforcement agencies and/or prosecutors' offices to expand and improve their capacity to effectively investigate and/or prosecute" the above-mentioned crimes.

Here are some websites that help explain the various government agencies' processes:

  • DOJ Grants Financial Guide - This Guide gives a lot of definitions and tips for all parts of the DOJ's grant process. Don't miss the first Appendix, which is a guide to all the government's acronyms, so you can keep your DHS apart from your HHS or know your BJA from your JABG!
  • OJP Grant Application Resource Guide - This explains a lot of the rules and regulations for applying for OJP Grants and even goes through the process step by step.The OJP is the first of three subsets for grants under the DOJ.
  • OVW Grants - A page that explains the process for applying for OVW grants. The OVW is the second of three subsets for grants under the DOJ.
  • COPS Grants - A basic page that explains the process for applying for COPS (Office of Community Oriented Policing Services) grants. COPS is the third of three subsets for grants under the DOJ.
  • Grants.gov - This robust site leads to several helpful blogs (linked on the Home tab) with articles of interest to those applying for government grants as well as to the Grants Learning Center (Learn Grants tab) and several other helpful webpages (various other tabs.)
  • Just Grants (Justice Grants System) - This website combines the resources for all three grant making branches of the DOJ mentioned above.
Here is an example of a recent grant that was awarded specifically for implementing the M-Vac™. We have the draft of the application and permission to share it, so it is available upon request.
We would appreciate feedback on your successes in getting grant monies awarded for purchasing the M-Vac™ System. Your tips could help others succeed as well.