$14M Available for Youth Violence Prevention and Intervention Programs
- Ty Boone
- Jul 23
- 4 min read
The Office on Violence Against Women has opened $14 million in federal funding to support community-based programs serving children and youth affected by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.
The Consolidated Youth Grant Program supports children and young adults from birth through age 24. Funding may be used to develop or expand victim services, intervention and treatment programs, school-based education, coordinated community responses, and prevention initiatives that engage men and youth.
OVW expects to make approximately 30 awards through this program.
Grant Breakdown
OVW FY2026 Consolidated Grant Program to Assist Children and Youth Affected by, and to Engage Men and Youth in Preventing, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking
This program supports comprehensive, community-based strategies that respond to the needs of children and youth affected by violence while strengthening prevention efforts.
Projects must address at least one of the four authorized program purposes.
Funding Agency: Office on Violence Against Women
Total Funding Available: $14 million
Anticipated Number of Awards: 30
Anticipated Award Amount: $350,000 to $500,000 for most projects
Award Period: 36 months beginning October 1, 2026
Award Type: Grant
Match Requirement: No cost sharing or matching funds required
Funding Opportunity Number: O-OVW-2026-172652
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include:
Federally recognized Tribal governments
Tribal organizations
Units of local government
Nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status
Victim-service providers
Tribal nonprofit organizations
Independent school districts
Faith-based organizations that meet the program’s eligibility requirements
Institutions of higher education are not eligible to apply.
Current recipients with awards ending by September 30, 2026, may apply. However, OVW states that they are unlikely to receive a new award if their existing funding is sufficient to continue the project through September 30, 2027.
Applicants may submit more than one application if each submission proposes a genuinely different project.
Eligible Program Purposes
Funding must support one or more of the following purposes:
1. Services for Youth Victims
Projects may provide advocacy, intervention, treatment, and response services for youth who have experienced:
Domestic violence
Dating violence
Sexual assault
Stalking
Sex trafficking
2. Assistance for Children and Youth Exposed to Violence
Organizations may develop or expand services for children and young adults who have witnessed or otherwise been affected by violence.
3. Education and Services for Middle and High School Students
Funding may support school-based or community-connected education and services addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and related victimization.
4. Engaging Men and Youth in Prevention
Projects may engage men and youth in preventing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
There is an important funding distinction: applications addressing purposes one through three may request up to $500,000, while applications addressing only purpose four may request no more than $300,000.
Required Partnerships
Applications must include project partners and document those relationships through a memorandum of understanding.
The partners required will depend on the program purposes the applicant selects. Organizations should not wait until the final stages of proposal development to begin these conversations.
The application must clearly explain:
The role of each partner
How the organizations will coordinate services
Who will be responsible for each project activity
How the partnership will improve safety and access for children and youth
How grant funds will be distributed among participating organizations
OVW also expects project partners to be fairly and reasonably compensated unless the application explains why compensation is unnecessary.
Funding Priorities
OVW identifies two public-safety priorities for consideration:
Projects addressing human trafficking and transnational crime while supporting victims who have also experienced domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking
Direct victim-service projects, particularly those serving small towns and rural, remote, and Tribal communities
Addressing a priority may strengthen an application, but it does not guarantee funding.
Application Requirements to Watch
The proposal narrative may not exceed 10 single-spaced pages and must address:
The purpose of the project
What the organization will do
Who will implement the project
How outcomes will be tracked
How the program will protect victim safety, privacy, and confidentiality
How services will be accessible to people who need them
Applicants must also reserve at least $15,000 for training and technical-assistance travel in the project budget.
Application Deadlines
Recommended SAM.gov registration or renewal start date: No later than August 8, 2026
Grants.gov deadline: September 8, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET
JustGrants deadline: September 10, 2026, at 4:59 p.m. ET
Applicants must submit the SF-424 through Grants.gov before completing the full application in JustGrants.
Review the complete OVW FY2026 Consolidated Youth Grant Program NOFO.
This opportunity is well aligned with community-based nonprofits, but broad eligibility should not be confused with organizational readiness.
A competitive applicant will need documented community need, meaningful partnerships, qualified victim-service personnel, strong confidentiality procedures, measurable outcomes, and the financial infrastructure to manage a three-year federal award.
If the program currently exists only as an idea, or if the proposed partners have not agreed on their responsibilities, the organization is not ready to begin writing. Partnership development, program design, data collection, and budget planning must happen first.
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