Grants / Department of Justice / Office for Victims of Crime

O-OVC-2022-171291: OVC FY 2022 Bridging Inequities - Legal Services and Victims' Rights Enforcement for Underserved Communities

Closed Closed June 16, 2022 Opportunity O-OVC-2022-171291 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: OVC and OVW FY 2026 Victim Services for Angel Families Program – Invited Notice of Funding Opportunity (O-OVC-2026-172807). Status: Closes November 16, 2026 (9 days left). It is in our archive of Office for Victims of Crime notices from 2022.

• Award ceiling$5.0 million
• Total funding$5.0 million
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits, colleges and universities, tribes and businesses.

To advance Executive Order 13929 Safe Policing for Safe Communities, the Attorney General determined that all state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have started the certification process to be eligible for FY 2022 DOJ discretionary grant funding. To become certified, the law enforcement agency must meet two mandatory conditions: (1) the agency’s use-of-force policies adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and (2) the agency’s use-of-force policies prohibit chokeholds except in situations where use of deadly force is allowed by law. The certification requirement also applies to law enforcement agencies receiving DOJ discretionary grant funding through a subaward. For detailed information on this certification requirement, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/SafePolicingEO to access the Standards for Certification on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, the Implementation Fact Sheet, and the List of Designated Independent Credentialing Bodies. All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.

More grants for nonprofits, colleges and universities, tribes, businesses.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Crime Victim Assistance/Discretionary Grants awards averaged $506,630; this notice allows up to $5.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (76% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. In FY 2022, OVC will make applications a priority that document how the proposed project will address the needs of underserved victims, thereby improving access to justice. This program supports activities related to expanding access to legal assistance for victims of crime in underserved communities. Per Executive Order 13985, the term "underserved community" refers to a population sharing a particular characteristic, as well as a geographic community, that has been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life or whose members have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality. Such communities include, among others, Black people, Hispanic and Latino/a/e people, Native American and other Indigenous peoples of North America (including Alaska Natives, Eskimos, and Aleuts), Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. This program also aligns with the May 18, 2021, Presidential Memorandum calling on federal agencies to expand access to legal counsel in both civil and criminal matters to ensure that people of color, individuals with low incomes, and other vulnerable populations have better access to legal services.

Category: Income Security and Social Services.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, O-OVC-2026-172807, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.