OVW Fiscal Year 2023 Strengthening Culturally Specific Campus’ Approaches to Address Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Initiative - Solicitation | O OVW 2023 171492

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2023 171492

The OVW Fiscal Year 2023 Strengthening Culturally Specific Campus Approaches to Address Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Initiative (CSC Initiative) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). It sits under the broader Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program (often called the Campus Program), which is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20125 and tied to CFDA 16.525. The overall intent is to help institutions of higher education build stronger, more effective campus systems for safety, investigation, victim support, and prevention when it comes to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

At its core, the CSC Initiative is designed to strengthen institutional capacity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), with a specific emphasis on culturally relevant and culturally specific strategies. Rather than treating campus safety and survivor services as one-size-fits-all, the initiative highlights approaches that reflect the realities, needs, and lived experiences of the communities these institutions primarily serve. That includes tailoring policies, survivor services, training, and prevention education so they are more trusted, accessible, and effective for students, faculty, and staff who may face unique cultural barriers to reporting, help-seeking, or engagement with campus systems.

A key feature of this initiative is that it prioritizes campuses that are newer to OVW Campus Program funding. The solicitation explains that funded project activities will focus on building the capacity of institutions that have never received a Campus Program grant award, or whose most recent Campus Program award was from FY 2017 or earlier. In practice, that means the initiative is meant to help schools that may not yet have fully developed coordinated response protocols, survivor-centered services, or comprehensive prevention programming, or that need to modernize and strengthen older frameworks that have not been supported by OVW resources in several years.

The work supported through the grant aligns with three major Campus Program purposes. First, it supports the development and strengthening of effective security and investigation strategies to address these crimes on campus, which can include improving how cases are identified, documented, investigated, and managed in ways that are consistent, trauma-informed, and coordinated. Second, it supports the development and strengthening of victim services for campus-related cases, which generally means improving survivor access to advocacy, confidential or culturally competent support, safety planning, referrals, and related services. Third, it supports prevention education and awareness programs, aiming to reduce violence before it occurs through training, outreach, and campus-wide education that resonates with the specific campus community.

The solicitation also reflects statutory and appropriations-based equity requirements and set-asides. By statute, the Campus Program must ensure equitable distribution of grants to TCUs and HBCUs, and following the 2022 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization, a specific 10 percent set-aside is designated for HBCUs. Separately, the FY 2022 and FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Acts created a 50 percent set-aside for HBCUs, TCUs, and HSIs. The CSC Initiative is positioned as an additional way OVW is targeting support to these institutions, especially those that have limited prior access to Campus Program funding or need renewed capacity-building support. The solicitation also notes that HBCUs, HSIs, and TCUs may apply to the regular FY 2023 Campus Program solicitation for the set-aside funds, whether or not they apply under or are eligible for this specific CSC Initiative, meaning there are multiple pathways within OVW funding streams for these institutions.

Administratively, the opportunity number is O-OVW-2023-171492. It is a grant (funding instrument type: Grant) and falls under the Law, Justice and Legal Services funding activity category. OVW anticipated making about 20 awards, with an award ceiling of up to $500,000 per award. The opportunity was posted March 10, 2023, with an original closing date of April 27, 2023. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with clarification in the full solicitation text, but the narrative clearly centers the initiative on HBCUs, HSIs, and TCUs, particularly those with no prior Campus Program award history or whose last award was FY 2017 or earlier.

Finally, the solicitation points applicants to OVW program performance expectations and reporting frameworks. It references OVW web resources describing program goals, objectives, and performance measures, including the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative. This signals that award recipients should expect to track progress and outcomes in ways consistent with OVW performance measurement requirements, and that funded activities are intended to contribute to broader VAWA goals around safety, accountability, survivor support, and prevention on college and university campuses.

• 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 2023 Strengthening Culturally Specific Campus’ Approaches to Address Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Initiative - 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 Mar 10, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 27, 2023. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O OVW 2023 171492

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