OVW Fiscal Year 2023 Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program Solicitation | O OVW 2023 171494

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2023 171494

The OVW Fiscal Year 2023 Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program Solicitation is a discretionary federal 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, the program is designed to help institutions of higher education build stronger, more coordinated campus responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The overall intent is to move campuses toward practices that improve safety, strengthen investigations and accountability, expand survivor-centered services, and increase prevention education and awareness across the campus community.

At its core, the Campus Program supports efforts that improve how campuses prevent and respond to violence. That includes developing and strengthening effective security and investigative strategies, enhancing victim services for incidents occurring on or connected to campus, and implementing prevention education and awareness programming that reaches students and the broader campus environment. OVW ties these awards to specific performance measures and broader Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) effectiveness goals, with applicants expected to align funded activities with OVW reporting and measurement expectations described through OVW program materials and the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative.

A major emphasis in this solicitation is the set of updates made through the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2022 (VAWA 2022). VAWA 2022 adds three new statutory purpose areas for this program. First, it explicitly supports training for campus health centers and appropriate faculty or staff who interact with students regularly (for example, academic advisors) to recognize and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This includes training health providers to deliver universal education to all members of the campus community about how violence affects health, how unhealthy relationships can present, and how providers can reinforce outreach and connection to support. Second, it adds a focus on training campus personnel to use victim-centered, trauma-informed interview techniques, meaning interviews should be grounded in research on trauma responses, avoid judging or blaming the person reporting harm, and stay focused on the reported victim's experience. The solicitation also highlights that, when practicable, campuses should allow a reported victim to participate in a recorded interview and receive a copy of that recording. Third, VAWA 2022 adds the ability to develop and implement restorative practices, as defined in VAWA, signaling support for structured approaches that can complement other accountability and support systems when appropriate and implemented responsibly.

VAWA 2022 also revises and expands details within four existing statutory purpose areas (the solicitation notes updates to purpose areas 2, 3, 9, and 10) and changes two statutory minimum requirements that apply to all grant-funded projects. The revised minimum requirements emphasize (1) establishing a mandatory prevention and education program about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking for all students, and (2) training all participants involved in the campus resolution process to respond effectively to these situations. The solicitation calls out key groups for this training, including the campus disciplinary board, the Title IX Coordinator's office, and the student conduct office, reflecting an expectation of consistent, informed responses across the full campus process from intake through adjudication or other resolution pathways.

The FY 2023 solicitation also includes several practical program and funding changes that affect how applicants plan budgets and structure applications. It removes the consortium applicant type, which narrows how multi-entity partnerships can apply and pushes applicants to fit within the remaining eligibility categories and partnership structures. It increases the maximum award for individual applicants to $400,000, reflecting the removal of the prior statutory cap of $300,000. It also raises the maximum allowable indirect cost rate from 10 percent to 20 percent, which can significantly affect institutional budgeting and cost recovery. In addition, it increases the required allocation for technical assistance to $60,000 to cover travel costs for mandatory technical assistance trainings, making participation in OVW-directed training and support a built-in budget expectation rather than an optional add-on. Finally, it revises application criteria and what OVW expects to see in several narrative sections, including Purpose of the Application, What Will Be Done, Who Will Implement, and the Memoranda of Understanding, reinforcing the importance of clear implementation planning and documented campus and community partnerships.

In terms of basic opportunity details, this solicitation (Funding Opportunity Number O-OVW-2023-171494) is offered as a grant under the Law, Justice and Legal Services activity category. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education, with additional eligibility clarification referenced in the solicitation materials. OVW anticipated making about 25 awards, with a ceiling of $400,000 per award. The opportunity was posted March 10, 2023, with an original closing date of May 4, 2023. Overall, the grant is positioned for campuses that are ready to demonstrate coordinated planning, survivor-centered and trauma-informed practices, meaningful prevention programming, and institution-wide training and capacity-building aligned with the new and updated VAWA 2022 requirements.

• 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 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 Mar 10, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 04, 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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 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 2023 171494

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: