Grants for Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations

OVW administers grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation and provides national leadership on issues of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Donor Name: Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)

State: All States

Deadline: 02/02/2023

Size of the Grant: $550,000 – $600,000

Grant Duration: 36 months

Details:

The Grants for Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations Program (Underserved Program) provides funding to develop and implement outreach strategies targeted at, and provide victim services to, adult or youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in underserved populations. Survivors from underserved populations face challenges in accessing comprehensive and effective victim services that are accessible, culturally relevant, and responsive. As a result, survivors from underserved communities often do not receive appropriate services. The Underserved Program supports projects that address these gaps.

Purpose Areas

Pursuant funds under this program must be used for the purpose of providing or enhancing population specific outreach and services to adult and youth victims in one or more underserved populations, including:

• Working with federal, state, tribal, territorial and local governments, agencies, and organizations to develop or enhance population specific services.
• Strengthening the capacity of underserved populations to provide population specific services.
• Strengthening the capacity of traditional victim service providers to provide population specific services.
• Strengthening the effectiveness of criminal and civil justice interventions by providing training for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and other court personnel on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in underserved populations.
• Working in cooperation with an underserved population to develop and implement outreach, education, prevention, and intervention strategies that highlight available resources and the specific issues faced by victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking from underserved populations.
• Providing population-specific training to social and human services providers.

Note: The term “population specific services” means victim-centered services that address the safety, health, economic, legal, housing, workplace, immigration, confidentiality, or other needs of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and that are designed primarily for and are targeted to a specific underserved population. 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(27).

Note: The term “underserved populations” means populations who face barriers in accessing and using victim services, and includes populations underserved because of geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, underserved racial and ethnic populations, and populations underserved because of special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age). 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(46).

OVW Priority Areas

In FY 2023, OVW has five programmatic priorities, of which the priority area(s) identified below are applicable to this program. Applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to address a priority area. Applications proposing activities in the following areas will be given special consideration:

• Advance racial equity as an essential component of ending sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The Underserved Program will give special consideration to projects that propose to have a culturally specific organization as a project partner or are submitted by an eligible entity under this program that is also a culturally specific organization.
• Strengthen efforts to prevent and end sexual assault, including victim services and civil and criminal justice responses. The Underserved Program will prioritize applications that focus 100% on sexual assault with an emphasis on non-intimate partner sexual assault, including adult survivors of child sexual abuse

Funding Information

This program typically makes awards in the range of $550,000 – $600,000. OVW estimates that it will make up to 15 awards for an estimated $9,000,000.

Project Period

36 months

Funds may be used

To develop or enhance population specific victim services; develop or enhance outreach strategies to reach underserved survivors; build the capacity of population specific organizations to serve survivors of these crimes; build the capacity of victim service providers to provide victim services that are population specific; train and educate community partners and the criminal justice system on the needs of survivors from underserved populations; and develop culturally and linguistically appropriate materials for underserved survivors.

Eligibility Criteria

Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 20123(b), the following entities are eligible to apply for this program:

• Deaf programs. These are programs that are run by and for Deaf individuals. The program may be a stand-alone Deaf domestic violence and/or sexual violence victim service provider, a general Deaf services nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, or a Deaf domestic violence and/or sexual violence program administratively housed in a hearing victim service provider.
• LGBT organizations. These are organizations for which the primary purpose of the organization as a whole is to serve LGBT individuals.
• Religious minority organizations. These are organizations for which the primary purpose of the organization as a whole is to serve members of a religious minority who face barriers accessing and using victim services.
• Disability programs. These are disability service providers or victim service providers that have received two continuation awards under the OVW Training and Services to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities Grant Program (Disability Grant Program).
• Applicants must demonstrate they meet the definition for one of the applicant types. Stating that an organization is one of these types (“Deaf program,” “religious minority organization,” “LGBT organization,” “disability program”) will not suffice. Applicants must demonstrate how they qualify as one of the four applicant types in the Who Will Implement section of this solicitation. Failure to do so will result in removal of the application from consideration.

Note: By statute, 34 U.S.C. § 20123(b), OVW may award Underserved Program grants to population specific organizations and victim service providers offering population specific services to “populations underserved because of geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, underserved racial and ethnic populations, and populations underserved because of special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age) Id. at § 12291(a)(46). In FY 2023, as in past years, OVW is limiting eligibility to a subset of underserved populations. The solicitation focuses on applicants serving four populations that are not otherwise eligible for consideration under other OVW programs that address specific underserved populations. This is intended to focus grant funds where there are funding gaps and to reduce the possibility of grant duplication.

Note: A victim service provider is a nonprofit, nongovernmental or tribal organization or rape crisis center, including a state or tribal domestic violence and/or sexual assault coalition, that assists or advocates for domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking victims, including a domestic violence shelter, faith-based organization or other organization, with a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(50). Victim service providers must provide direct services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking as one of their primary purposes and have a demonstrated history of effective work in this field

Faith-Based and Community Organizations

• Faith Based and community organizations, including culturally specific organizations, tribal organizations, and population specific organizations, that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this solicitation (see “Faith-Based Organizations” on the OVW website for more information).

501(c)(3) Status

• Any entity that is eligible for this program based on its status as a nonprofit organization must be an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code. See 34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(15)(B)(i).

For more information, visit Grants.gov.