Project Grants are intended to support innovative education and training, demonstration, and technical assistance projects that can improve the administration of justice in state courts locally or nationwide.
Donor Name: State Justice Institute
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/01/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Project Grants are the centerpiece of SJI’s efforts to improve the administration of justice in state courts nationwide.
Funding Information
- Project Grants for state court and national non-profit organization applicants may not exceed $300,000 and 36 months in duration
- Applications from local court applicants may not exceed $200,000 and 24 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- SJI is authorized by Congress to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to the following entities and types of organizations:
- State and local courts and their agencies
- National nonprofit organizations controlled by, operating in conjunction with, and serving the judicial branches of state governments
- National nonprofit organizations for the education and training of judges and support personnel of the judicial branch of state governments. An applicant is considered a national education and training applicant under section 10705(b)(1)(C) if:
- The principal purpose or activity of the applicant is to provide education and training to state and local judges and court personnel; and
- The applicant demonstrates a record of substantial experience in the field of judicial education and training
- Other eligible grant recipients
- Provided that the objectives of the project can be served better, the Institute is also authorized to make awards to:
- Nonprofit organizations with expertise in judicial administration
- Institutions of higher education
- Individuals, partnerships, firms, corporations (for-profit organizations must waive their fees)
- Private agencies with expertise in judicial administration
- SJI may also make awards to state or local agencies and institutions other than courts for services that cannot be adequately provided through nongovernmental arrangements
- Provided that the objectives of the project can be served better, the Institute is also authorized to make awards to:
- SJI is prohibited from awarding grants to federal, tribal, and international courts.
Selection Criteria
In addition to the criteria detailed below, SJI will consider whether the applicant is a state or local court, a national court support or education organization, a non-court unit of government, or other type of entity eligible to receive grants under SJI’s enabling legislation; the availability of financial assistance from other sources for the project; the diversity of subject matter, geographic diversity; the level and nature of the match that would be provided; reasonableness of the proposed budget; the extent to which the proposed project would also benefit the federal courts or help state or local courts enforce federal constitutional and legislative requirements; and the level of appropriations available to SJI in the current year and the amount expected to be available in succeeding fiscal years, when determining which projects to support.
- Project Grant applications will be rated based on the criteria set forth below:
- Soundness of the methodology
- Demonstration of need for the project
- Appropriateness of the proposed evaluation design
- If applicable, the key findings and recommendations of the most recent evaluation and the proposed responses to those findings and recommendations
- Applicant’s management plan and organizational capabilities
- Qualifications of the project’s staff
- Products and benefits resulting from the project, including the extent to which the project will have long-term benefits for state courts across the nation
- Degree to which the findings, procedures, training, technology, or other results of the project can be transferred to other jurisdictions
- Reasonableness of the proposed budget
- Demonstration of cooperation and support of other agencies that may be affected by the project.
For more information, visit SJI.
