Grant News

What Recent Executive Orders and the Review of Federal Financial Assistance Means for You

**This is a comprehensive blog that covers the key developments, implications, and strategies for grant seekers navigating the landscape of federal financial assistance under the new Administration. Updates to this blog will continue to be made as the situation develops. Blog last updated May 15, 2025, at 11:25 am ET**

The federal grant landscape was upended early this year by the release of several Executive Orders and Memorandum M-25-13, a sweeping directive that temporarily halted financial assistance programs for a review process aligned with the new Presidential Administration’s policy priorities. While the Administration later rescinded with memorandum M-25-14, grant seekers across all sectors - including public agencies and nonprofits – still face a multitude of questions and uncertainty around the effect of recent Executive Orders on federal funding opportunities.

By Shannon Day, Senior Grants Development Consultant (Public Safety)

A Department of Justice memo released on February 5, 2025, indicates the department’s intention of withholding federal grant funding from so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions,” furthering demands put in place by an Executive Order signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025.

There is no legal definition of a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, but unofficially, it is a state, county, city, or town with policies to protect undocumented immigrants. During the first Trump administration in 2016, the DOJ withheld Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program funding from numerous jurisdictions, including New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Miami. Attorneys General from 20 states filed an appeal in 2018. It is important to note that while federal funds were tied up in various lawsuits, the Supreme Court never ruled on the legality of the Department of Justice’s actions during the first Trump term because the Biden administration overturned the policy in 2021, immediately releasing federal funds. However, lower courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of most sanctuary laws. Law enforcement agencies cannot hold a person in custody for “an unreasonable amount of time” (this is undefined in the Constitution, but most states and prosecutors define “reasonable” as 72 hours) without bringing charges against them or without a signed judicial warrant transferring custody to another jurisdiction. According to Onondaga County, New York Sheriff Toby Shelley, when asked if his department would comply with administrative warrants, “If we do things that are against the law, we will be sued, and that will cost the taxpayers…So it is important to understand the law.” (Hayes, 2025)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The agencies involved with this grant proposal will work collaboratively to increase law enforcement, prosecution, and community outreach resources to successfully reduce the illicit marijuana industry, dismantle and disrupt drug trafficking operations that are trafficking fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine throughout the county, and will support the victims of these industries through a variety of resources funded by this grant. This project involves collaboration of two law enforcement jurisdictions, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, a non-profit organization, and data analytics by California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt.

SUMMARY: The OVW Campus Program (Campus Program) encourages institutions of higher education to develop and strengthen effective security and investigation strategies to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus, develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving such crimes on campus, and develop and strengthen prevention education and awareness programs.

SUMMARY: The Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Grant Program (Improving Criminal Justice Responses Program) is designed to encourage partnerships between state, local, and tribal governments, courts, victim service providers, coalitions and rape crisis centers, to ensure that sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking are treated as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system and community-based victim service organizations. The Improving Criminal Justice Responses Program challenges the community to work collaboratively to identify problems and share ideas that will result in new responses to ensure victim safety and offender accountability.

SUMMARY: The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Transitional Housing Assistance Grant Program supports projects that provide 6 to 24 months of transitional housing and support services for victims who are homeless or in need of transitional housing or other housing assistance as a result of a situation of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; and for whom emergency shelter services or other crisis intervention services are unavailable or insufficient.

SUMMARY: The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) offers the COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) which is designed to improve security at schools and on school grounds through evidence-based school safety programs and the purchase and installation of certain allowable technologies.

By Shannon Day, Senior Grants Development Consultant (Public Safety)

In the nearly five years I have worked with law enforcement agencies in their grant funding pursuits, I’ve often heard, "I'd love our department to apply for more grants, but we just don't have the time." The departments I work with most often are the little guys because small departments don't have the luxury of having a dedicated grant manager on staff, and certainly not an entire grants department. Let's be honest: when considering the priorities for first responders, grants don't often rank high on the list, in part because of their typically complicated processes.

Similar feedback has been heard across all sectors resulting in the bipartisan Streamlining Federal Grants Act of 2023 (H.R 5934). Introduced to Congress in October 2023, this act is currently awaiting a vote from the 119^th Congress. The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proactively begun simplifying the grant process, including streamlining and standardizing application guidance and simplifying grants.gov.

Provides federally recognized Tribes and Tribal consortia an opportunity to develop a comprehensive and coordinated approach to public safety and victimization issues and to apply for funding.  Applicants may apply for funding under the Purpose Area(s) that best addresses Tribes’ concerns related to public safety, criminal and juvenile justice, substance use-related crime, and access to treatment and recovery support, including Tribal healing to wellness courts; and the needs of victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

Congressionally directed spending (also known as community project funding or earmarks) are line items in the United States federal budget specifically requested by individual legislators. There was a 10-year moratorium on these appropriations, but that ran out in 2021. Proponents of congressionally directed spending argue that it creates a more transparent appropriation process and enables local jurisdictions to more directly request and receive funds for their specific needs. Others believe that congressionally directed spending is wasteful or corrupt. Regardless of how you feel about this type of funding, they are a part of the current federal funding landscape and should be considered carefully when looking for support for your project.

In this article, we will explore the fiscal year 2024 congressionally directed spending landscape. We will evaluate where the funds are going and what types of projects they are predominantly funding. We will also reflect on where we are in the fiscal year 2025 funding congressionally directed spending process.

Last month marked the start of the U.S. federal Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) new set of rules directing the majority of federal grantmaking to nonprofits; education institutions; state, local, or tribal government agencies; and others. These rules, colloquially known as the Uniform Guidance, were first established in December 2013. Originally a consolidation of several federal rulemaking circulars, the Uniform Guidance’s policies have been periodically adjusted over the last 20 years. The most recent of these updates took effect on October 1, 2024.

When browsing through Grants.gov, you find a grant perfectly aligned with what your organization is trying to accomplish. Say you work in a university's criminal justice program and want to research police practices. You find a seemingly perfect grant, but as you read the eligibility…" Only applicants that received an official invitation letter from NIJ are able and eligible to apply." This "invitation-only" status is a common frustration for grant seekers. So, how do you crack that elusive list and get your foot in the door?

As a result of the rising number of violent incidents at K-12 schools over the last decade, schools have dedicated significant time and resources to developing ways to keep their students, faculty, and staff safe. There are a couple of different approaches education institutions take while creating and implementing an overarching school safety plan. Some institutions have focused on providing staff and students with training on what to do in the event of an incident, while others have begun developing systems for reporting suspicious or threatening behaviors before an incident happens. At the end of the day, the question all institutions must answer is - what components should a school-wide plan include to keep everyone inside (and outside) our schools safe? While there is no one-size-fits-all plan that will work for all, there are many different elements to include in your comprehensive plan, based on the needs of your institution.

Although the concept of recording law enforcement interactions is not new – police departments began using cumbersome vehicle- and helmet-mounted cameras in the 1960s (Seaskate, Inc., 1998) – the use of body-worn cameras in the United States took off after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked national outrage and renewed scrutiny of police-citizen interactions. The lack of video evidence from the incident fueled public demands for greater transparency and accountability. This moment proved to be a tipping point for Body-worn Cameras (BWC), which led to the U.S. Department of Justice's creation of the Body-worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program (BWC PIP).

Technology is used across the criminal justice spectrum to streamline processes, ensure compliance, and protect people and their data. Gone are the days of hand-written police reports faxed to the District Attorney’s office.

We all know how important technology is, but equipment ages, technology advances, and sometimes we don’t know how to fund it. Federal and state grantmakers provide funding to help those working within the criminal justice system keep ahead of the curve or at least keep abreast with it.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The JAG Program provides states and units of local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas including law enforcement, prosecution and court programs, prevention and education programs, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, crime victim and witness initiatives, and planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs. JAG funds may be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, strategic planning, research and evaluation (including forensics), data collection, training, personnel, equipment, forensic laboratories, supplies, contractual support, and criminal justice information systems that will improve or enhance areas such as: law enforcement programs, prosecution and court programs, prevention and education programs, and crime victim and witness programs.

The Department of Justice Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) was released on Friday, June 30th.

The JAG program is the primary grant funding provider for an array of initiatives across the criminal justice spectrum. Areas supported include law enforcement, courts and corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, victim and witness support, and technology improvement programs.