FAQ Listing

Because most funding opportunities are competitive, we are unable to have individual conversations concerning notices of funding opportunities (NOFO) with prospective applicants. 

Questions concerning open funding opportunities should be submitted to the OJP Response Center:

800–851–3420
[email protected]

The Response Center hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. Extended hours, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, are available on days that NOFOs are due. 

All proposed projects must be submitted through an application and a posted Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The proposal must respond to the objectives and requirements in the funding opportunity. Applicants are encouraged to review the current and DOJ Program Plan for potential NOFOs under which your idea might fit.

Write the Program Narrative, which varies with each funding opportunity. It outlines the details about your proposed project. For more information, see the Application Resource Guide: Proposal Narrative. 

Applicants should review the sample most appropriate to the nature of the funding opportunity for which they are applying, i.e., program, research, or evaluation. Timelines submitted by applicants should be specific to their individual proposals, and the samples should serve simply as guides to the format, etc.

Sample Timelines:

• Sample Program Timeline Word and PDF
• Sample Research Timeline Word and PDF
• Sample Evaluation Timeline Word and PDF

Performance measures are data that show a recipient's progress in implementing their project, such as the number of people served or number of trainings conducted. OJP requires each award recipient to submit regular performance reports that communicate progress toward achieving the goals and objectives identified in Program Goals and Objectives. Applicants can visit OJP's performance measurement page for more information on performance measurement activities.

View a list of OJJDP performance measure questions.

OJJDP offers informational webinars for applicants for specific funding opportunities. For webinar information, check the OJJDP Events calendar, sign up for JUVJUST emails and follow OJJDP on social media for news about upcoming Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) webinars. Links to OJJDP NOFO recorded webinar videos are available approximately one week after the date of the webinar on each of the corresponding funding opportunity pages and on the Multimedia page.

For JustGrants training, see the JustGrants Weekly Training Webinars page.

The degree of specificity of grant application budget will vary depending on the nature of the project and OJP agency requirements. Your application must include both a budget narrative and a budget detail worksheet We strongly recommend that you use the Budget Detail Worksheet.

Additional Budget Resources: 

• DOJ Grants Financial Guide
• Application Resource Guide
  • Budget Preparation and Submission Information

For details on the technical steps to complete the budget attachment and upload it in JustGrants, see the Complete the Application in JustGrants: Budget training.

If the total amount available is known, it will be noted in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, but often the amount depends on future congressional appropriations. 

Your Budget Detail Worksheet should clearly present a breakdown of costs associated with each of nine budget categories. Itemize where necessary. For more detail on what is required, reference the requirements outline in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Although it is not required, OJJDP strongly recommends that you develop the Budget Detail Worksheet using the provided template. The template includes an example of a worksheet and descriptions of the details for each category.

For more information on allowable and unallowable costs, review the Notice of Funding Opportunity and the DOJ Grants Financial Guide.

Interpretations or clarification on the DOJ Grants Financial Guide can be addressed to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer's Customer Service Center at 800–458–0786 or [email protected].