FAQ Listing

OJP is committed to ensuring a fair and open process for making awards. OJJDP reviews the application to make sure that the information presented is reasonable, understandable, measurable, and achievable, as well as consistent with the funding opportunity.

All proposals are reviewed by independent peer reviewer panels to ensure applications meet basic minimum requirements. For purposes of assessing whether an application meets basic minimum requirements and should proceed to further consideration, OJP screens applications for compliance with those requirements. All final award decisions are made by the Assistant Attorney General. OJJDP will not discuss details regarding the status of your applications until all awards have been made to grant recipients. 

Learn how to become a peer reviewer.

Award notifications are usually sent by September 30 (the end of the federal fiscal year). For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. An Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification. See the Application Resource Guide for information on award notifications and instructions.

Review these resources to learn how to accept your award in JustGrants:

• Training: Award Acceptance page on the JustGrants Resources site
• Award Acceptance Checklist for JustGrants
• JustGrants Award Acceptance Job Aid Reference Guide 

If your project is funded, you will be required to submit several reports and other materials. See Post Award Reporting Requirements. In addition, you will be required to report information relevant to program performance measures established by OJJDP to help measure the performance of federal funding. See the Notice of Funding Opportunity for details.

Applicants that receive funding from OJJDP are required to provide regular performance data measuring the results of the work done under the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Routine performance reporting is essential for not only measuring the progress of grant programs, but also for compliance with federal laws on the use of the funding. OJJDP funding opportunities require applicants to provide a detailed description of how their performance data will be collected. Specific program performance measures can be found in the NOFO. For additional information, access OJJDP's Performance Measures webpage.

To find information on funding the Office of Justice Programs has awarded in previous years, visit the OJP Grant Awards webpage. 

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:

• E-mail [email protected] for the quickest response
• Call toll-free: 800–851–3420
• International calls: 202–772–1022
• TTY Phone: 202–353–5556
  
  It may take up to 24-48 hours to reply to your request.

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.