BJA FY 21 Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative Training and Technical Assistance Provider | O BJA 2021 20002

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2021 20002

The BJA FY 21 Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative Training and Technical Assistance Provider opportunity is a Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) discretionary cooperative agreement designed to strengthen how rural communities prevent and respond to violent crime. At its core, the award supports a national training and technical assistance (TTA) effort that will help small, rural law enforcement agencies make practical improvements in policing, prevention, and victim support through a related microgrant program. The broader goal aligns with DOJ priorities around protecting the public, supporting crime victims, advancing civil rights, improving access to justice, and building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, with an emphasis on the distinct challenges rural areas face (such as limited staffing, long response times, fewer local services, and reduced access to specialized expertise).

Under this solicitation, BJA planned to fund one organization to serve as the TTA provider for the Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative. That provider would not simply deliver generic training; it would be responsible for hands-on support to the initiative's site-based awardees, meaning the rural agencies that receive microgrants through the companion solicitation. In practice, this typically involves helping rural departments and their partners identify needs, select and implement evidence-informed strategies, adopt or upgrade technology appropriately, improve data and analysis capacity, and build sustainable partnerships. The TTA provider would also be expected to help participating sites improve communication and collaboration across state, local, and tribal law enforcement, while also strengthening relationships with community stakeholders, including victim service providers, to ensure responses to violent crime are coordinated and victim-centered.

The program emphasizes several specific improvement areas that the microgrants are meant to support and that the TTA provider would help agencies execute. These include improved training and technology for small rural law enforcement agencies, expansion of community-based crime prevention programs, and stronger partnerships with victim service providers. The intent is to make rural crime reduction efforts more comprehensive by combining operational support for law enforcement with prevention approaches and victim services coordination, rather than focusing narrowly on enforcement alone. Because the award is structured as a cooperative agreement, recipients should expect substantial federal involvement, meaning BJA is likely to remain engaged in planning, deliverable review, performance monitoring, and strategic direction throughout the project period.

In terms of basic opportunity details, this was a competitive federal funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: O-BJA-2021-20002) with an estimated award ceiling of $1,000,000 and an expectation of one total award. The opportunity was posted May 17, 2021, and originally closed July 6, 2021. Eligible applicants were broad and included public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and other eligible entities as further clarified in the solicitation. The program is associated with CFDA 16.039, and the funding instrument type is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, signaling that the selected provider would function as an implementation partner with BJA for the life of the initiative.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as funding for a single lead organization to act as the backbone support system for rural agencies receiving competitive microgrants, ensuring those rural sites have the training, tools, implementation guidance, and collaborative support needed to reduce violent crime in ways that are effective, community-oriented, and responsive to victims.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the affordable care act sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 21 Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative Training and Technical Assistance Provider" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.039.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 17, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 06, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O BJA 2021 20002

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