OVC FY25 Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Formula Grant | O OVC 2025 172428

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVC 2025 172428

The OVC FY25 Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Formula Grant is a mandatory federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), that provides annual victim assistance funding to every state and most U.S. territories. The basic purpose is to ensure that states can pass funding through to local community-based nonprofits and public agencies that deliver direct, front-line services to people harmed by crime. In practice, the state (or territory) serves as the primary recipient, and then makes subgrants to organizations that provide things like crisis counseling, hotline and in-person information and referrals, criminal justice advocacy and accompaniment, emergency shelter, therapy and mental health support, and other practical assistance that helps victims stabilize and navigate systems after a crime.

For FY 2025, OVC has 1,900,000,000 available for obligation from the Crime Victims Fund, and 1,267,586,252 of that total is set aside for VOCA victim assistance awards through the statutory formula. Each state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico receives a base allocation of 500,000, while the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa each receive a base allocation of 200,000. After those base amounts, the remaining dollars are distributed based on population using U.S. Census Bureau data. The opportunity is listed under CFDA (Assistance Listing) 16.575, and the eligible applicants for the federal award are state governments (not individual nonprofits). The posted closing date for the opportunity is 2025-08-15, and the funding opportunity number is O-OVC-2025-172428.

A key feature of this program is that funding decisions about local providers are made at the state or territorial level. States and territories have the sole discretion to select subrecipients and structure subawards, but they must do so within VOCA’s legal and regulatory framework. That framework includes the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, the VOCA Victim Assistance Program Rule (28 C.F.R. part 94, subpart B), government-wide grant requirements at 2 C.F.R. part 200 as adopted by DOJ, and the DOJ Grants Financial Guide. The VOCA Program Rule outlines what kinds of victim assistance activities are permissible, and OVC also maintains additional guidance and Q and A resources (for example, “VOCAPedia”) to help administrators interpret and apply those rules consistently.

As a condition of accepting the award in DOJ’s JustGrants system, each state or territory must make specific certifications tied to VOCA requirements (including 34 U.S.C. 20103(a)(2), 34 U.S.C. 20103(b)(1) and (2), and 34 U.S.C. 20110(h)). The state must certify that VOCA funds will be awarded only to eligible victim assistance organizations, that the federal funds will not be used to supplant state and local public funds that would otherwise be available for victim assistance (or for administering the state victim assistance program), and that funds will be allocated in line with program guidelines or regulations to ensure support reaches key victim groups. At a minimum, states must ensure that services are available for victims of sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, and underserved victims of violent crimes as identified by the state.

The grant’s spending rules focus tightly on direct services to victims. Award funds may be used only to provide victim services, with one notable allowance: up to 5 percent of the award may be used for administration and training, consistent with 34 U.S.C. 20103(b)(3) and 28 C.F.R. 94.107. Beyond that cap, budgets and project designs need to align with VOCA and DOJ cost principles, and applicants are directed to consult the program’s application instructions and budget detail guidance to distinguish allowable from unallowable costs. For local organizations seeking funding, the practical takeaway is that they typically apply to their state VOCA administering agency (not directly to OVC), and must be prepared to meet both state-level requirements and the underlying federal VOCA rules that govern eligibility, service priorities, and financial controls.

• The Office for Victims of Crime in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVC FY25 Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Formula Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.575.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-07-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-08-15. (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 $142,898,925.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for O OVC 2025 172428

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