Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Lead Entity Services for Underserved Areas and Victim Groups Program

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is soliciting applications for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Lead Entity Services for Underserved Areas and Victim Groups Notice of Funding Opportunity, NOFO #1744-0331. Grants under this solicitation will be made using VAWA FFY25 funds. The opportunity is intended to support a lead entity that will manage sub-grants to organizations providing core services to domestic violence or sexual assault victims who reside in underserved areas or are members of underserved victim groups. The lead entity must be a state domestic violence or sexual assault coalition. The purpose of the funding opportunity is to establish a lead entity responsible for distributing grant funds to subgrantees and providing fiscal oversight and quality assurance for those sub-grants. Funded lead entities will conduct grant making and structured monitoring of all subgrantees and provide subject matter expertise and technical assistance. Applicants must possess an established record of providing services specific to the VAWA grant, maintain a network of direct service providers, and have the monitoring capacity necessary to oversee their subgrantees. Services supported through the sub-grants are to benefit domestic violence or sexual assault victims in underserved areas or underserved victim groups. State domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions are eligible to apply. Eligible applicants must be registered in the Illinois Grant Accountability and Transparency Act Grantee Portal. Applicants also must be in good standing with all GATA pre-qualification requirements and must receive approval of the SFY27 Internal Control Questionnaire before execution of the grant agreement. The source does not identify other types of eligible applicants or state a cost-sharing or matching requirement. The notice states that applicants may request a maximum of $705,000 in grant funding. The source contains conflicting total-funding statements: an introductory passage states that $705,000 is available, while the Available Funds section states "$1,410,00," which is malformed and therefore cannot be reliably normalized without additional verification. Completed application materials were required to be submitted through Euna by 5:00 p.m. on April 13, 2026. Applications were not accepted by mail, fax, or in person. The notice specifically warns that incomplete applications would not be reviewed and that late submissions would not be reviewed. The source does not enumerate the individual application forms, narratives, attachments, budget documents, or other application components contained in the downloadable NOFO packet. Questions regarding the NOFO could be submitted to CJA.LeadNofos2026@illinois.gov no later than April 9, 2026. Substantive questions and responses were to be posted, with updates to NOFO materials and applicant questions and responses revised weekly. The NOFO was posted March 31, 2026. The question submission deadline was April 9, 2026, and applications were due at 5:00 p.m. CST on April 13, 2026. Budget Committee review and approval of recommended designations was scheduled for June 2026. The stated performance period is July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. Although another passage describes funding as being available for use over a period of 36 months, the formal Period of Performance and Timeline sections both identify July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027; this inconsistency should be verified against the complete NOFO packet rather than reconciled by assumption. No recurring or future application cycle is stated in the supplied source, and the opportunity is now expired. Recipients must submit periodic financial reports, periodic performance reports, final financial and performance reports, and a calendar-year-end financial report in accordance with CFR Part 200 Uniform Requirements. Future awards may be withheld when required reports are delinquent. The named contact is Malea Conro of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, and the program contact email is CJA.LeadNofos2026@illinois.gov. No telephone number is provided in the supplied material. The source identifies a VAWA Lead Entity Services Q&A PDF and a NOFO packet ZIP attachment by file name, but it does not provide a complete direct PDF URL that can be entered without constructing or guessing a link.

Submit complete application materials through Euna because incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed and mail, fax, and in-person submissions are not accepted. Demonstrate an established VAWA-specific service record, a network of direct service providers, fiscal oversight and quality assurance capability, and monitoring capacity for subgrantees. Maintain GATA pre-qualification good standing and obtain SFY27 ICQ approval before grant agreement execution.