Veteran Suicide Prevention and Opioid Addiction Services Grant

The Virginia Department of Veterans Services is offering the Veteran Suicide Prevention and Opioid Addiction Services Grant Program to address two critical public health concerns affecting Virginia service members, veterans, and their families: suicide and opioid use disorder. The competitive program makes $4,000,000 available to expand community-based interventions, peer-to-peer networks, crisis services, harm reduction activities, and targeted prevention programs throughout the Commonwealth. DVS intends the funding to help eligible organizations identify, engage, screen, refer, and support high-risk service members, veterans, family members, and eligible caregivers, including populations in rural and underserved areas. Funded activities may address outreach to veterans at risk of suicide, baseline mental health and substance use screening, suicide prevention education, clinical treatment, case management, peer support, benefits assistance, evidence-based nontraditional and innovative prevention therapies, caregiver support, rural services, homelessness, justice-involved veterans, overdose prevention including Naloxone distribution and training, and support during the transition from military to civilian life. Allowable expenses include eligible personnel and fringe benefits, outreach travel, harm reduction and screening supplies, training and certifications, equipment used strictly for direct SMVF services, and minor participant transportation assistance. Up to 10 percent of the grant may be attributed to grant management, administration, and overhead. Prohibited expenses include real estate and major construction, lobbying and political activity, direct cash or gift card payments to participants, fundraising, generally unapproved food and entertainment, pre-award costs, vehicle purchases or long-term leases, and duplicate funding of the same cost or activity. No matching funds are required. Eligible applicants include Virginia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, Veteran Service Organizations, Community Services Boards or mental health centers, tribal organizations, state and local government entities, and qualifying for-profit organizations that completed RFA 5 grant funding with DVS. This cycle is the final year of for-profit applicant eligibility. Applicants must be licensed to do business in Virginia, maintain active SAM.gov registration with no active exclusions, have no applicable federal or state debt exclusions, and satisfy the stated financial management requirements. Neither an applicant nor its subsidiaries may have an open SOS grant under extension. Only one eligible entity within a corporate or nonprofit group may apply, and multiple applications from related entities may result in disqualification of all associated applications. Applications must be submitted electronically through the DVS Grant Portal at https://grants.dvs.virginia.gov/index.do, and organizations must register for a portal account before submission. The Project Narrative may not exceed 10 pages and must use 12-point font and 1-inch margins. It addresses Statement of Need and Priority Area or Geographic Areas Targeted; Project Design and Implementation; Participant Safety and Rights Integration; and Data Collection. Applicants must also provide a mathematically accurate project budget and budget justification, complete the mandatory financial disclosure checklist, and submit required attachments including the most recent audited financial statement, applicable IRS filing, organizational chart, budget detail and justification, applicable IRS 501(c)(3) letter, bylaws and articles of incorporation, active SAM.gov status documentation, at least one signed Virginia-based partner letter or MOU, key personnel resumes, proof of insurance, and conflict of interest policy. Applications that fail an eligibility gate are disqualified before scoring. Eligible applications are independently scored by three objective subject-matter experts. The scored criteria total 100 points: Statement of Need and Priority Area or Geographic Areas Targeted is worth 20 points, Project Design and Implementation 30 points, Participant Safety and Rights Integration 15 points, Data Collection 15 points, and Budget and Financial Requirements 20 points. Reviewer totals are averaged for ranking, with adjudication required when the highest and lowest reviewer totals differ by more than 15 points. Rank order is the primary input to final award decisions, while DVS may also consider strategic geographic distribution to maximize community coverage. The NOFO release date is September 1, 2026. An informational webinar is scheduled for August 27, 2026, at 2:00 PM EST. Questions concerning the application may be sent to SOSCommunityGrant@dvs.virginia.gov and must be submitted by September 27, 2026, at 4:59 PM EST. Applications are due September 30, 2026, at 4:59 PM EST, and late applications will not be accepted. DVS anticipates award notification on December 1, 2026. Awards will range from $75,000 to $200,000, with approximately 25 to 40 awards anticipated. The period of performance is 12 months, with the stated grant year running from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2027. The source does not state that this funding opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule.

Address every pass/fail eligibility gate before submission; use specific Virginia SMVF suicide, overdose, or mental health data to establish need; clearly identify evidence-based interventions and measurable 12-month milestones; explain participant screening, crisis response, grievance, PHI, and HIPAA procedures; ensure the budget mathematically equals the exact request and stays within the $75,000-$200,000 range; align the narrative closely to the 100-point scoring criteria; demonstrate measurable impact and geographic community coverage.