Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program COMPETING CONTINUATION (Year 6)

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program – Competing Continuation (Year 6) is a federal grant initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), specifically its National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). This program is implemented in collaboration with the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under the Executive Office of the President. Created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997, the DFC Support Program aims to mobilize and strengthen the efforts of local community coalitions to prevent and reduce youth substance use across the United States. The primary objective of the DFC Support Program is twofold: first, to enhance collaboration among various sectors—public and private nonprofit agencies, federal, state, local, and tribal governments—to support community-based coalitions in their work to prevent and reduce substance use among youth aged 18 and younger. Second, the program aims to reduce youth substance use and, by extension over time, substance use among adults by addressing and mitigating community-level risk factors while promoting protective ones. This particular funding opportunity, CDC-RFA-CE21-210206CONT26, is targeted at coalitions that have either completed the initial five-year DFC funding cycle or have experienced a lapse in funding. Applicants must be community-based coalitions within the United States or U.S. territories and must meet specific eligibility criteria. These include being a nonprofit as recognized by the IRS (501(c) organizations), or an entity deemed appropriate by the Administrator, or being part of or associated with a legally recognized nonprofit organization. Eligible entities may include local governments, federally and state-recognized tribes, universities, colleges, urban Indian organizations, voluntary and professional associations, community and faith-based groups, and other coalition-supporting bodies. The program anticipates awarding up to 50 grants, with an estimated total funding pool of $31,250,000 for Fiscal Year 2026. Individual grant awards may reach up to $125,000 annually. Importantly, a cost-sharing or matching requirement applies, and applicants should be prepared to demonstrate their capacity to meet this requirement. The application process includes an electronically submitted application due no later than April 14, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. Applications are anticipated to open on January 27, 2026, with awards to be made by August 31, 2026. The project period is scheduled to commence on September 30, 2026. Eligible coalitions must demonstrate a formal community-based arrangement for collaboration across various sectors with the shared mission of creating a drug-free environment. The funding is intended to support existing infrastructure and programming that align with national drug policy priorities and may also require compliance with specific executive orders as referenced in the funding forecast. Interested applicants are encouraged to review eligibility details closely and ensure alignment with the program’s goals and requirements. The main point of contact for this funding opportunity is Christi Jones, who can be reached via the program email address at DFC_NOFO@cdc.gov. While this is a forecasted opportunity and thus subject to change, it presents a significant opportunity for qualified coalitions to continue or resume their substance use prevention efforts through a second five-year funding cycle.