National Resource Centers

The National Resource Centers funding opportunity is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration for Children and Families, Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary, Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services. The program operates under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act and is intended to strengthen national capacity to prevent and respond to family violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault. Through 17 cooperative agreements, the program will support resource centers that provide information, nationwide training, technical assistance, resource development, research and evaluation support, and related assistance to individuals, organizations, governmental entities, tribes, service providers, coalitions, and communities. Applicants must select the appropriate Resource Center competition and priority area for which they are applying. Funded projects are expected to begin with a six-month planning period that may include hiring staff, developing curricula, establishing partnerships, and designing training and implementation strategies. Activities may include developing and disseminating prevention and intervention resources, providing training and technical assistance, conducting needs assessments, improving policies and practices, supporting research and evaluation, and sharing evidence-based, evidence-informed, promising, and culturally grounded practices. The program provides an expected total of 17710000 in funding and anticipates 17 awards. First-budget-period awards vary by competition, from 300000 to 3000000. A five-year project period is planned, consisting of five one-year budget periods. Continuation funding after the first year is noncompetitive and depends on available funds, satisfactory progress, approval of the project plan submitted in Year 1, and a determination that continued funding is in the federal government's best interest. The program has no required cost sharing or matching contribution. Voluntary cost sharing is not considered during merit review, although a voluntary commitment included in an awarded application becomes part of the award and must be reported. Funding may not be used for construction, purchase of real property, or major renovation. Funds also may not be used for referrals, training, or technical assistance outside the scope of the authorizing program statute. The NOFO additionally restricts use of funds for specified DEI or DEIA activities to the extent permitted by law and prohibits funding activities that promote gender ideology. Recipients may use an approved indirect cost rate or, if eligible, elect a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs. Prime recipients must maintain a substantive role and may not function primarily as conduits for passing funds to other organizations. Eligible applicant categories include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments, qualifying nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status, and private institutions of higher education. Faith-based and community organizations meeting the applicable requirements may apply. Individuals, including sole proprietorships, federal entities, and foreign entities are ineligible. Applicants must also satisfy the specific statutory and organizational requirements for the Resource Center competition selected. These requirements can include nonprofit status, a primary organizational focus on domestic violence or related violence issues, documented subject-matter experience, national-scope training and technical assistance capacity, support from relevant advocates or service programs, demonstrated effectiveness, culturally and linguistically relevant service capacity, or experience serving specific tribal, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native, racial, ethnic, child, youth, parent, or sexual assault populations. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov unless ACF approves an exemption for paper submission. Applicants must have active SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and a Unique Entity Identifier. The application consists of two files plus required standard forms. File one contains the table of contents, one-page project summary, project narrative, and line-item budget and budget narrative. File two contains applicable attachments, including the ACF priorities alignment attestation, indirect cost agreement when an approved rate is used, legal proof of nonprofit status, additional eligibility documentation, organizational capacity materials, third-party agreements, and letters of support. Required standard forms include the Project Abstract Summary, SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, Key Contacts, Grants.gov Lobbying form, SF-LLL when applicable, and SF-P/PSL. Files one and two have a combined 60-page limit. The project narrative must address purpose and need, objectives, approach, timeline and milestones, a logic model, evaluation, expected outcomes, organizational capacity, funding support, award oversight, sustainability, confidentiality, and dissemination. Applications passing initial responsiveness review are evaluated by a merit review panel using a 110-point framework. Purpose and need is worth 15 points, response 40 points, impact 15 points, resources and capabilities 20 points, line-item budget and budget justification 10 points, and alignment with ACF vision, mission, values, priorities, and guiding principles 10 points. Selection also considers factors including service to emerging, unserved, or underserved populations, geographic distribution, past performance, compliance with funding restrictions, and alignment with agency priorities. ACF may fund applications in whole or in part, make awards below requested amounts, designate successful applications as approved but unfunded, or make no awards. The official Notice of Award is the only document establishing an award. Applications are due September 8, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time for electronic submissions. Approved paper submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The expected project start date is September 30, 2026. The source does not establish a recurring annual or other regular application cycle and does not identify a separate LOI, concept paper, pre-proposal, or notice-of-intent gate. Program questions may be directed to Jan-Sheri Morris at Jan-Sheri.Morris@acf.hhs.gov or 202-480-1328. Grants management questions may be directed to Ann Hudson at Ann.Hudson@acf.hhs.gov or 206-615-3660. Grants.gov provides application-system support at support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. Award recipients must submit performance reports and SF-425 financial reports semiannually.

Prioritize the 40-point Response section and explicitly address every required response element. Connect project tasks to measurable objectives, outputs, and outcomes and provide a feasible full-period timeline. Demonstrate national or applicable statewide organizational capacity and relevant subject-matter expertise. Document strong collaboration through detailed support letters and MOUs where applicable. Include a viable confidentiality plan. Make the line-item budget logical, mathematically accurate, necessary to program goals, and sufficient for evaluation, remote training and technical assistance, community participation, and required meeting travel. Explicitly identify relevant ACF priorities and connect them to program design, measurable performance indicators, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Do not exceed the 60-page combined limit for files one and two because excess pages will not be reviewed.