OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Expanding Legal Services Initiative - Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program | O OVW 2025 172270

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2025 172270

The OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Expanding Legal Services Initiative (ELSI) is a discretionary grant opportunity under the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Grant Program (CFDA 16.524). Its purpose is to increase access to legal representation for people who have experienced domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking by helping established victim service organizations build in-house legal capacity. Instead of funding organizations that already operate a legal program, ELSI is specifically aimed at organizations with a track record of delivering direct victim services that do not currently provide legal representation through an internal legal department.

The program is structured around building something sustainable. The initial award is designed to support a planning phase in which the recipient organization receives ongoing training and technical assistance and uses that support to stand up a legal department. In practical terms, this planning period is meant to help an organization move from referring clients out for legal help to being able to provide representation directly, by developing the internal staffing, policies, procedures, partnerships, and service model needed to deliver high-quality legal services that are aligned with victim safety and trauma-informed practices. After the legal department is established during the planning phase, continuation funding is intended to support the direct legal services that new department will provide to victims.

Eligible applicants include private nonprofit entities (including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education), federally recognized Native American tribal governments, Native American tribal organizations, and territorial organizations. The opportunity is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, and is categorized under law, justice, and legal services.

Key funding details indicate an award ceiling of $750,000, with an anticipated 16 awards. The opportunity number is O-OVW-2025-172270. The solicitation was created on December 6, 2024, and the original application deadline (closing date) is January 28, 2025. Overall, the emphasis of ELSI is capacity-building that results in more survivors being able to access legal representation through trusted victim service providers that are expanding into in-house legal advocacy and representation.

• The Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Expanding Legal Services Initiative - Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.524.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-28. (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 $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 16 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for O OVW 2025 172270

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