There is no guarantee you will receive a grant if you apply. However, if you do not receive a grant, you should try to find out why you did not receive funding and how you could improve a future application. You can follow up with the program officer identified in the announcement. This individual will either be able to provide you with information about your application, or point you to the right person to contact. In addition, you may even be able to obtain written comments on your proposal, which can provide helpful analysis.
Remember that many, many organizations compete for Federal funds, and many groups apply several times before they receive an award. Getting feedback on your application can help you improve your chances of receiving funds the next time around.
Grant funds may not be used for inherently religious activities such as worship, prayer, proselytizing, or devotional Bible study. The funds are to be used to further the objectives established by Congress such as reducing crime, assisting victims of crime, keeping juveniles out of the life of crime, and mentoring youth and adults.
A faith-based organization should take steps to ensure that its inherently religious activities, such as religious worship or instruction are separate - in time or location - from the government-funded services that it offers. However, you may use space in your church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship to provide Federally-funded services. In addition, there is no need to remove religious symbols from these rooms. You may also keep your organization’s name even if it includes religious words, and you may include religious references in your organization's mission statements. If you have any questions or doubts, you should check with the official who administers your Federal funds.
If you violate the requirements specified in your grant or otherwise improperly use the funds you receive, you may be subject to legal action. Among other things, you may lose your grant funds, be required to repay the funds you received, and pay any damages that might be awarded through court action. If an organization uses its funds fraudulently, it could be subject to criminal prosecution.
No. Faith-based organizations may not use Federal funds to purchase religious materials - such as the Bible, Torah, Koran, or other religious or scriptural materials.
In most circumstances, no. There is no general Federal law that prohibits faith-based organizations that receive Federal funds from hiring on a religious basis. Neither does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies regardless of whether an organization receives Federal funds, prohibit faith-based organizations from hiring on a religious basis. This Act protects Americans from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. But the Civil Rights Act also explicitly recognizes the fundamental rights of faith-based organizations to hire employees who share their religious beliefs. The United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld this special protection for faith-based groups in 1987, and it has been the law since then. Thus, a Jewish organization can decide to hire only Jewish employees, a Catholic organization can decide to hire only Catholics, and so on, without running into problems with the Civil Rights Act.
This special provision for faith-based groups protects the religious liberty of communities of faith. It permits faith-based groups to promote common values, a sense of community and unity of purpose, and shared experiences through service all of which contribute to a religious organization's effectiveness. In order for a religious organization to define or carry out its mission, it may consider it important that it be able to take religion into account in hiring staff. Just as a college or university can take the academic credentials of an applicant for a professorship into consideration in order to maintain high standards, or an environmental organization can consider the views of potential employees on conservation, so too should a faith-based organization be able to take into account an applicant's religious belief when making a hiring decision.
In general, a faith-based organization retains this exemption under the law even if it receives Federal, State, or local financial assistance. However, some Federal laws and regulations (including statutes authorizing most DOJ grants), as well as State and local laws, may prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion in hiring. So which law prevails for a faith-based organization? If your organization is a faith-based organization that makes hiring decisions on the basis of religious belief, it may be entitled, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb, to receive federal funds and yet maintain that hiring practice, even if the law creating the funding program contains a general ban on religious discrimination in employment. For the circumstances under which this may occur, and the certifications that may be required by the Department of Justice, please see the "Effect of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Faith-Based Applicants for Grants." For a fuller discussion of the issue, please see the Memorandum Opinion for the General Counsel, Office of Justice Programs, dated June 29, 2007. Organizations with further questions about this issue may wish to consult a lawyer to find out about the specific requirements that apply to your organization and any rights you may have under the Constitution, RFRA, or other applicable law.
One final point: while a faith-based organization may be entitled to consider the religion of a job applicant, no federal grantee may discriminate among whom it serves on the basis of religion. All grantees must serve otherwise qualified persons in need of the funded social service, regardless of the beneficiaries' religion and regardless whether or not the beneficiaries participate in any religious activity.
- Financial Reporting Requirements. To make sure that grant funds are used properly, organizations that receive Federal funds must file regular financial status reports. These forms should not take long to fill out, but they are important. The basic financial report form is a one-page document called Standard Form 269. Many agencies have adapted this form to suit their own programs. You can find a copy of Standard Form 269 at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms.
- Audit. All faith-based and community groups that receive Federal funds are subject to basic audit requirements. These audits are intended only to examine the Federally-funded parts of an organization's operations and are not designed to identify unrelated problems. The audits are necessary to make sure that Federal dollars have been spent properly on legitimate costs. It is therefore extremely important for grant recipients to keep accurate records of all transactions conducted with Federal funds. Most organizations are not audited by the government itself, although the Federal government has the right to audit any program that receives public money at any time. For example, charities that spend less than $300,000 a year in Federal funds are generally asked only to perform a "self-audit." For larger grants - those over $300,000 a year - an audit by a private, independent outside legal or accounting firm is required. More information on audits may be found on the Office of Management and Budget's web site (https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/circulars/).
A peer reviewer is a person who reviews, evaluates, and makes recommendations on grant applications submitted in response to a competitive program announcement (such as a solicitation for grant application [SGA] or a request for proposals [RFP]). Peer reviewers are experts in a field related to the subject of a proposed program or in the implementation of that type of project and may not be an officer or employee of the Department of Justice.
Do you have expertise in criminal justice, juvenile delinquency, victimization, or other crime-related issues? Peer review panels include researchers, practitioners, and academics from rural and urban areas, and people with experience in both the public and private sectors, including community-based organizations. Each DOJ component handles its peer review process differently and has its own criteria for evaluating the qualifications of potential peer reviewers. Please contact us if you are interested in becoming involved as a peer reviewer.
Additionally, the AMBER Alert page on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) website, lists other ways to receive AMBER Alerts including Twitter and Instagram (Follow @AMBERAlert and Missing Kids on Instagram to receive rapid AMBER Alert notifications on your Twitter and Instagram feeds and share the alert with your followers). The NCMEC website also features ways to connect your Google and Yahoo! pages with the AMBER Alerts.
To learn more about the AMBER Alert program, please see the Office of Justice Programs' AMBER Alert website.
Finally, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) operates a telephone hotline and website to assist in locating drug treatment programs throughout the United States. The hotline is 800-662-HELP. To access program information via the Internet, visit FindTreatment.gov.