The Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: Culturally Specific Sexual Assault Capacity Building Centers (CSSAC) is a funding opportunity forecasted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS). This initiative is established under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) and seeks to support organizations in enhancing their efforts to address sexual assault, domestic violence, and family violence experienced by racial and ethnic minority groups.

The CSSAC grants aim to fund four cooperative agreements that will create and maintain Culturally Specific Sexual Assault Capacity Building Centers. These centers will be integrated into an existing network of national, culturally specific, special issue, and capacity-building resource centers. Their mission is to provide leadership, training, technical assistance, resources, and support to a broad range of service programs and systems that engage with victims and survivors of gender-based violence and their children.

These cooperative agreements will be characterized by substantial involvement from OFVPS throughout the project period, ensuring ongoing collaboration between the grant recipients and the federal agency. Each funded center will focus on strengthening the capacity of culturally specific organizations to deliver trauma-informed, culturally relevant, and evidence-informed services. The expected outcomes include enhanced intervention and prevention efforts and expanded support for survivors of sexual and domestic violence within underserved communities.

Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status that are not institutions of higher education. Faith-based and community organizations are also eligible to apply, provided they meet the general eligibility criteria. Individuals and foreign entities, including sole proprietorships, are not eligible and will be disqualified from consideration.

Applicants must submit their proposals electronically by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on May 1, 2025. The estimated posting date for the full funding announcement is February 28, 2025, and the estimated award date is August 29, 2025. The project start date is expected to be September 30, 2025. The total anticipated funding available for the program is $1,500,000, with individual awards ranging from $200,000 to $350,000.

For more information or questions regarding the grant opportunity, applicants are encouraged to contact Tya Johnson at 202-690-5660 or via email at Tya.Johnson@acf.hhs.gov.