Project Grants are intended to support innovative education and training, demonstration, and technical assistance projects that can improve the administration of justice in state courts locally or nationwide.
Donor Name: State Justice Institute

State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 05/01/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years

Details:
Project Grants are the centerpiece of SJI’s efforts to improve the administration of justice in state courts nationwide.
Funding Information

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Project Grants for state court and national non-profit organization applicants may not exceed $300,000 and 36 months in duration
Applications from local court applicants may not exceed $200,000 and 24 months.

Eligibility Criteria 

SJI is authorized by Congress to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to the following entities and types of organizations:

State and local courts and their agencies
National nonprofit organizations controlled by, operating in conjunction with, and serving the judicial branches of state governments
National nonprofit organizations for the education and training of judges and support personnel of the judicial branch of state governments. An applicant is considered a national education and training applicant under section 10705(b)(1)(C) if:

The principal purpose or activity of the applicant is to provide education and training to state and local judges and court personnel; and
The applicant demonstrates a record of substantial experience in the field of judicial education and training

Other eligible grant recipients

Provided that the objectives of the project can be served better, the Institute is also authorized to make awards to:

Nonprofit organizations with expertise in judicial administration
Institutions of higher education
Individuals, partnerships, firms, corporations (for-profit organizations must waive their fees)
Private agencies with expertise in judicial administration

SJI may also make awards to state or local agencies and institutions other than courts for services that cannot be adequately provided through nongovernmental arrangements

SJI is prohibited from awarding grants to federal, tribal, and international courts.

Selection Criteria
In addition to the criteria detailed below, SJI will consider whether the applicant is a state or local court, a national court support or education organization, a non-court unit of government, or other type of entity eligible to receive grants under SJI’s enabling legislation; the availability of financial assistance from other sources for the project; the diversity of subject matter, geographic diversity; the level and nature of the match that would be provided; reasonableness of the proposed budget; the extent to which the proposed project would also benefit the federal courts or help state or local courts enforce federal constitutional and legislative requirements; and the level of appropriations available to SJI in the current year and the amount expected to be available in succeeding fiscal years, when determining which projects to support.

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Project Grant applications will be rated based on the criteria set forth below:

Soundness of the methodology
Demonstration of need for the project
Appropriateness of the proposed evaluation design
If applicable, the key findings and recommendations of the most recent evaluation and the proposed responses to those findings and recommendations
Applicant’s management plan and organizational capabilities
Qualifications of the project’s staff
Products and benefits resulting from the project, including the extent to which the project will have long-term benefits for state courts across the nation
Degree to which the findings, procedures, training, technology, or other results of the project can be transferred to other jurisdictions
Reasonableness of the proposed budget
Demonstration of cooperation and support of other agencies that may be affected by the project.

For more information, visit SJI.

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