The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the award of 43 grants, totaling $20 million, under the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22). TVTP works to help prevent incidents of domestic violent extremism, as well as to bolster efforts to counter online radicalization and mobilization to violence.
This prevention program, administered by the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is the only federal grant program solely dedicated to helping local communities improve and strengthen their capabilities in this area. This year, 11 TVTP awards are to organizations that work with underserved populations that are often the targets of attacks, including two Historically Black Colleges and Universities and two organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community. Other grantees focus on expanding the reach of this program into small and mid-sized communities.
“Working in partnership with one another is how we best prevent acts of terrorism and targeted violence,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Through the grant awards we are announcing today, we are equipping local communities and organizations — including those historically underserved — with needed resources so they can become more effective partners, strengthen our security, and help the American people feel safe and secure in our daily lives.”
The FY22 grants will provide resources to local communities – including state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, nonprofits, and institutions of higher education to strengthen or enhance existing capabilities or establish them where they don’t exist.
DHS encouraged applications from diverse groups, conducting extensive outreach to a variety of public and non-profit sectors. This year, DHS added two new priorities: Implementing Prevention Capabilities in Small and Mid-Sized Communities; and Advancing Equity in Awards and Engaging Underserved Communities in Prevention. DHS received a significantly larger number of applications from underserved communities this year and was able to make 25% of its awards to entities that will enhance prevention in these communities (compared to 16% of awards last year).
Launched in 2020, the TVTP grant program supports the efforts of 88 organizations working to prevent violence in 32 states with $50 million in awards. Previous grantees include:
- Arizona State University McCain Institute (Arizona)
- Chatham County (Georgia)
- Boise State University (Idaho)
- Kentucky Office of Homeland Security (Kentucky)
- Missouri State University (Missouri)
- North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES), (North Dakota)
- Boston Children’s Hospital (Massachusetts), which has recently been the target of bomb threats
- University of Central Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
- University of Texas at El Paso (Texas)
- Cure Violence Global (Illinois/Oregon)
- National Governors Association (National)
Many of these organizations, such as the National Governors Association, have received funding multiple years in a row. DHS anticipates the next round of funding to be available for competition in Spring 2023.
CP3 provides technical assistance on navigating the requirements for applying for federal grants to ensure a continued pool of new and underserved applicants. Created in 2021, CP3 brings a whole-of-society approach to prevent acts of targeted violence and terrorism. CP3 helps build local prevention frameworks through technical, financial, and educational assistance, CP3 supports local efforts that prevent individuals from radicalizing to violence and intervene with individuals who may be radicalizing, or have radicalized, to violence.
For more information, including a full list of grant awards, please see https://www.dhs.gov/tvtpgrants.
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