BJA FY 2026 Invited to Apply – Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants/Byrne Discretionary Grants Program

Invitation-only FY 2026 BJA funding for congressionally designated justice, reentry, behavioral-health, victim-services, public-safety and related projects. $410.6 million is expected across 478 awards, with no match required; only named invited recipients may apply.

Funding$410,642,547 expected total BJA funding across 478 anticipated awards; no universal per-applicant cap because each invited recipient is limited to its designated FY 2026 appropriation amount; the official project list includes BJA-designated projects up to $8,000,000; no cost sharing or match required.

DeadlineExtended live deadlines: Grants.gov SF-424 due October 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET; complete JustGrants application due October 9, 2026 at 8:59 PM ET.

Last verifiedOctober 7, 2026

Required next actionOnly designated FY 2026 invited applicants that completed the Grants.gov step by October 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET should continue. Confirm the legal recipient name or DBA and SAM.gov UEI match the official project list, use the exact appropriated project title and amount, complete the required SF-424, proposal abstract, proposal narrative, budget and applicable attachments, and submit the complete JustGrants application by October 9, 2026 at 8:59 PM ET. Organizations that did not complete the Grants.gov step by October 6 cannot begin a new application for this cycle.

Broad Eligibility

Invitation only. BJA sent invitations to eligible recipients identified in the Congressional Joint Explanatory Statement for FY 2026 designated projects. The applicant legal name or DBA associated with its SAM.gov UEI must coincide with the listed recipient. No cost sharing or match is required.

Atlas Analysis

The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance is accepting invited applications for the FY 2026 Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants/Byrne Discretionary Grants Program, Opportunity O-BJA-2026-172640. This noncompetitive opportunity funds congressionally designated projects intended to improve the criminal justice system, prevent or combat juvenile delinquency, and assist victims of crime.

BJA expects $410,642,547 across 478 awards. There is no universal per-applicant cap because each invited recipient is limited to the amount designated for its specific project in the FY 2026 appropriations project list. The official project list includes BJA-designated projects up to $8,000,000. No cost sharing or match is required. Only recipients specifically identified in the congressional project list and invited by BJA are eligible, and the applicant legal name or DBA tied to its SAM.gov UEI must match the designated recipient.

The live BJA opportunity page reflects extended deadlines that supersede the dates printed in the original NOFO PDF: the SF-424 step is due in Grants.gov on October 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET, and the complete application is due in JustGrants on October 9, 2026 at 8:59 PM ET. Required application components include the SF-424, standard applicant information, proposal abstract, financial-management/internal-controls questionnaire, proposal narrative, budget, and applicable budget or research-related attachments.

For Atlas, this opportunity is highly relevant because the designated project list includes reentry, behavioral-health, community-violence intervention, victim-services, forensic, public-safety, and justice-technology projects. Organization-specific execution should be routed to the applicable state lane and limited to the exact invited recipients and projects. Dr. Miltie is not listed as a designated recipient and is not a direct applicant under this invitation-only NOFO.