OJJDP FY 2021 Multistate Mentoring Programs Initiative | O OJJDP 2021 48007

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2021 48007

The OJJDP FY 2021 Multistate Mentoring Programs Initiative is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). It is designed to strengthen, broaden, and scale mentoring services for children and youth by supporting applicant organizations that can operate across more than one state. In practical terms, the program is aimed at expanding access to structured mentoring relationships and improving the quality and reach of mentoring programming for young people, with an emphasis consistent with OJJDP's broader public safety and youth well-being mission within the law, justice, and legal services space.

The funding opportunity was released under Funding Opportunity Number O-OJJDP-2021-48007 and is administered as a grant (not a contract), which generally means the award supports a proposed program plan that aligns with federal objectives rather than purchasing a specific deliverable as a procurement action would. The associated CFDA number is 16.726. OJJDP framed this solicitation around enhancing and expanding mentoring services, indicating that applicants would typically be expected to demonstrate credible program models, recruitment and screening of mentors, training and ongoing support, youth referral and enrollment processes, safeguards and supervision, and mechanisms for tracking outcomes and continuously improving services as they grow across jurisdictions.

A key feature of the solicitation is that it contains two application categories, allowing organizations to apply under one of two tracks depending on the nature or scale of their mentoring approach. While the source summary provided does not list the category titles or distinctions, the presence of multiple categories usually signals that OJJDP anticipated different types of applicants or program designs (for example, different target populations, different delivery models, or different stages of organizational capacity) and wanted proposals to align with the specific goals and requirements of the category selected. Applicants would need to select the category that best matches their intended multistate mentoring strategy and structure their proposal around that category's expectations.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with a note to consult the solicitation's "Additional Information on Eligibility" section for the precise definitions and any restrictions. This typically means eligibility may extend beyond a narrow set of government entities and could include certain nonprofits, community-based organizations, or other qualifying organizations capable of administering multistate mentoring programming, but the exact eligible entity types and any exclusions would be governed by the detailed eligibility language in the full announcement.

From a funding and competitiveness standpoint, the solicitation anticipated up to 24 awards, with an award ceiling of $4,000,000 per award. That ceiling represents the maximum amount OJJDP would provide for a single project under this announcement; actual awards often vary depending on the proposed scope, the category applied under, and available appropriations. The opportunity opened on January 8, 2021, and had an original application closing date of February 23, 2021, setting a relatively defined application window for organizations to prepare and submit proposals.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a federal investment in expanding mentoring capacity and consistency across state lines, supporting organizations that can deliver mentoring services at scale while maintaining strong program quality, accountability, and alignment with juvenile justice-related prevention and positive youth development goals.

• The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 2021 Multistate Mentoring Programs Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.726.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 08, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 23, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 24 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O OJJDP 2021 48007

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