Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program – NEW (Year 1)

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20). The Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) are accepting applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grants. The purpose of the DFC Support Program is to establish and strengthen collaboration to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent youth substance use. By statute, the DFC Support Program has two goals: 1) Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, public and private non-profit agencies, as well as federal, state, local, and tribal governments to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth (individuals 18 years of age and younger). 2) Reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, reduce substance abuse among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse.

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education. A DFC legal applicant (an organization applying on behalf of a coalition, the coalition, or the applicant coalition) must reside within the United States and/or the U.S. territories.Additional Information on Eligibility: Eligible applicants are community-based coalitions addressing youth substance use that have not yet previously received a DFC grant. Applicants must be a nonprofit (as defined by the IRS as a 501(c) organization); or an entity that the Administrator determines to be appropriate; or part of, or is associated with an established legally recognized domestic, public or private nonprofit organization. For example, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes, state-recognized tribes, urban Indian organizations (as defined in Pub. L. No. 94-437), public or private universities and colleges, professional associations, voluntary organizations, self-help groups, consumer and provider services-oriented constituency groups, community- and faith-based organizations, and tribal organizations. (Pub. L. No. 114-198 Sec 103). For the purposes of this NOFO and the DFC Support Program, a coalition is defined as a community-based formal arrangement for cooperation and collaboration among groups or sectors of a community in which each group retains its identity, but all agree to work together toward a common goal of building a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.

Applications will be evaluated on the review criteria described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcements (NOFOs). In general, the review and selection process of complete and responsive applications to the NOFO consists of determination of the scientific and technical merit by objective or peer review, availability of funds, and relevance of program priorities and the priorities of CDC.

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20). The DFC Mentoring (DFC-M) Program was established as a component of the DFC Support Program when the program was reauthorized in 2001 (Public Law 107-82, 115 Stat. 814). The DFC Mentoring Program was also included in the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-469).