Bureau of Justice Assistance · Department of Justice

BJA FY 2026 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program

Open · Opportunity O-BJA-2026-172726 · Assistance Listing 16.746

Deadline: Due Nov 2, 2026 · 27 days left
Award size: Up to $600K
Cost share / match ?: Not required
Who can apply: Tribal government, City or town government, Tribal organization, Special district (utility, fire, etc.), Nonprofit without 501(c)(3), State government, County government, Public college or university, Private college or university, Nonprofit with 501(c)(3), Other (see eligibility)
Where: Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. The deadline is in 27 days. If your registration isn't already active, it may not be ready in time, so check it today. Grant-ready checklist

How this fits you

Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
No cost share required
Tennessee recipients since 2023: 3

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

About this grant

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program. This opportunity strengthens the capacity of wrongful conviction review (WCR) entities and their criminal justice and victims’ services partners to more effectively and efficiently identify, assess, and manage post-conviction claims of innocence. Additionally, it aims to enhance public safety by preventing future errors, identifying actual perpetrators of crimes, and delivering justice to victims.

Eligibility (from the notice)

Other Units of Local Government: For the purposes of this NOFO, other units of local government include towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state. States and counties that have in-house post-conviction representation programs that show demonstrable experience and competence in litigating postconviction claims of innocence.

Who in Tennessee has won this program

3 awards to Tennessee recipients in 2 counties since federal FY2023. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee recipients
Recipient	Where	Amount	FY
Shelby County Da'S Office	Memphis, Shelby County	$527K	2024
Tennessee Innocence Project	Nashville, Davidson County	$326K	2024
Tennessee Innocence Project	Nashville, Davidson County	$257K	2022

Source: USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds; they don't guarantee future awards.

About the program (16.746)

Capital Case Litigation Initiative

How applications are judged

Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Examples of funded projects

Not Applicable.

Program listing on SAM.gov

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Key facts