Bureau of Justice Assistance · Department of Justice

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

Open

Deadline: Due Nov 2, 2026 · 24 days left
Award size: Up to $600K
Match ?: Not required · Work out your budget and match
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), and others named in the official notice
Where: Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

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Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. The deadline is in 24 days. If your registration isn't already active, it may not be ready in time, so check it today. Get-ready checklist

How this fits you

Available in Rhea County (nationwide program)
No match required
Past Tennessee awards on file: 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.

Who can apply, from the official 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.

Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/22965b70-6206-4aab-8c45-e4725314496e · Printed from grantme.click/grants/cb4c11ca-bf07-44ae-9b56-dbdfea1b83ce

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Your schedule, working back from the deadline

Oct9
Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
Oct12
Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
Oct26
Finish a complete draft for a final review
Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
Oct31
Submit
Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
Nov2
Deadline
From the funder.

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Writing the need statement? Rhea County facts with citations.

See how others wrote it

The agency posted this example. Read them for structure and level of detail. Don't copy their words: funders treat copied text as plagiarism, and requirements change from year to year, so follow the current notice.

Any OJP grant (sample for a rural police department) Sample budgets
A sample budget summary and budget narrative. Not a full application · Link checked Oct 7, 2026

All sample proposals

Who in Tennessee has won this program

3 awards to Tennessee groups in 2 counties since 2021 · 0 in Rhea County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winner	Where	Amount	Fiscal year
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 federal program

Capital Case Litigation Initiative
Program number 16.746 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs · Project grant

How applications are judged

In each year's official notice: read this year's.

Match

None required (federal program listing).

This program on SAM.gov

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Key facts