Bureau of Justice Assistance · Department of Justice

BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA

Open

In short: Bureau of Justice Assistance gives grants of up to $750,000. Open to many kinds of groups. See who can apply.

Deadline: Due Oct 29, 2026 · 18 days left
Award size: Up to $750K
Match ?: Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply: City or town government, Special district (utility, fire, etc.), Tribal government, Tribal organization, State government, County government, 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 18 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: 5

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 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA (COLD) Program. This opportunity supports prosecutors in the investigation and prosecution of violent cold case crimes where a DNA profile from a suspect is already developed. This initiative aims to enhance public safety, hold violent offenders accountable, and further case resolution for victims and their families. Law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies may utilize this funding for investigative and prosecutorial activities, as well as crime and forensic analysis that could increase the rate of successful prosecutions and/or other appropriate resolution of cases.

Who can apply, from the official notice

For the purposes of this NOFO, eligible applicants are state and local prosecuting agencies or law enforcement agencies with an engaged prosecutorial entity. 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.

Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/f5b2743b-a313-4d95-9059-b4cd75edbf0f · Printed from grantme.click/grants/d244f22d-21bb-412b-9592-fdbc4829505c

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Your schedule, working back from the deadline

Oct11
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
Oct8
Ask partners for letters of support or commitment (already past: do it now)
Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
Oct22
Finish a complete draft for a final review
Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
Oct27
Submit
Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
Oct29
Deadline
From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.

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

5 awards to Tennessee groups in 1 county since 2020 · 0 in Rhea County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winner	Where	Amount	Fiscal year
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation	Nashville, Davidson County	$2M	2025
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation	Nashville, Davidson County	$470K	2021
State of Tennessee	Nashville	$314K spent that year	2025
Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County	Nashville, Davidson County	$244K	2025
The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee	Nashville, Davidson County	$1,360 spent that year	2025

Source: USAspending.gov; Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

About the federal program

Comprehensive Forensic DNA Analysis Grant Program, also called “Cold Cases”
Program number 16.036 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Justice, OJP Bureau of Justice Assistance · 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