For many law enforcement agencies, the biggest barrier to building a gun crime reduction strategy isn't will — it's money. The personnel, technology, and infrastructure needed to run an effective crime gun intelligence operation represent a real financial commitment, and most agency budgets don't have room for it.
What many agencies don't realize is that significant funding exists specifically for this work. Federal programs, state pass-through dollars, tribal resources, foundation grants, and public health funding have all been used by agencies across the country to build or expand gun crime reduction capabilities. The challenge is knowing where to look, which sources are actually accessible to your agency, and how to position your work to align with each funder's priorities.
This post breaks down the primary funding sources available for gun crime reduction, what each one is designed to fund, who is eligible, and how to find out when opportunities are open.
For agencies focused specifically on building a crime gun intelligence strategy, this is the most targeted federal funding opportunity available.
The Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative, administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in partnership with ATF, provides competitive grant funding to state, local, and tribal government entities experiencing increases in gun-related violent crime. Its purpose is to help agencies work with their ATF partners to use intelligence, technology, and community engagement to identify unlawfully used firearms, trace their sources, and prosecute the people behind them.
Awards under this program have reached up to $700,000, and the initiative has funded 57 sites to date. Eligible applicants include city and county governments, state agencies, tribal governments, and prosecutors' offices. Notably, the FY25 solicitation is currently open, with a Grants.gov deadline of March 30, 2026 and a JustGrants deadline of April 6, 2026.
BJA publishes examples of previously funded, successful applications on the Crime Gun Intelligence Centers website. Reviewing those applications before writing your own is one of the most useful things you can do to understand what the funder is looking for.
Start here: bja.ojp.gov/program/cgic-initiative/overview
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is one of the longest-running federal programs focused specifically on gun and gang violence, and it operates differently from most grants you'll encounter.
PSN is administered through the U.S. Attorney's Office in each of the 94 federal districts. Funding flows to a designated fiscal agent in each district, and local agencies apply to that district's PSN task force rather than applying directly to the federal government. If your agency is not already connected to your local PSN task force, that relationship is worth building now, well before any specific funding cycle opens.
Beyond task force participation, PSN has historically required or strongly encouraged agencies to have a designated research partner as part of their program design. That requirement reflects the program's emphasis on data-driven strategy rather than enforcement activity alone. Agencies that approach PSN with a documented problem, a research-backed intervention, a cross-agency partnership, and community engagement are consistently better positioned than those presenting enforcement-only proposals.
Find your district here: justice.gov/psn/local-project-safe-neighborhoods-programs
JAG is the largest federal criminal justice funding stream available to state and local agencies, and while it is not exclusively for gun crime, it is regularly used for gun violence reduction initiatives including technology acquisition, investigative capacity, and training.
JAG operates as both a formula grant and a discretionary grant. Formula JAG funds flow from the federal government to State Administering Agencies (SAAs), which then pass them through to local agencies by way of competitive grants. Discretionary JAG funds are available through competitive applications directly from BJA. Eligibility and application processes differ between the two, so it is worth understanding which type is available to your agency before investing time in a proposal.
Because JAG is not gun-crime-specific, agencies applying for gun crime work need to make a clear case in the proposal for how the investment connects to the program's broader goals of reducing violent crime. Agencies that have used JAG successfully for gun crime work tend to present specific, local data and a defined strategy rather than a general request for equipment or staffing.
Start here: bja.ojp.gov/program/jag/overview
State Administering Agencies, or SAAs, are the pass-through entities that distribute federal formula grants to local agencies in each state. Every state has at one, typically housed within a department of public safety, criminal justice, or homeland security.
SAAs matter for gun crime funding in two specific ways. First, they distribute formula grant dollars including JAG and other BJA-funded programs to local agencies that are not eligible to apply to the federal government directly. Second, many SAAs have their own state-funded grant programs with priorities that may include violent crime reduction, technology acquisition, and evidence-based policing.
The practical implication is that knowing your SAA and monitoring its grant cycles is as important as monitoring federal solicitations. State grant cycles are often more predictable than federal ones, and the application process is typically less complex. Program managers at SAAs are also generally more accessible than federal program officers, and a conversation with them before a solicitation opens can meaningfully shape how you structure your proposal.
To find your state's SAA, search your state name plus "criminal justice state administering agency" or visit the BJA website, which maintains a directory.
This is the most underused funding category in gun crime reduction, and it is worth taking seriously.
In June 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory officially declaring firearm violence a public health crisis in America. That declaration has real funding implications. Programs through the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state health agencies are now legitimate and increasingly accessible sources of funding for gun violence prevention work, particularly strategies that address the community health dimensions of gun crime alongside the law enforcement response.
Agencies that have successfully tapped public health funding for gun crime work have typically done so through partnerships with public health departments, community health organizations, or research institutions. If your agency does not have those relationships, building them can open access to a funding stream that most law enforcement agencies are not competing for. Less competition means better odds, and funders in this space tend to respond well to proposals that bring law enforcement and public health together around a shared problem.
Search for opportunities through the HHS grants portal and talk to your local or county health department about what programs they are already funded to address.
Hundreds of private foundations actively fund public safety and gun violence prevention work. Foundation grants typically carry fewer restrictions than government programs and can be less competitive, particularly for agencies working in underserved communities or on issues that align with a foundation's specific priorities.
The tradeoff is that foundation funding requires more research to find the right fit. Unlike federal solicitations, foundation opportunities are not centralized in one place, and priorities vary significantly from funder to funder. Before investing time in a foundation application, review the organization's mission, its recent grant history, and its stated geographic and programmatic priorities. A proposal to a foundation that doesn't align with your work will not score well regardless of how it's written.
Finding the right grant is only half the challenge. The other half is finding it early enough to write a competitive proposal. Solicitations that give agencies 30 days to respond are common, and 30 days may not be enough time to write, review and get approval for your proposal.
Tools like Grants.gov, PoliceGrantsHelp.com, and foundation-specific search databases can help narrow the field. When searching, don't limit yourself to terms like "law enforcement" or "gun crime." Foundations working on community safety, youth violence, neighborhood revitalization, and racial equity often fund work that overlaps significantly with gun crime reduction strategies, even if the language they use is different. A few habits that help:
Set up keyword alerts on Grants.gov. A free account lets you create searches and receive email notifications when new opportunities are posted. Use terms specific to your work: "gun violence," "crime gun intelligence," "NIBIN," "firearm," "ballistics," "violent crime reduction." Check your alerts weekly, not monthly.
Monitor your SAA's website on a regular schedule. State grant cycles are often announced with limited fanfare. Checking your SAA's grant page every few weeks costs little time and can be the difference between catching an opportunity and missing it.
Build relationships with your U.S. Attorney's Office and your local ATF field division. Both are positioned to flag relevant opportunities before they are formally announced, and both are partners whose involvement in a proposal can strengthen it significantly.
Know which grants recur annually or on a predictable cycle. The CGIC initiative, PSN, and JAG all have established histories. Understanding their typical release schedules, even if those schedules have become less predictable in recent years, allows your agency to begin scoping a proposal before the solicitation drops rather than scrambling to respond after it does.
Funding is available. Agencies that find it and win it are not necessarily the largest or best-resourced. They are the ones that treat grant searching as an ongoing practice rather than a reaction to a deadline, and that understand the landscape well enough to know which opportunities are worth pursuing and which ones are not.
For a deeper look at how to turn a funding opportunity into a winning proposal, read our full guide: The Practitioner's Guide to Gun Crime Grant Writing.
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